The “parade of airplanes” flyover event, which is sponsored by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), will begin at 11.30 a.m. EST from Frederick Municipal Airport (KFDK). The Washington portion of the flyover is expected to start around noon.

“The flyover will consist of 15 different ‘chapters’ telling the story of GA in America, starting in the golden age and continuing to the present day,” AOPA said in a statement. “Two dozen groups of aircraft will fly the 88-mile round trip from FDK down the Potomac River. The formation will be led by AOPA president Mark Baker in his historic Beechcraft Staggerwing.”

• READ MORE: ‘Parade of Airplanes’ Over Washington to Celebrate 85 years of GA

Parade Route

Washington has some of the most restricted airspace in the country and includes Prohibited Area P-56, which was created after 9/11. The event required coordination of more than 11 agencies, including the FAA, air traffic control, TSA, and U.S. Secret Service, according to AOPA.

According to AOPA, the flyover route will go past the Lincoln Memorial, down Independence Avenue, and over the Washington Monument.

The aircraft will be expected to fly at 90 knots at an altitude of 1,000 feet, ensuring they are visible from the ground. The flyover will also be broadcast online. 

The post How to Watch ‘Parade of Airplanes’ Over Washington appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Anatomy of a Flight Review

According to FAR 61.56, the flight review consists of a minimum of an hour of ground instruction, including a review of the current general operating and flight rules of Part 91, and one hour of flight with a “review of those maneuvers and procedures that, at the discretion of the person giving the review, are necessary for the pilot to demonstrate the safe exercise of the privileges of the pilot certificate.”

Flight instructors who have renewed their certificates within the preceding 24 calendar months need not do the hour of ground. That means for the active CFI the flight review will consist of an hour of flying to satisfy the regulatory requirement. Pilots are expected to fly to the level of their certificate as determined by the airman certification standards.

Carefully Plan the Flight

The FAA recommends referring to advisory circular (AC) 61-98D for guidance on administering an effective flight review and encourages the flight instructor administering it to work with the pilot to develop a plan of action around evaluating the pilot’s knowledge and flying skills, rather than focusing on meeting the regulatory minimums.

• READ MORE: Who Is Teaching? Low Time and Social Media Make for a Bad Combo

The AC suggests that regardless of the pilot’s experience, maneuvers considered critical to safe flight include takeoffs, stabilized approaches to landings, slow flight and stalls, recovery from unusual attitudes, operating aircraft by sole reference to instruments under actual or simulated conditions, and operation of aircraft automation. You won’t find a minimum number of takeoffs and landings, nor does it suggest emergency approaches without engine power, but you’d be wise to include them.

Perhaps you could be under the hood for the flight to the practice area (many CFIs don’t get much IFR experience), go visual, and do a chandelle up to altitude for slow flight and stalls, followed by an emergency descent, then back to the pattern for specialty takeoffs and landings.

Last-Minute Scramble

You may have to schedule your flight review around your regular hours at the flight school, but sometimes your plans can be thwarted by aircraft scheduling, maintenance issues, or weather.

Talk to the chief CFI or owner of the school in advance—if you have to fly during regular business hours to avoid turning into a pumpkin, they will be losing two instructors for at least an hour that day, and if you work at a small school, this can be very challenging.

Add a Rating

Many CFIs opt to add another certificate or rating to satisfy the flight review requirement. If this includes a check ride, make sure the designated pilot examiner (DPE) understands you intend this to be a flight review and make sure they are OK with that. The same goes for endorsements, such as complex aircraft, high-performance, or tailwheel.

• READ MORE: Practice Crosswind Landings Whenever You Can

Checkouts in aircraft with new-to-you avionics are also a popular option. If you are a round-dial pilot, get some time behind a glass cockpit design. If you’ve never flown anything but the Garmin G1000, find a round-dial panel and suitable instructor and see what you’ve been missing.

