ADIZ Violation Explained in AOPA Magazine

Thanks to the stupid AD
against allowing cigarette lighters in Cessna 150s, the lighter had been
disconnected in the rental plane they flew.

The AD didn't make the lighter illegal. Cessna in their infinite wisdom
didn't put any circuit protection on the lighter so it was quite
possible to start a fire and never pop a breaker. The AD gave you a
choice. Either disconnect the lighter or put in a breaker.

Thanks for the correction.

I can't believe people would be so penny-wise and pound-foolish. On
the other hand, the decision to disconnect the lighter was probably
made before the advent of all these hand-held, battery-operated
devices.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote:

I can't believe people would be so penny-wise and pound-foolish. On
the other hand, the decision to disconnect the lighter was probably
made before the advent of all these hand-held, battery-operated
devices.

And my Etrex will run about 12 hours ona fresh set of rechargeable
batteries. My Airmap may not last that long but surely enough for a
typical cross-country flight. No cigarette lighter plugin is needed.

Ron Lee

"Ron Lee" wrote

And my Etrex will run about 12 hours ona fresh set of rechargeable
batteries. My Airmap may not last that long but surely enough for a
typical cross-country flight. No cigarette lighter plugin is needed.

There is also the choice of taking one of those emergency car starting
battery units, too. For a couple pounds of luggage, you can run whatever
you want, for a long time, and not spend any money on batteries; just
recharge the car jumper back up.
--
Jim in NC

On Tue, 03 Jan 2006 14:08:27 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
wrote in
vzvuf.457464$084.400527@attbi_s22::

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.

Are you saying that the FAA had no grounds for the AD?

What prevented the PIC from using his GPS under battery power?

What prevented the PIC (or the student) from carrying a navigational
chart?

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.

What prevented the PIC from using his or the student's mobile phone?

How dumb do they get. The should both have their priviledges
suspended.
If you are going to fly near an ADIZ wear a parachute. If you get
caught inside the zone then bail out and hide in the woods. That way
you avoid all the embarassment of being a poor pilot.
dddddduuuuuhhhh

darthpup wrote:

If you get
caught inside the zone then bail out and hide in the woods.

Unless you carry a transponder and transceiver, that is a violation of the
ADIZ. You're supposed to depart the ADIZ, but that's tough to achieve
while hanging under a parachute.

- Andrew

I read the article too, but it scares me that there are pilots out
there flying with so littel understanding of navigation and airspace
in general. I think the license suspension was justified, IMHO.

Jay Honeck wrote:
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.

Another reason that we all learn de(a)d reckoning and pilotage. Not
having a GPS is a pretty poor excuse for getting lost. How many years
did airplanes navigate successfully, including across oceans, with no GPS?

Yes, it sounds like the Feds intercepting weren't the sharpest knives in
the drawer, but this screw-up clearly rests on the shoulders of both of
these pilots, and I hesitate to use the term pilot.


Matt

"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.



Link is he http://www.aopa.org/members/files/pi...light0601.html
(may need to be an AOPA member)


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.



You fail to mention that they got together the evening before the flight to build a flight plan, and checked the on-line
references for weather, etc. Sheaffer is in process of rebuilding a C-172 and is active in the local EAA chapter. Martin
is an aeronautical engineer.


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.



They checked online weather the day of the flight; they did not contact FSS or file a flight plane however.


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.



The helicopter had a 'well armed' person on board and presented a sign that said contact 121.5. When they dialed up
121.5 all they heard was and ELT beep-beep-beep swamping out the frequency.


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.



Sheaffer knew about the ADIZ, but he thought it followed the class B airspace configuration; in other words he thought
he could fly under it. He was 4 days beyond the 90 day 3 takeoff & landing requirement; not exactly inactive, but
certainly not current.


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"

--
Dan DeVillers
http://www.ameritech.net/users/ddevillers/start.html


..

..Blueskies. wrote:

The helicopter had a 'well armed' person on board and presented a sign that said contact 121.5. When they dialed up
121.5 all they heard was and ELT beep-beep-beep swamping out the frequency.

Then the chopper had them switch to another frequency. There was nothing on it
at all. Outside parties claim the chopper's radio was inoperative; the HSA
refuses to comment on that.

George Patterson
Coffee is only a way of stealing time that should by rights belong to
your slightly older self.