RIP Bob Finer, CAL FIRE S-2T pilot

When I went to wildland fire this morning I saw the very sad news that Bob Finer, a CAL FIRE S-2T pilot died in an airplane crash on November 17. He had finished flying for CAL FIRE for the season and was flying for another company when the accident occurred. He was on the board of the CAL FIRE Pilots Association.

The wildland fire hotlist thread may be found here and includes information on the location of the services in Boise Idaho this Thursday, Dec. 2. His obit may be found here. A brief bio from the CAL FIRE Pilots Association may be found here.

I did not personally know Bob. But I have come to know tanker pilots, in a way, through writing about fire fighting tankers and helos for the last two years. I am saddened by his death.

My condolences and prayers go out to Bob's family, friends, and his CAL FIRE colleagues. Bob, may you always fly in favorable tail winds.

Thank-you Linc

I loved reading Linc's book, Fire Bomber into Hell, and I enjoyed interviewing him to share with you here. In the course of the two years that I have been writing about aerial wildland firefighting, I have often wondered what it was like to sit in the cockpit of a fire bomber. Regulations prohibit fire bombers, at least in this country, from carrying passengers. Yes, I understand the safety, legal, and liability concerns inherent in such regulations. Reading Linc's book did take me in the cockpit. Thank-you. I experienced the joys, and the dangers in flying fire bombers. I grieved at the loss of his friends. I laughed at some of his stories. I experienced the beauty of places in northern Canada that I have never seen.

And if someone were to ask me,

"what is it like to fly fire bombers?"

I can say read Fire Bomber into Hell by Linc Alexander.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Enjoy the day and safe travels. I'll be back tomorrow with my final reflections on my interview with Linc Alexander.

More on fire-truck - passenger vehicle crash in LA

More information, including another video report, on the accident involving a fire truck carrying inmate firefighters and a passenger vehicle may be found here. The driver of the passenger vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene. Also dead is Fernando Sanchez, a 25-year old inmate firefighter, go here for more information.

Very sad. My condolences.

Fire Truck - passenger vehicle accident outside of LA

News of this tragic accident came across my desk late last night. My condolences to all those who lost their life, their family, friends and colleagues. I understand that there are some critical injuries as well, so I offer up my prayers as well.

I'll return to my regularly scheduled post (yet to be written) later today or tomorrow.

Fire Bomber into Hell by Linc Alexander (3 of 3)

Tyler: Do you have any words of advice for pilots, whether they be general aviation, commercial, military, or fire bomber pilots?

Linc: All of us who fly have a built in problem, our ego. When we as pilots forget about our own weaknesses, failing to keep our pride and ego in check, we risk jeopardizing our own lives, the lives of any passengers we may be carrying, and the lives of others in the air or on the ground.  Going around when our approach is bad to a runway or a fire is bad, is a dent to the ego but we have to keep our weaknesses (pride and ego) in check if we want to think and act rationally when we fly. It’s hard for us gung-ho pilots to think that we can't do anything, but the military says it like it is: “Know your own and the airplane’s limits.” We all aren’t Bob Hoover who does aerobatics with both engines feathered on an Aero Commander. An ex-service friend of mine was asked to do a low-level air show in a T-6 many years after he had left the service. As it had been many years since he had done these precision maneuvers, he was probably out of practice. He decided to do the show, he went into the ground upside down half way through a roll. 

Tyler: What about those of us who are not pilots, is there one thing that you would like us to know about fire bombers as we watch news accounts?

Linc: Becoming a proficient pilot takes many years of practice. Becoming a proficient bomber pilot also takes years of practice. When a run is perfectly executed and the load placed precisely on target, it is easy to get the impression that the whole exercise is a big game that anyone can do. Firstly, not all highly trained pilots can fit in this game. Not many people like flying right next to the mountains all the time. Throw in bad visibility, turbulence and a wall of fire and it sorts out those missing a few marbles who like flying in this zone, and those who choose a more sane way to fly. Also the viewer should realize that the pilots who fly bombers are extremely conscientious about getting good results and saving property and lives. We all feel the loss and grieve for people who lose their home as a result of a wild-fire.  The public should also be aware that most large fires are preventable with the proper use of bombers in the very earliest stages of a fire. There is a vast difference in how agencies use the bomber. At a large fire, the media should ask questions about how bombers were used as soon as the fire was discovered.