When a CFI Needs a CFI

The CFI administering the review needs to observe the rating limitations of FAR 61.195, which states that the instructor must hold a flight instructor certificate with the applicable category and class rating. FAA Advisory Circular AC 61-98D states: “For aircraft in which the flight instructor is not current or with which he or she is not familiar, he or she should obtain recent flight experience or sufficient knowledge of aircraft limitations, characteristics, and performance before conducting the review. In any case, the flight instructor must observe the rating limitations of 61.195.”

The phrase “sufficient knowledge of aircraft limitations” can send you into a gray area. What if you have never flown a Cessna 170 before? It is single-engine land, and if you have that on your certificate, you should be OK, right? There are CFIs who may be asked to administer a flight review for a tailwheel pilot even though the CFI does not have that endorsement or is not tailwheel current. According to the FAA, this can be done legally provided “the person receiving flight instruction pursuant to a flight review would have to be current and qualified under Part 61 [including 61.31(i)] and must act as pilot in command [PIC] during that flight.”

Is It Instruction?

Ask that question in front of a pack of CFIs and you may get divergent answers, possibly stemming from the fact the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) endorsement that CFIs are required to give to new people seeking instruction is not required for flight reviews, leading some to conclude a flight review isn’t instruction.

According to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) guidance on the TSA endorsement, “flight reviews and instrument proficiency checks do not fall under the TSA definition of flight training as the TSA has also interpreted the definition of recurrent training to

‘not include any flight review, proficiency check, or other check to review rules, maneuvers, or procedures, or to demonstrate a pilot’s existing skills on aircraft with a MTOW of 12,500 pounds or less.’”

However, the FAA tells FLYING, “a flight review is considered flight instruction and is referenced in [FAR] 61.56. Flight training and flight instruction are considered synonymous when meeting a regulatory experience requirement under Part 61. Section 61.56(a) states, ‘a flight review consists of a minimum of one hour of flight training and one hour of ground training. Additionally,

FAR 61.193, Flight Instructor Privileges, notes a person who holds a flight instructor certificate is authorized within the limitations of that person’s flight instructor certificate and ratings to train and issue endorsements that are required for…a flight review, operating privilege, or recency of experience requirement of this part.’”

As outlined in AC 61-98D, 4.4.1, the flight review is not a check ride. Therefore it is not a pass/fail situation. However, “if the review is not satisfactory, the flight instructor should log the flight as ‘dual instruction given’ and not as a ‘failure.’” In addition, the instructor administering the review should offer a practical course of action—be it flight training, ground training, or both for the pilot to regain proficiency and return to the standard.

Many CFIs will go out and practice on their own before a flight review. They don’t want to take a chance on an unsatisfactory grade. Frankly, when you are a busy CFI, flying for yourself is particularly enjoyable. Get out there!

This column first appeared in the January-February 2024/Issue 945 of FLYING’s print edition.

The post Make Flight Reviews for CFIs Worthwhile appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, in order to address the increase in passenger air travel the science and technology directorate (S&T) is focusing on sustainable changes to systems to increase screening efficiency, and one means of doing that is the “Screening at Speed Program”, which allows TSA PreCheck passengers to complete the screening process with minimal to no assistance from Transportation Security Officers.

“Like self-ordering kiosks at fast food and sit-down restaurants, self-service screening allows passengers in the Trusted Traveler Program to complete the security screening process on their own,” said Screening at Speed Program manager Dr. John Fortune. “Travelers will use passenger and carry-on screening systems at individual consoles or screening lanes themselves, reducing the number of pat-downs and bag inspections [transportation security officers (TSOs)] need to perform and freeing their time to be reallocated to the busier aspects of screening operations. The feedback we’ve already received during testing from both mock passengers and TSOs has been incredibly positive.”

The Screening at Speed team and the TSA laboratory are experimenting with different methods to increase security effectiveness, reduce checkpoint wait times, and minimize passenger and TSO contact, “reducing the number of bags TSOs have to pick up and move around and allowing passengers to proceed at their own pace,” according to Fortune.

