ADIZ Violation Explained in AOPA Magazine

"Jay Honeck" wrote
-- but I found myself thinking about all the 70 year-old pilots
that hang out at my airport, and I realized that it could have
easily happened to many of them.

Now..now..Jay, Being 70 years old doesn't equate to being a
"dumb****".

Bob Moore 70+

Now..now..Jay, Being 70 years old doesn't equate to being a
"dumb****".

Bob Moore 70+

Shoot, Bob, I used to think being 40+ meant "dumb ****"... Funny how
that changes with the perspective of 47 years...

:-)

It's not really an age thing, Bob, it's a retirement thing, and a
currency thing. We've got lots of older guys at our airport who "fly
the bench" WAY more than they actually fly. Dunno if it's a matter of
money, or boredom with flying, or what, but it's just a fact -- and
these guys just get rusty.

This Sheaffer fellow seems an awful lot like some of those guys --
except that he hopped in a 150 and blasted off into the most heavily
defended airspace in the world, almost completely unprepared.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay Honeck wrote:

This Sheaffer fellow seems an awful lot like some of those guys --
except that he hopped in a 150 and blasted off into the most heavily
defended airspace in the world, almost completely unprepared.

How 'bout we change "heavily defended" to "heavily regulated"?

I'm not sure our defenses are any more elaborate here than, say, Nellis or
Tonopah.

"Comedy of errors". hmph

It might have been if it had only affected the two of them. Instead we had
a near-panic in the downtown DC area and thousands of pilots flagged as
"untrustworthy" simply by association.

--
John T
http://sage1solutions.com/TknoFlyer
http://www.pocketgear.com/products_s...veloperid=4415
Reduce spam. Use Sender Policy Framework: http://spf.pobox.com
____________________

Me too

Bob Gardner 77+

"Bob Moore" wrote in message
. 122...
"Jay Honeck" wrote
-- but I found myself thinking about all the 70 year-old pilots
that hang out at my airport, and I realized that it could have
easily happened to many of them.

Now..now..Jay, Being 70 years old doesn't equate to being a
"dumb****".

Bob Moore 70+

There are informed 70 year olds and un-informed 70 year olds. Could
have just as easily happened to some cocky 30 year old.
--
Gene (70 is only 15 away) Seibel
Hangar 131 - http://pad39a.com/gene/plane.html
Because I fly, I envy no one.

Gene Seibel wrote:

There are informed 70 year olds and un-informed 70 year olds. Could
have just as easily happened to some cocky 30 year old.
--
Gene (70 is only 15 away) Seibel

You're 85 and still using a computer! I'm impressed!! :-)


Matt

("Matt Whiting" wrote)
Gene (70 is only 15 away) Seibel

You're 85 and still using a computer! I'm impressed!! :-)


By 85 when the darn thing bogs down or freezes up - life IS too short ...12
lb sledge hammer time!!


Montblack
BTDT and I'm only 45!

I have 0 sympathy for either of these guys. Since when is a GPS required
for VFR navigation? What happened to learning how to read a map and looking
out the window? Makes you really question a system where you get your
pilots license and you are good to go for life. Maybe there should be some
periodic retest to make sure people still have the skills they need or have
learned about new stuff that didn't exist when they first got their license.

Mike Schumann

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:vzvuf.457464$084.400527@attbi_s22...
The current issue of AOPA Pilot has a fascinating article about the two
pilots (one certificated, one student) who penetrated the Washington ADIZ
last spring, and brought the wrath of the government down upon us all.

What struck me was the entirely casual way in which it all happened. Troy
Martin (the student) and Jim Sheaffer (the 70 year old pilot -- NOT a
flight instructor, as some had reported) had met completely by chance at
an airport function, and become friends just a week before the flight.
Martin had 30 hours of training, and was coming up on his long
cross-country flights -- so when he heard that Sheaffer was planning a
long flight from their base in Lancaster, PA to a North Carolina fly-in,
he inquired about tagging along.

Thus began the most atrociously influential ADIZ bust since 9/11.

It truly was a comedy of errors in many ways. Thanks to the stupid AD
against allowing cigarette lighters in Cessna 150s, the lighter had been
disconnected in the rental plane they flew. Without on-board power,
Sheaffer left his GPS in the truck. They didn't get a weather briefing
because of construction in the terminal building that prevented them from
getting into the lounge where the phone was located. The weather was
CAVU, so they just skipped it.

Then the helicopter that initially intercepted them could not communicate
on civilian frequencies, so our wayward pilots didn't know what they
wanted them to do. A simple "Follow me" sign would have solved the
problem almost instantly -- but the crew in the Blackhawk had no such
sign.

Finally, the F-16s that intercepted them broke off in two different
directions in front of the 150. If they had broken in the *same*
direction, Martin (who was flying) would have followed them. But they
didn't, and he didn't know what to do, or which way to turn.

Of course, the most incredible thing of all is that Sheaffer (the
certificated one) simply didn't know there was an ADIZ over Washington.
He was clearly not an active pilot (among other things, he was busted for
carrying a passenger more than 90 days after his last flight, and it had
been 20 years since his last cross-country flight), and he clearly hadn't
been following events since 9/11. It's hard to feel sorry for such
ignorance -- especially when it harmed us all so severely -- but I found
myself thinking about all the 70 year-old pilots that hang out at my
airport, and I realized that it could have easily happened to many of
them.

Strangely, when I was a student I made an almost identical flight with an
older pilot. He was not a very active pilot, and -- although we didn't
manage to get *too* lost -- he clearly wasn't on the navigational ball,
any more than Sheaffer was. Of course, my flight took place in Wisconsin,
in the pre-9/11 world, and the worst thing that happened to us was
"kissing" the edge of Class D before realizing where we were. No harm, no
foul, for us.

Not so for these guys -- or all you folks back east.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Mike Schumann wrote:
Thanks to the stupid AD against allowing cigarette lighters in Cessna 150s, the lighter had been
disconnected in the rental plane they flew. Without on-board power,
Sheaffer left his GPS in the truck.

I read the above as "thanks to the stupid decision of not having fresh
batteries on his GPS receiver..."

Besides, the AD doesn't forbid cigarette lighters, it gives you the
choice of installing a fuse, or disconnecting it.

Most rental Cessnas I came across simply disconnected it (cheaper than
adding a fuse, I guess...)

I haven't yet read the whole article. I guess I now have a lunch time plan.

-jav

"Mike Schumann" wrote in message
ink.net...
I have 0 sympathy for either of these guys. Since when is a GPS required
for VFR navigation? What happened to learning how to read a map and
looking
out the window? Makes you really question a system where you get your
pilots license and you are good to go for life. Maybe there should be
some
periodic retest to make sure people still have the skills they need or
have
learned about new stuff that didn't exist when they first got their
license.

Mike Schumann

You mean something like a BFR?