I'll wrap this up with some concluding thoughts in my next article. Stay tuned.

Fire Bomber into Hell by Linc Alexander (2 of 3)

Tyler: I loved reading your stories of your early days flying fire bombers. I think that history shapes and defines our present. You and the other pilots you flew with during those early days paved the way for the fire bombers of today. How did these early days impact you during your later years as a fire bomber pilot?

Linc: The early days taught me the never-must-do aspects of this business. There are inviolate rules to this game which must always be obeyed and I discovered them the hard way, I made all the mistakes and fortunately got away with it. I cover some of them in this book Fire Bomber Into Hell and one of them is the answer to the last question in part 1: always have an escape from where you are in the event the air goes bad. The early days saw so many fatalities from people doing some pretty hair-brained things that I felt compelled to write the book Air Attack on Forest Fires. That book gets into the real nitty-gritty about what a pilot must do to fly safely while he is performing his job. It may sound crazy but I re-read my own book each spring for many years to remind myself about the many do’s and don’ts.

Tyler: Of all the places where you flew as a fire bomber pilot, are there one or two that stand out to you and why?

Linc: I loved flying in California, firstly because of the wonderful people I worked with and the opportunity to fly the wonderful F7F. I flew almost every day with actions that took place in such varied terrain and with different forest and brush cover. In California, actions have to take place quickly or a fire could get away in a matter of minutes. CAL FIRE (CDF at the time) exercised the “One Strike” concept of fast initial attack. We were fast and effective; there was a great sense of achievement. Of course, California is the only place with the fabulous Redwoods and the superb wines. Flying in California also rounded out my research for the book Air Attack on Forest Fires.

Flying in British Columbia particularly from a place like Campbell River (the Salmon fishing capital of the world) took me over the world’s most fantastic scenery. There is nothing like the backdrop of an iridescent blue glacier as one does an action over emerald green forest. The action at Butte Inlet where I slid down just over top of a glacier to fly out over the azure waters of that magnificent inlet was an experience one never forgets.

Fire Bomber into Hell by Linc Alexander (1 of 3)

Tyler: In your introduction, you begin by saying: "Fire Bomber into Hell was written for the reader who knows little more about the business of Fire Bombing than watching TV news clips of bombers in action next to the subdivisions of Los Angeles."

You invite us to sit besides you in the cockpit. Without giving anything away, can you share one or two things that you would like your readers to take away from your book?

Linc: The reader will learn that Fire Bombing is an occupation that takes pilots to the edge of safety every single time they go out to fight a fire. We don’t have the luxury of climbing high into still, calm air, fly comfortably from A to B and use a maze of navigation aids to help us safely land at our destination. Every time we go out, we face a multitude of hazards with mountain air currents, possibly restricted visibility at the target, and getting at targets in confined valleys. Leaving the target area is often more difficult than arriving there. I have often thought that it would be great if we could invite people to sit in the cockpit with us and experience a few bombing runs, particularly on a difficult target. Some individuals would find it exciting threading among mountain peaks on the way to a steep downhill drop just as I do, and others would doubt my sanity.

The reader will also discover my experiences with the political nature of Fire Bombing, and why I think that not all agencies use the bombers to their best advantage. I discuss the differences in bomber use in California (by CAL FIRE, the state fire control agency in California), and the United States Forest Service (USFS), a Federal fire control agency.

Tyler: You talk in your book about the boundary layer as being "the atmosphere from the ground up to five thousand feet", but you also emphasize that fire bombers spend a lot of time in the boundary layer in conditions that might ground general aviation pilots, such as strong winds, turbulence, and rotors and downdrafts in the mountains. What can lessons can private pilots in the general aviation community take from your experience as a fire bomber pilot flying in the boundary layer?