The Hardware

In late 2021, S&T awarded four contracts to three companies: Micro-X of Federal Way, Washington; Vanderlande Industries Inc. of Marietta, Georgia; and Voxel Radar of San Francisco. The concepts proposed ranged from pod-based designs with screening consoles like self-checkout stations to wall-mounted panels.

Micro-X is developing a pod-based design for passengers consisting of a compact carry-on screening system and a flat-panel passenger screening capability. The system provides feedback to the passenger if additional screening is needed, and the company is developing a small computed tomography (CT) X-ray system for a compact carry-on and personal item self-screening solution.

Voxel Radar is developing in-motion panel sensors to line walls or curved surfaces, which it says will allow passengers to be screened in near real time.

Vanderlande’s prototype, the PAX MX2, combines the company’s automated screening lane carry-on bag conveyance system with new and existing transportation security equipment to create four integrated stations for one checkpoint lane. Each station includes a video monitor with multistep instructions and a help button that connects to a live TSO for assistance as needed, along with automated entry and exit doors. If a passenger doesn’t pass initial screening due to an item left in their pocket or similar issue, the entry door reopens so passengers can remove items before being rescreened. The passenger needs to pass screening before the exit door opens allowing them to leave.

Homeland Security notes these systems are being tested at various facilities around the United States, including Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (KDCA) and Atlantic City International Airport (KACY) in New Jersey.

However, the big test will be in Las Vegas next month as the city will host the Consumer Electronics Show and many of the visitors to the convention are expected to pass through KLAS.

The post TSA to Test Self-Serve Security Screenings appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The CFI, a recently retired airline pilot who earned his instructor certificate in the 1980s and never let it lapse, stared at me confused. It was 2016, and the concept of vetting learners before instruction began was new to him—no one ever asked for proof of his citizenship, he explained.

That all changed after September 11, 2001.

If you were around on that day, you probably remember exactly where you were and what you were doing when you learned about the hijacked airliners deliberately flown into the World Trade Center’s twin towers and the Pentagon. When it was determined that the terrorists were trained at American flight schools, it sent a shockwave through the general aviation community. It resulted in new security measures, many of which are still in place some 22 years after the event, not the least of which is TSA Security Awareness training and more responsibility for flight instructors, beginning with citizenship verification of those seeking initial certification.

TSA at the GA Level

If you earned your initial pilot certificate before 2004, you probably don’t have a TSA endorsement in your logbook. This endorsement is given by a flight instructor as proof of citizenship of a flight training applicant who wishes to get a recreational pilot, sport pilot, or private pilot certificate. If you already had your certificate, you were not required to have one, even if you were still adding certificates and ratings.

The TSA endorsement for flight training is not the same as the TSA PreCheck that many people have for airline travel. I must stress this, because there have been some flight students—and some CFIs—who insist the TSA PreCheck is the same as the TSA endorsement required for flight training. I assure you, it is not.

The TSA endorsement details can be found under FAR 1552.3 Flight Training.

The instructor must keep a copy of the documents used to provide proof of citizenship for five years. This should give you an idea of how important the FAA thinks this is as other instructor records are only required to be kept for three years. It is important that the non-CFI flight school employees understand that a CFI needs to be the one reviewing the verification documents for providing the endorsement. 

A record of the endorsement is made in the instructor’s logbook or other means used by the instructor to documentflight student endorsements. The instructor also endorses the student’s logbook with the following:

• “I certify that [insert student’s name] has presented me a [insert type of document presented, such as a U.S. birth certificate or U.S. passport, and the relevant control or sequential number on the document, if any] establishing that [he or she] is a U.S. citizen or national in accordance with 49 CFR 1552.3(h). [Insert date and instructor’s signature and CFI number.]”

