We decided to go for a short flight yesterday evening. The air was clear, the wind was moderate, and we both had some time available. George Bush almost wrecked our plans: since he was in New York addressing the UN, the FAA had put a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) around the entire Newark Class B space.
I called the briefer at the FAA to find out if the TFR was still in effect, and if so, whether or not our airport was in the zone (47N).
"Well, sir, where exactly is Central Jersey Airport?" said the lazy drawl on the other end of the 800 number.
"Uhm, it's in the middle part of New Jersey. Near the center", I offered hopefully
"Sir, I am not finding it" came the slow answer.
"15 miles southwest of Newark airport", was my testy riposte.
""Looks like it is outside the zone. Can't really make it out fer sure, but it seems like you'll be okay if you head west after take-off from 07." came the answer.
Now, as I am sure you realize, after 9/11 they have these helicopters and jet fighters that enforce these TFR's. This is not a mistake you want to make, ever. I even got a card from the Air Safety Foundation to keep in my flight bag called "Intercept Procedures". I was really hoping for a better answer from the FAA ( the agency who implements TFR's) that our airport was or was not outside the zone.
I called The Very Wise Man on Y!messenger. He thought it wasn't real clear either, and counseled that it would prudent to fly another day, which was eminently sensible, as usual.
I called He-Who-is-much-smarter-than-your-average-person. He had talked to the FBO and got an all-clear. I saw a couple of other planes take off, and veer to the northwest. Decision made: we are going!
He-Who-is-much-smarter-than-your-average-person had the controls for Leg 1 to Alexandria. We decided to climb at maximum angle, and then head west as soon as we were at 500 feet above the ground, since we only had 1.8 nm between the end of runway 07 and the start of the TFR. For good measure I kept my intercept procedures card handy, next to the charts.
Flight is just perfect. Sun is setting over the gently rolling hills of Hunterdon County, it's cooler by a few degrees up at our altitude, the country side is beautiful. All is well. Until He-Who-is-much-smarter-than-your-average-person spots what appears to be another aircraft on our flight path. It's not getting smaller either, which means we are drawing closer. Uh-oh. It's starting to look an awful lot like a Blackhawk helicopter coming towards us. Hmmm. We switch on the second radio to monitor the emergency frequency, and He-Who-is-much-smarter-than-your-average-person decides to execute a 360 south of the lake to see what happens. Now the shape is closer, and I can just make out the unmistakable lines of ......a hot air balloon. Doh!
Relieved and amused we fly on to N85, land (nicely) on 08, and switch seats. He-Who-is-much-smarter-than-your-average-person lets me use his birthday gift from his wife, a Very Nice Headset with a noise cancelling feature. I put it on, start taxiing, and immediately stop the plane. I had to turn off the ANR because I could no longer hear the engine! What if we lost a cylinder on climb-out? He-Who-is-much-smarter-than-your-average-person gave an indulgent smile as I explained my Luddite predicament and showed me the switch. Hey, I have to warm up to this new-fangled technology, you know?
I switched it on once we were at cruising altitude. It was very, very quiet and comfortable. Now I am jealous.
I called the briefer at the FAA to find out if the TFR was still in effect, and if so, whether or not our airport was in the zone (47N).
"Well, sir, where exactly is Central Jersey Airport?" said the lazy drawl on the other end of the 800 number.
"Uhm, it's in the middle part of New Jersey. Near the center", I offered hopefully
"Sir, I am not finding it" came the slow answer.
"15 miles southwest of Newark airport", was my testy riposte.
""Looks like it is outside the zone. Can't really make it out fer sure, but it seems like you'll be okay if you head west after take-off from 07." came the answer.
Now, as I am sure you realize, after 9/11 they have these helicopters and jet fighters that enforce these TFR's. This is not a mistake you want to make, ever. I even got a card from the Air Safety Foundation to keep in my flight bag called "Intercept Procedures". I was really hoping for a better answer from the FAA ( the agency who implements TFR's) that our airport was or was not outside the zone.
I called The Very Wise Man on Y!messenger. He thought it wasn't real clear either, and counseled that it would prudent to fly another day, which was eminently sensible, as usual.
I called He-Who-is-much-smarter-than-your-average-person. He had talked to the FBO and got an all-clear. I saw a couple of other planes take off, and veer to the northwest. Decision made: we are going!
He-Who-is-much-smarter-than-your-average-person had the controls for Leg 1 to Alexandria. We decided to climb at maximum angle, and then head west as soon as we were at 500 feet above the ground, since we only had 1.8 nm between the end of runway 07 and the start of the TFR. For good measure I kept my intercept procedures card handy, next to the charts.
Flight is just perfect. Sun is setting over the gently rolling hills of Hunterdon County, it's cooler by a few degrees up at our altitude, the country side is beautiful. All is well. Until He-Who-is-much-smarter-than-your-average-person spots what appears to be another aircraft on our flight path. It's not getting smaller either, which means we are drawing closer. Uh-oh. It's starting to look an awful lot like a Blackhawk helicopter coming towards us. Hmmm. We switch on the second radio to monitor the emergency frequency, and He-Who-is-much-smarter-than-your-average-person decides to execute a 360 south of the lake to see what happens. Now the shape is closer, and I can just make out the unmistakable lines of ......a hot air balloon. Doh!
Relieved and amused we fly on to N85, land (nicely) on 08, and switch seats. He-Who-is-much-smarter-than-your-average-person lets me use his birthday gift from his wife, a Very Nice Headset with a noise cancelling feature. I put it on, start taxiing, and immediately stop the plane. I had to turn off the ANR because I could no longer hear the engine! What if we lost a cylinder on climb-out? He-Who-is-much-smarter-than-your-average-person gave an indulgent smile as I explained my Luddite predicament and showed me the switch. Hey, I have to warm up to this new-fangled technology, you know?
I switched it on once we were at cruising altitude. It was very, very quiet and comfortable. Now I am jealous.
2 comments:
It was a great flight! Those hot air balloons looked gorgeous from above.
Only 4 months until my birthday, in case you bought two of those Bose ANR headsets by accident....
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