Linc: I have had good friends crash into the mountains because of restricted visibility, flying up a dead end canyon and not leaving themselves enough room to turn around, and getting smashed into the ground in downdrafts. If a pilot is going from A to B in mountainous terrain and the visibility goes bad in the valley route he is following, the safest thing to do is climb above the cloud in clear air (if the tops are not too high) get a weather report at his destination and if the condition at the destination is no worse than broken cloud with a decent ceiling, then fly to the destination above the mess below and let down in a hole at the destination. This procedure has made life simple and safe for me on many occasions. If the weather at the destination is bad, turn around and go back to your starting point.

Downdrafts, turbulence and rotor winds are a fact of life in mountainous terrain and they are generally found on the lee side of mountains. If the pilot has to maneuver close in to the mountains for any reason, then he must know where the wind is coming from and he should expect to find trouble on the lee side. He should always have the alternative of being able to turn out into a valley if he suddenly finds himself on a downhill ride. If you are in close to the mountain, it is always a good idea to have an extra ten knots (perhaps more) of airspeed for mom and the kids. We can’t read invisible air, for Fire Bomber pilots, smoke may be an indicator but the private pilot can only guess. Always suspect the worst and always have the alternative to quickly turn away from the mountain.

Fire Bomber into Hell

Even if I had a pilots certificate, which I do not, the chances of my being able to sit in the cockpit of an air tanker or fire bomber are remote at best. More likely given contract restrictions and liability concerns, the chances are nonexistent.

In the introduction to his memoirs, Fire Bomber Into Hell, Linc Alexander invites us to sit in the cockpit with him as he writes of his thirty-seven years flying fire bombers in Canada and the United States. Linc delivers. I was with him in the cockpit in his early days of flying fire bombers when the tanker business was in its infancy. I was with him as he flew in rotor winds. I was with him as he barely beat out a thunder storm to make a drop on a fire in a ravine in a mountainous area in Canada. I was with him in each of the fire bombers that he flew. And you will be too.

Knowing that Stearman's and TBM Avengers were used in the early days of the tanker business, I enjoyed reading about his experiences with both of these aircraft. A couple of months ago I wrote a series about the TBM Avenger, so I enjoyed sitting next to him in the cockpit the first time he flew the TBM Avenger, learning the hard way about one of the quirks of the TBM Avenger.

I have seen a few Stearman biplanes at nearby general aviation airports. They are beautiful airplanes. Linc put me in the open cockpit (in front of him) of the Stearman he flew during his first year flying fire bombers. It was cold at times, so I had my warm clothes on, and my seat was properly adjusted to mitigate some of the effects of the slipstream.

Linc writes about piloting the F7F and the A26, two planes that I knew very little about. Thank-you Linc for introducing me to these two planes. I sat with Linc in the cockpit has he was first co-pilot and later pilot-in-command (pic) of a DC-6 fire bomber. I learned a little more about the relationship between the pic and the co-pilot. I know something about Butler's DC-7 tankers thanks to Larry Kraus, so I couldn't help but wonder about the similarities and differences between these two tankers. What ever those differences are, they will have to wait for a later time.

I know what Linc's favorite fire bomber is. You will have to read the book to find out. Linc, I read a book recently where your favorite plane is mentioned.

There is a list of other things that I know a little bit more about through Linc's words. I know a little more about Canada and the Canadian north. Linc flew for Sis Q in CA for a time, a company that I have read about. I learned about the check rides that all pilots experience. I learned more about rotor winds from Linc because he has lived to tell about it. I am reminded that the tanker business aka the fire bomber is dangerous. I knew that some pilots die, and others live, and Linc's words reinforced that. Linc loved being a fire bomber pilot and he was good at it. We should all be so fortunate to spend a career doing something we love.

I have been in touch with Linc over e-mail and he agreed to allow me to interview him. I will be posting the interview over the next three posts. Stay tuned.

Dome Fire (CO) - 10/29/10

I came upon this video of the Dome Fire by the Daily Camera Newspaper in Boulder CO. I especially enjoyed the footage of the crew boss talking to his crew before they went up to the line. The fire was first reported on Friday, October 29 2010. There were evacuations ordered that day and there were power outages as well. Evacuations were lifted on Saturday morning (Oct. 30).