The savvy instructors take a photo of these endorsements with their smartphones or, in the absence of this technology, make a photocopy  for themselves as a precaution. The school will keep a copy of it as well. If the CFI is building hours for another career, it is very likely they will be leaving employment at the flight school before the five years expires. In addition, if the flight school folds or the records are lost, the CFI will have proof they followed the rules. It is not a labor-intensive process. From document review to endorsement takes less than 10 minutes. These records, be they kept by the CFI and/or flight school, are subject to TSA review.

For the learners, please keep in mind that if you change instructors but remain at the school, you do not need another TSA endorsement. However, if the learner changes flight schools or goes to another school in another area, they will again be required to prove citizenship and receive a logbook endorsement from another instructor if they did not know the student  at the time of receiving the initial logbook endorsement.

TSA Endorsement for Foreign Nationals

It is very common for foreign nationals to come to the U.S. for flight training. Compared to the rest of the world, general aviation in the U.S. is relatively inexpensive and easy to access. However, the vetting of foreign nationals is more involved and as such takes longer because it involves fingerprinting and an application sent to the TSA for approval. No endorsement can be given, and therefore no flight training can be conducted until TSA approval is granted. The TSA has ruled an introductory flight does not qualify as flight instruction.

TSA Security Awareness Training

In addition, flight instructors and flight school and airport personnel are required to undergo annual TSA Security Awareness training. The online course, available from multiple providers, consists of scenarios and quizzes—you click on the correct answer. The course covers a variety of GA from flight schools and flying clubs to private aircraft ownership. After successful completion of the course, there is a completion certificate that are printed out and kept on file at the school or FBO.

For CFIs who earned certification well before September 11, 2001, the TSA Security Awareness training is a reminder of how much the world has changed. We remember when we used to walk down the ramp, peering into the cockpits of various airplanes to see what their panels looked like. This is one of the scenarios we are now taught to watch for. Back in the day, if you did this and the owner of the aircraft was around, they would often open the door and invite you to take a closer look. Today, if you do that you will likely be accosted by someone—possibly even law enforcement—who will want to know who you are and what you are doing. And who can blame them?

Many of the CFIs active in the teaching community are too young to have firsthand knowledge of 9/11. They may have heard about it in school, but they may not have an appreciation for the restrictions placed on aviation in the wake of the terrorist attacks. They have come of age at an airport with a locked gate and National Security Areas on their VFR sectionals.

I am concerned that as we get further away from 9/11 the lessons we learned in the wake of that horrible day will be forgotten. Someone coming into a flight school and asking for concentrated lessons to allow them to solo in three days might sound like a time builders dream to some. But for the more seasoned CFI this scenario falls under the same category as the client who expresses admiration for someone who stole and intentionally crashed an airplane. These are big red flags, and the experienced CFIs give these folks a hard pass.

The post 9/11: The Day That Forever Changed Flight Training appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) said it is organizing a flyover of the National Mall designed to showcase more than 20 “chapters” of the GA story in the U.S. AOPA President Mark Baker’s Beechcraft Model 17 Staggerwing will lead the event, representing aviation’s Golden Age. Other chapters will cover general aviation during and after World War II, trainers, vertical flight, seaplanes, experimental homebuilt aircraft, backcountry flying, business aviation, and more. 

• READ MORE: Army Skydiving Team Airplane Triggers Capitol Security Scare and Evacuation

“It’s going to be a special time for AOPA in May of 2024,” Baker said during EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. “What a sight it will be to see the history of general aviation flying over the National Mall as GA has given this nation so much over the past many decades. AOPA is uniquely positioned to be able to plan this complex event and execute it safely and professionally.”

The event is part of a celebration of GA’s contributions to society and AOPA’s 85th anniversary. The flyover will be broadcast live on YouTube with commentary from guests including Tom Haines, longtime AOPA editor-in-chief and host of  “AOPA Live This Week.”