The JeffCo air tanker base was in the process of shutting down operations for the season when they got the call about the fire on Oct. 29. However, it only took them about 30 minutes to get the tanker operations up and going. The fire burned 84 acres and according to the Boulder CO Office of Emergency Management, the fire was 100 percent contained at 2:35 PM on Nov. 2, 2010. Note, I wrote the first draft of this article about 7 to 9 days ago, and the Boulder OEM webpage was still reporting on the status of this fire. At the time I posted this article, the Boulder OEM webpage is no longer reporting on the fire, and I am including the link to let you know that I got this information from the Boulder OEM.

Paul Filmer took an absolutely stunning series of photographs of one of a P-2' (T-07) and a SEAT (T-878) working the Dome Fire. His slide show is available at his website (skippycage photography) and may be accessed here. 

For more information, see Bill Gabbert reports about this fire here, here, and here.

Cross-Country -- References

I have tried to put together a good list of references where you may go for more information about basic aviation that I referred to in my series on my recent cross-country flight. This is not meant to be a thorough bibliography on general aviation or learning how to fly, rather it is meant as an introduction to some important concepts. I have grouped the references by the related article (with a link). It is not necessarily my intent for you to read all of these references, rather that you may want to check out a couple of the links that might be of particular interest to you.

Over the next few days, I will be working on adding some of this information to the aviation links and info page of this blog, so stay tuned for that. I have worked hard to ensure that all these links work, if you should find a broken link, please post a comment.

Part 2, what is a cross country:

• The Association of Aircraft Owners and Pilots (AOPA) has a website devoted to learning how to fly, including free resources, it may be found here.
• Definition cross-country from FAR: The Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) defines cross-country time in some detail in FAR Part 61.1 paragraph (b)(4)

Parts 3 and 4, planning for the flight and plotting the course:
Air space

• Airspace for Everyone is one of the documents in the Safety Advisor Series from the Airplane Owner's and Pilot's Association's (AOPA) Air Safety Foundation (ASF). In the short Airspace for Everyone document (SA02) you will learn about the different classes of airspace in the U.S., as mandated by the Federal Aviation Regulations. Illustrations accompany the text. I think that this is a good place to start if you want an overview of airspace in the U.S.
• The ASF's Airspace Guide, shows how different airspace is designated on NACO's aeronautic charts. I referred to this often when I was learning about how airspace is depicted on aero charts, and continue to use this as a resource.

Aeronautical Charts

• Page 8 of NASA's aviation navigation tutorial brings you to an interactive page on the symbols used on aeronautical charts.
• For the complete scoop on all of NACO's aeronautical charts, there is the freely available NACO Aeronautical Chart User's Guide (11th edition). This guide is broken down into six sections, two sections apply to sectional, terminal and a couple of other charts used when flying under VFR, Introduction to VFR symbols and VFR Chart Symbols
• The FAA makes digital versions of the NACO charts available for GPS devices. I have been able to read these files in my pdf viewer software. The files are very large. To access these charts go here.

Flight Restrictions
For more information about temporary flight restrictions, visit the FAA TFR website.

Weather

• Weatherwise Safety Advisory from the AOPA's Air Safety Foundation (ASF) website may be found here. This is a good intro to aviation weather.
• The ASF has a few freely available interactive courses on weather and aviation (Weatherwise), they are located here along with the ASF's other interactive courses.

Part 5, take-off from KABE:

• Information on Lehigh Valley International Airport including, but not limited to a map of the airport is freely available from flightaware.com, it may be found here
• The ASF has a very nice interactive course, Pinch Hitter Interactive Course where you learn about basic aerodynamics, control of the airplane, and emergency operations. It takes about 4 to 60 minutes to go through the course. It is designed for people who fly regularly with a pilot, but I think that anyone interested in learning something about basic aviation will benefit from the course.

Part 6, navigation and radio communications:

• Airspace for Everyone
• Avweb got permission to from the AOPA to post an article from the AOPA's Flight Training publication on Class B Airspace.

Part 7, more on radio communications:

• To read about flight following services see this, read this Avweb article.
• From Pilot Friend on the phonetic alphabet used in aviation radio communications, go here.
• I deleted the reference to Pilot Friend's article on pilot-controller communications because it refers to flights under instrument flight rules (IFR). While the sequence of communications is similar to that used by pilots flying under visual flight rules, I thought that the references to IFR and IFR routes might confuse some. I'll try to look for another short article to post here.

Part 8, Tappan Zee Bridge and KHPN:

• If you are interested in reading more about the Tappan Zee Bridge, go here.
• Taxiing signals from pilot friend. 
• A map of the Westchester County Airport, and other information about the airport may be found on Flight Aware, go here.

revised on March 11, 2013

Cross Country (part 9): return to KABE

Rob takes a slightly different route on our return flight to Lehigh Valley International Airport (KABE) so that I can see one of the ridges near West Milford, NJ. There is a small general aviation airport in West Milford, NJ near Greenwood Lake (4N1), so we fly from Westchester County Airport (KHPN) to 4N1 to KABE. This is not far from the Sparta VOR we flew over on our flight to KHPN earlier. Rob gives our course to the controllers. After we clear the immediate airspace around KHPN, we are told to fly under class B airspace. The floor of class B airspace in the area is 3,000 feet, the controllers tell us to fly at 2,500. Rob does not request flight following, he will be navigating using the instruments in the Cherokee and his aeronautical charts. I continue to scan for other aircraft.

There is an area that I had done some hiking a few years ago, the Abraham S. Hewitt State Forest, not far from 4N1. I think it would be fun to fly over the this ridge top forest. I regret not taking photos for you. See the Google Earth image below showing some of the locations mentioned in this article. The image at the top of this article is an extract from an aeronautical chart.

The airport, 4N1, is near the southern end of Greenwood Lake, so I help Rob look for the airport. Rob spots 4N1 first, he radios the common air traffic frequency used at 4N1 to say that he is overflying the field from west to east at 2,500.

Rob is flying into a head wind. Our ground speed to about 93 knots, 20 knots lower than our ground speed on the flight to KHPN.

Rob circles around to the north after overflying 4N1 and we fly over the ridge I hiked a few years ago. Things are starting to get quieter on the radio as we fly farther away from the edge of class B airspace. It is getting a little late, so I tell Rob that I have seen what I wanted to see in the Greenwood Lakes area.  He sets a course to KABE. We fly over the Sparta VOR. Soon we are in airspace that is more familiar to me.

All to quickly we enter KABE airspace. KABE approach hands over to the tower and we enter the pattern for landing. We taxi to the ramp. Rob has to tie down the Cherokee for the night. Rob asks me to get out of the Cherokee and help out by pushing/guiding the plane back to the tie-down area.

I will be posting one final article in this series, probably this Wednesday, with some references where you may go for more information on some of the aviation terminology that I have used in this series.

Cross-country (part 8): Tappan Zee Bridge and KHPN

Rob has made good time on our flight to KHPN because he has a tail wind, with a ground speed of about 113 kts. I see the Hudson River in the distance and know that we will soon be flying over the Tappan Zee Bridge crossing the Hudson River approximately 40 nautical miles north of mid-town Manhattan (in New York City, NY). The controller comes over the radio giving Rob an altitude and course to the Westchester County Airport (KHPN) across the Hudson River. He tells Rob to use the Tappan Zee Bridge as a visual navigation point. Rob may still be talking to the NY Approach controller handling aircraft on approach to KHPN.

I am paying attention to the altitude that we are flying because I am busy getting my camera ready to take some shots of the bridge as we fly over. Having crossed this span numerous times by automobile, sometimes literally crawling across the bridge in traffic, it is a thrill to fly over the bridge in less than a minute or two. Rob banks the plane a little to the left so that I can get some good shots of the bridge, thanks Rob!