• READ MORE: Hyde Field Closes, Bringing ‘The DC3’ Down to Just Two

Participating aircraft will fly in the Flight Restricted Zone, or FRZ, above the Lincoln Memorial, down Independence Avenue, and past the Washington Monument, AOPA said. Planning for the flyover includes close coordination with 15 interagency partners, including the FAA, the TSA, Secret Service, and Capitol Police. AOPA said the event also has the support of Congress.

The post AOPA Plans Washington D.C. Flyover to Celebrate General Aviation appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Often called the unofficial start to summer, experts are predicting the holiday weekend to be one of the busiest on record as some 43 million travelers are expected to take to the roads and skies. 

According to AAA, there’s an anticipated 11 percent increase in the number of people planning to fly compared to last year and a 5.4 percent increase from 2019 levels.

• READ MORE: Flying GA on Memorial Day: What Pilots Can Expect

“We know for sure that there is going to be a very high level of demand, a lot of traffic and a lot of pressure on the system,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in an interview with ABC News.

Airlines also expect to see an increase in passengers. United Airlines says the holiday will be its busiest in more than a decade, transporting 2.9 million passengers between Thursday and Tuesday, while Delta Air Lines expects to carry 2.8 million passengers over that period—a 17 percent increase from last year. American Airlines plans to operate more than 26,000 flights.

The surge will be an early test for the industry after having been plagued with a string of recent woes, such as technical glitches, flight disruptions, safety concerns, and staffing shortages.

The Southwest Airlines debacle in December resulted in the cancellation of more than 15,000 flights after the company’s outdated scheduling software crashed. 

Unfortunately, Southwest’s meltdown was only the beginning of other industry issues, including the FAA’s NOTAM system crash in January that led to the first nationwide ground stop since 9/11.

On top of the technical problems, 2023 has only highlighted the need for safety reform after several near-misses at U.S. airports—many  still under National Transportation Safety Board investigation. The FAA also is facing a serious shortage of 3,000 air traffic controllers, reportingreports that 1-in-5 positions remain unfilled nationwide.

However, airlines and the FAA are working together to alleviate these difficulties. Airlines have complied with the agency’s request to minimize flights to the Northeast by using larger aircraft to help with capacity because of a controller shortage at a key New York-area facility. The FAA also added 169 new flight routes along the East Coast to ease congestion.

While the dearth of controllers remains an obstacle, Buttigieg maintains it  is not the cause of most delays. FAA Acting Administrator Billy Nolen also backed that sentiment in a letter to Congress, noting that “about 5 percent of delay minutes can be attributed to FAA staff shortages.”

“Cancellation and delay rates were at unacceptable proportions last year,” Buttigieg said. “It’s important that (does not) not happen again.”

While he believes improvements have been made, he also admitted it’s “no guarantee that summer is going to go well.”

The post Memorial Day Travel Marks first Big Test for Aviation Industry appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

On the first day of the event, attendees were briefed on challenges, upcoming changes, and efforts to improve feedback and working relationships between federal agencies that directly interact with the flight training process. 

Some of these included potential updates and changes in FAA regulations, how busy flight training operations can work with local airspace management, concerns and solutions regarding knowledge and practical test availability, and how flight training providers work with the TSA to provide and get approvals for non-U.S. citizens they train.

FSANA 2023 attendees were treated to a lunch address from Bruce Landsberg on Friday, March 3, during the conference. Landsberg—vice chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board since 2018—discussed how critical good flight training is to the overall safety of our national airspace system and the safety of pilots and passengers. The base levels of training and skills developed from the initial training efforts affect a pilot’s ability and mindset for the rest of their career.

Throughout the conference, attendees had an opportunity to participate in discussions and sessions ranging from how to enhance flight training operation revenue centers, ADA compliance concerns, supply chain management for training assets, and updates from airlines on hiring and staffing efforts. The opportunity to share best practices is unmatched in other events for the operators of flight training businesses in the U.S.

“There are definitely concerns that can be better addressed as a group in the flight training industry,” said FSANA CEO Bob Rockmaker. “As we bring these groups together, we better understand the challenges of our industry and can work together to improve the overall flight training sector’s ability to train the next generations of pilots so highly demanded by our commercial flight operations.”

The aviation training industry has been operating under peak production demands to produce enough pilots to meet systemic needs. With continued projections of high demand for professional pilots, there is no doubt that the flight training industry will continue to need to produce large numbers of safe, skilled pilots in the upcoming years. This conference helps businesses that provide training more effectively and efficiently at meeting industry needs.

The post FSANA Hosts 2023 International Flight School Operators Conference in Orlando appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

“International students welcome.”

You see these statements made on brochures and webpages of aviation schools across the country. The training of international students is big business in the U.S. Why? Because aviation in the U.S. is much less expensive than it is in other parts of the world. 

According to Boeing, at least 602,000 new pilots are needed in order to maintain commercial aviation fleets globally over the next two decades. The regions with the greatest need for new pilots are North America (128,000 pilots), China (126,000 pilots) and Europe (122,00 pilots).

Many airlines send their applicants to U.S. schools for training, up through a commercial certificate, before they return home to take their place on the right side of the cockpit of an airliner.

Visas and Passport

In order to train in the U.S. the applicants must apply for and receive an M1 Visa. In order to get this, they must be accepted at a school recognized under the Student Exchange Visitor Program, which covers vocational institutions. It is important that the applicant verify that the school they wish to attend is on the list of preferred schools so that they can obtain the M1 visa.

• READ MORE: Training in the ‘English Proficient’ World

Once the applicant is accepted, the school should register the applicant with the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) and give the applicant a Form I-20, which is the Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status.

The applicants need to hold a valid passport for the duration of their education—that is at least six months to a year. They must also prove strong ties to their home country. This is often established because many of the applicants have jobs at air carriers in their home country waiting for them after they finish training.

They must also be English proficient. Many flight schools offer assistance to the applicants in this area, as they want them to succeed.

• READ MORE: Visa Rule Changes Enhance Flight Training Options for International Students

It is also imperative that the applicant show proof that they can finance their education and live in the United States for at least one year.

Culture Shock

Culture shock is a possibility anytime someone moves into a new environment, and it is particularly challenging when there is a language barrier. Add to that the challenge of being away from home, perhaps for the first time. Some flight schools address this by having their flight instructors also act as resident advisors for those staying in school-approved housing. The RA’s make sure the learners are taking care of domestic issues so that they can focus on flying.

• READ MORE: FAA’s English Language Standards Leave Gaps for Learners

TSA approval

Any person seeking training in the U.S. has to be vetted by the Transportation Security Administration. For U.S. citizens, it is an endorsement that verifies proof of citizenship. A flight instructor must see a valid passport or original birth certificate and photo ID to verify the applicant’s citizenship, and then give them an endorsement in their logbook. The CFI must maintain records of this endorsement for at least five years.

It is a little more complicated for foreign nationals, so much so that the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association has dedicated an information page to the TSA’s Flight Training Security Program (FTSP).

The applicant has to register with the TSA, then apply for training. The TSA must grant a preliminary approval for flight training. The applicant must submit their fingerprints per instructions mailed to him or her, then wait for the TSA to approve them for flight training. On the first day of training a photograph must be taken of the applicant and submitted to the TSA.

The post Extra Hurdles Test Foreign Student Pilots appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The announcer came on saying that all flying in the United States was grounded—anything in the air could be shot down. I immediately called my father to let him know I was safe on the ground. I was a few days away from my commercial check ride and had been flying every day. Dad knew this, and was relieved to hear my voice. He warned me not to fly over any military establishments—Dad was an aerospace engineer and a military man. Before I was born, he built missiles for Uncle Sam.