At the appropriate time, NY Approach hands Rob over to the Aircraft Control Tower at KHPN who gives Rob instructions for landing at KHPN, including the runway that we land on. Unfortunately, I do not make note of the runway we arrive on. After we land the Tower hands Rob over to ground control, Rob tells ground control that we want to go to the restaurant. He is unfamiliar with the airport, so he asks for progressive taxi to the restaurant. Ground control gives Rob step by step taxi information to Signature Flight Support where he will park the Cherokee. When he gets to the Signature ramp, a signal man is there guiding Rob in with hand signals. This was another thrill for me, as this is the first time that I have seen this up close and personal from the cockpit. At first I regret not taking pictures for you, but I find out later that photographs are not permitted, so it is a moot point.

The signal man puts a covering over the engine, and chocks under the wheels. The Signature Flight Support staff direct us to the restaurant inside the terminal. We get a bite to eat, and have a chance to chat about the flight. We go back to Signature, I pay the $28.00 landing fee. I am impressed by Signature, the staff is nice, there are computer terminals available, snacks and beverages, a lounge, and items that the corporate or general aviation traveller will find useful. I think that they have maintenance facilities and a hanger.

Final report on wildland fire in Edison NJ

The Raritan Center fire (Edison NJ) seems to be out thanks to the rain that has fallen last night into today. Burnout operations were performed by the NJ Forest Fire Service until shortly before midnight last night. After that, municipal fire fighters remained on the scene.

Final acreage -- 475 acres.

This this thread from the wildland fire hotlist forums for more information.

Update on fire in Edison, NJ

According to this this thread from the wildland fire hotlist forums, the fire in Edison, NJ known as the Raritan Center Fire, was 80% contained as of 9 PM last night. It has been raining most of the morning, with bands of moderate to heavy rain. I suspect that this rain has helped efforts to contain this fire.

A slide show may be found at this APP photogallery.

Wildfire in NJ

This just in. I saw a note on the NJFFS Section B-10 website a short time ago about a 100-acre wildfire burning in grass and marshes near Edison NJ. The NJ Forest Fire Service is on scene. I found this video report on myfoxny.

The next post in my series about my cross-country flight will post this Friday. I'll follow the news about this fire and report back here as the situation changes.

By the way, I did check the weather forecast from the NWS, there is a low pressure system moving up the coast that is forecast to bring showers and rain to NJ Thursday into Friday.

Cross-Country (pt 7): more on radio communications

While we are still on the ground at Lehigh Valley International (KABE), Rob tells the controllers our course -- KABE to Sparta VOR to Westchester County Airport (KHPN) -- and requests flight following. Flight following, aka traffic advisories, is a service provided by controllers to pilots flying under visual flight rules (VFR). The VFR pilot asks the controllers, as Rob does, for flight following. The catch is that controllers grant flight following on a space available basis, meaning they can say no if their work load is too heavy. In our case, after we leave KABE airspace, the NY Approach controller grants Rob flight following.

As we get closer to and then enter class B (or bravo airspace), I get to listen to and learn what traffic advisories mean. The controller will say something like the following:

"Cherokee 2345 alpha , traffic three o'clock, five miles west bound, 6,000 feet"

The pilot looks for the other aircraft and if he immediately sees the aircraft will respond by saying something like:

"NY Approach Cherokee 2345 alpha , traffic in sight."

Or if the pilot does not immediately site the other aircraft (this may have happened to Rob once or twice) he might say something like:

"NY Approach Cherokee 2345 alpha, looking."

In the above response, I believe that pilot is telling the controllers that he is looking for the other aircraft. He sights the other aircraft very quickly and then tells the controllers something like:

"NY approach, Cherokee 2345 alpha, traffic in sight."

As we are flying along on our way to KHPN, I listen to the communications. Sometimes, but not always, I can hear the controller calling Rob and follow along as Rob responds. Other times, I miss the controllers call, but because the protocol is that the pilot repeats back the instructions to the controller, I get a sense of what is going on. An example of this is the traffic advisories that I have just discussed. Rob turns the traffic advisories into an opportunity for teaching and asks me if I can see the aircraft. I admit that I often did not see the aircraft on the first try. But I do see some or most of the traffic in question. This takes some getting used to, and I have to be honest and say that I do not see all the aircraft that Rob has me looking for.