Ironically, on September 10, I had flown over military establishments—Bangor Submarine Base in Silverdale, Washington, and Bremerton Naval Shipyard. I was accompanied by my best friend, Cristi. Her father had been in the Navy and was based at both locations.

There were two submarines in port. It was a chamber of commerce weather day. There were young men with their shirts off, working on the deck of both subs. I took the Cessna 172 down lower and rocked the wings. They responded by waving their caps. Not even 24 hours later, a temporary flight restriction that measured 5 nm wide and 5,000 feet high was placed over the base.

All Flights Grounded

All general aviation flying was grounded within 30 nm of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (KSEA). In short, the Mode C veil had become the “bull moose” of TFRs. Dozens of  airports ranging from relievers to grass strips were shut down. This type of airspace closure happened all over the country.

In the following days there were stories of pilots trying to get home by flying low enough to stay below the radar. A friend in Minnesota told me about a Cessna 170 that took off from a non-towered airport despite it being under a TFR. The airplane stayed low to the ground, moving quickly. It was obvious the pilot was trying to get somewhere in a stealthy fashion. Moments later, a pair of military jets streaked by in pursuit. 

The fact that newly certificated pilots had executed the hijackings struck home with the local flight schools. How could security be increased? One day we heard the FAA was going to require flight schools to require fingerprinting and background checks of all their clients. We heard there would be no more private pilot privileges in the United States. Only instrument-rated pilots on instrument flight plans were going to be allowed to fly GA aircraft solo. Flight instructors were going to be required to carry guns. Fortunately, most of that proved false.

The FBI Moves In

The flight schools were visited by the FBI. I was there when somber looking men in dark blue windbreakers with FBI stenciled on the back and military academy rings on their right hands sifted through student and renter records. They were looking for foreign students and renters with last names of certain ethnic extractions. They shared photos of the hijackers. We learned the flight school next store was connected to Huffman Aviation in Florida where two of the hijackers had trained.

This scene played out all over the country. A friend who was running a school in the Midwest told me, with some trepidation, that he had recognized one of the hijackers in the photos. The man had come to his school, but left because the school was too busy and could not meet his timeline. 

The ramp was filled with aircraft that had been forced down by the all-stop. Business jets and single-engine pistons were crowded together like sorority girls sharing a hotel room on spring break. The silence on the ramp was eerie—like something out of a science fiction movie where the world’s population has been decimated by an alien virus. It was the first time many of us heard the noise of the freeway nearby—normally you couldn’t hear it over the sound of aircraft.

• READ MORE: Pilots Share Their 9/11 Stories

Security increased at the airport. Cement barriers were placed to block automobile access to the ramp. More fences went up. There were patrol cars from various law enforcement agencies in the parking lot. “Be ready to show your ID and pilot certificate,” we were told. 

There were discussions about what constituted suspicious behavior in the training environment. The ones that got my attention were: “people who are interested in learning how to take off but not how to land” and “those pilots who just want to fly but are not interested in the knowledge that is required to earn a certificate or rating.”

A Slow Return to Normal

The airspace reopened very slowly, and it was confusing. For GA pilots at non-towered airports, you could fly VFR as long as there was a CFI on board and it was called an “instructional flight.” Private pilots and above who really didn’t need to have an instructor were paying CFIs to sit in the right seat to keep them legal.

If you were IFR current and had the appropriate sectionals and approach plates, you could file an IFR flight plan and fly VFR without the benefit of a CFI on board. I was pressed into service to help my out-of-currency employer move his just-about-to-go-out-of-annual Cessna from Pierce County/Thun Field (KPLU) to Tacoma Narrows (KTIW) where it could undergo its annual inspection. I filed a flight plan for the 15 nm VFR flight. 

My commercial check ride was delayed for several weeks because of 9/11, and finally took place on a Sunday morning. I arrived at the airport early. I had a new VFR sectional and TAC stretched out on the cowling of the aircraft as I used a pink highlighter to mark the new post 9/11 TFRs that had popped up. They were over Bangor, Bremerton Naval Shipyard, the Port of Everett, and that sliver of land east of Jefferson County International Airport (0S9). With the exception of Bangor, which today is a prohibited area, the rest became national security areas, indicated on the sectional with heavy broken magenta lines and a notation: “For reasons of national security pilots are requested not to fly lower than….” with an altitude restriction. It is very polite phrasing, especially when you consider that at first we were hearing warnings about the potential use of deadly force against a straying aircraft and of pilots who lost their certificates, were fined, or ended up in prison for entering the airspace. I don’t know how much of that really happened, but I wasn’t going to risk it. 

• READ MORE: Five Ways We’ve Changed Since 9/11

I was still marking the TFRs when a shadow fell over the sectional. An about-face revealed a very tall man wearing an FAA ID badge. He introduced himself, then wanted to know what I was doing at the airport so early, and why was I drawing on the sectional? He asked for my name and to see my identification and pilot certificate. I held them up but didn’t hand them over, just as I had been taught. 

I explained I was about to take my commercial check ride and I was coloring in the TFRs so I wouldn’t accidentally blunder into one and lose my certificate or be shot down. I pulled out my fully filled out navlog to show him I was staying well clear of these areas. We talked for a few minutes, and he concluded by asking me if I would consider being a CFI because we “needed the enthusiasm.”

What we had were plenty of CFIs, as the airlines cut back on their training classes after 9/11. For a time, most of the flying was recreational, and people who wanted to learn to fly so they could fly their own airplane, saying they felt safer than being stuffed in an airliner with a potential terrorist.

Security Becomes Synonymous With Aviation

There was a new emphasis on airport security and verifying the citizenship of each flight school candidate. The TSA endorsement was added to the list of required endorsements a CFI has to give their learners. Today, airport employees and CFIs are required to take annual training from the Transportation Security Administration. 

The phrase “if you see something, say something” became part of our lexicon.

The fences and locked gates became as common as tie downs and windsocks at all airports. These fences are one of the obstacles—both literally and figuratively between us and the next generation of pilots. I hope someday those fences can be taken down—and aviation will become more physically accessible again—but I am not holding my breath.

The post Remembering 9/11 at the Flight School Level appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

An apparent miscommunication among agencies led to a brief evacuation of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday evening after Capitol Police spotted an unidentified aircraft flying nearby in the flight restricted zone, or FRZ, over Washington. Police later determined the plane was carrying the Golden Knights, and that while the parachute demonstration was a scheduled event, their department had not been notified, officials said.

“As soon as it was determined that we were not given advanced notice of an approved flight, our officers followed USCP policies and procedures and immediately led everyone safely out of the Congressional buildings,” the Capitol Police said in a statement. The department said it is notified of hundreds of authorized flights through the restricted airspace every week and added, “It is extremely unusual not to be made aware of a flight in advance.”

The Capitol was evacuated out of an abundance of caution this evening.

There is no threat at the Capitol.

More details to come. pic.twitter.com/7qqxqQyzlD

— U.S. Capitol Police (@CapitolPolice) April 20, 2022

What’s Supposed to Happen

The FRZ covers an area extending about 15 nautical miles from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and has been in effect since September 11, 2001. To enter the area, non-governmental aircraft other than scheduled airline flights generally have to obtain waivers and authorizations from the FAA and Transportation Security Administration. Such authorizations are coordinated with Capitol Police and other agencies responsible for securing the restricted zone.

For its part, the FAA acknowledged its mistake and says its investigation will be complete.

“The FAA takes its role in protecting the national airspace seriously and will conduct a thorough and expeditious review of the events yesterday and share updates,” the agency said in a statement. “We know our actions affect others, especially in our nation’s capital region, and we must communicate early and often with our law enforcement partners.”

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