As the controllers give Rob traffic advisories, I practice looking for the traffic. Some times I see the traffic and sometimes I don't. At the same time I am listening to the fast paced radio communications over my headset. I am glad that I have listened to aviation communications using online scanners such as LiveATC.net, providing me with the opportunity to get used to listening to communications in the confines of my house.

I begin to appreciate that radio communications take some getting used to. I have new found respect for student pilots learning radio communications. This is my first time in airspace with such busy and fast paced radio communications, I understood more than I thought I would. I am pleased.

We continue to fly, Rob piloting the aircraft and I listening and looking. In the distance, I see the Hudson River. I know that we are north of the Hudson River Exclusion Zone adjoining NYC. We are getting close to KHPN.

Next up: the Tappen Zee Bridge and KHPN

New life at 9/11 memorial

Trees from Millstone nursery bring life to Ground Zero site

Excuse the interruption to my series of articles on my cross-country flight. I just found this video and wanted to share this with you. I have been reading about these trees for at least a year.

I will resume the series of articles on my cross-country flight tomorrow.

Cross-Country (part 6): navigation and radio communications

I am having a ball. I had already told Rob about the course that I had plotted the night before. He liked what I did so he set one of the navigation radios to the frequency used by the Sparta VOR. I have my aeronautical (sectional) chart on my lap with my penciled in course. As we pass over certain roads and other geographic features, I am sometimes able to look at the chart and see exactly where we are. Sometimes.

We are getting closer to class B airspace, but first we have to cross into or "pierce" the mode C veil that surrounds class B airspace. All aircraft entering mode C must have a mode C transponder.

I was talking about the transponder in an earlier post. Simply, the transponder reports our position to controllers. Before we get into class B (or bravo) airspace, we will enter an area 30 nautical miles (NM) from the center of class B airspace known as the mode C veil. I got raster files of the NY terminal aeronautical charts from the FAA; terminal charts depict class B airspace and includes the mode C veil. I extracted a portion of this chart to post here and put in an approximation of our route. The mode C veil is shown by the purple line, I have marked where our route "pierced" the mode C veil with the letter "T" and an arrow. A working transponder is required before piercing the mode C veil.

Rob turned the transponder on before take-off and set the code to 1200 (for aircraft under visual flight rules). Before we left the airspace around KABE, the controllers told Rob to change the code on the transponder to a unique four-digit code (e.g. squawk 4321). When we get to the mode C veil, we are all set.

Before entering class B airspace, 10 NM later, the controllers have to clear Rob to enter class B airspace. If the controller does not specifically clear Rob to enter class B airspace he has to stay out. In that case he would have flown below the 3,000 foot floor of class B airspace that is on our route to Westchester County Airport (KHPN). However, the controllers, in this case NY approach, have already cleared Rob to enter class B airspace, giving him an altitude and a course. This important bit of communication happens over a minute, maybe two. I have noted on the image where our route (in red) crosses into class B airspace (represented by the blue line) on the chart excerpt above.

Hearing the interchange between Rob and the controllers when we are given clearance to enter class B airspace was another thrill. Up until now, I have never been in or near class B airspace in a general aviation aircraft. The radio is busy, Rob says this is the busiest that he has experienced. I stay quiet. I know that Rob needs to pay attention to the communications, so I don't want to bother him with unnecessary chatter. Instead I concentrate on listening to the communications. It is fast paced, and I am pleased that I understood most of the communications.

Next up in part 7, more on radio communications.

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The image below is another excerpt from one of the aeronautical charts that I posted last week. This time I have noted the location of the three large airports in the NY-NJ metro area:

Newark-Liberty International in Newark NJ (KEWR)
John F. Kennedy (KJFK) and Laguardia (KLGA) both located in NYC.

Some of you may have flown into one of these three airports at one time or another, so I thought you might be interested in seeing what this airspace looks like on an aeronautical chart.
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Note, I need to point out that airspace and airport classifications take some getting used to. Aeronautical charts with their weird colors, circles, and other notations take even more time to get used to. Next week, I will provide you some references where you may learn more about airspace and airport classifications, aeronautical charts and other information discussed in this series. In the meantime, if you can not wait, please refer to my aviation links and info page on my blog where I have linked to some information on airspace and aeronautical charts.