[JYO] FAA TO ESTABLISH DC AREA FLIGHT RESTRICTIONS FOR STATE OF THE UNION SPEECH

==> ATTENTION PILOTS <==

FAA TO ESTABLISH FLIGHT RESTRICTIONS  FOR STATE OF THE UNION SPEECH 
AOPA cautions pilots flying in the Washington,  D.C., area next
Tuesday evening, January 20, that flight restrictions will be  in
place for President Bush's State of the Union address. 

The  government has designated the speech a "National Security
Special Event,"  which means that the Secret Service assumes the
role of lead agency for  implementing a counterterrorism
operational security plan. The consequences  for inadvertently
violating the restricted airspace could be tragic.  

"While the scope of airspace affected by this TFR [temporary
flight  restriction] is expansive, it is time limited," said
AOPA President Phil  Boyer. "After months of criticizing the
FAA for issuing last-minute  restrictions, we're pleased that
the agency has given pilots nearly five full  days' notice."

General aviation aircraft operating under VFR will be  prohibited
from flying in the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Area Air  Defens
Identification Zone (ADIZ) or the flight restricted zone  (FRZ)
over Washington from 8 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. local time Tuesday.
Also,  waivers to Notam 3/2126 will be suspended during that time.
AOPA reminds  pilots that the ADIZ basically follows the same
footprint as the  Baltimore-Washington Class B but with an
extension to the south. See AOPA  Online for a graphic 
(  http://www.aopa.org/images/whatsnew/newsitems/2003/03-1-063x.jpg ).

There  will be exceptions, however, for GA aircraft flying on IFR
flight plans to or  from Dulles International Airport (IAD) or
Baltimore-Washington International  Airport (BWI) as long as they
remain in constant communication with air  traffic control and
squawk discrete transponder codes. See AOPA Online for  the full text
of the notam ( http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/notams.html#4/0413  ).

Because TFR airspace frequently changes, AOPA strongly  encourages
pilots to obtain a briefing and CHECK NOTAMS before every  flight.
With the focus on security, AOPA implores all pilos to  fly
carefully. 


==> HELPFUL WEB LINKS <==

AOPA's  Real-Time Flight Planner provides up-to-the-minute graphical
depictions of  TFRs ( http://www.aopa.org/flight_planner/ ).
Check the FAA's TFR Web site (  http://tfr.faa.gov ).

Download the AOPA Air Safety Foundation's intercept  procedures card  
( http://download.aopa.org/epilot/2003/intercept.pdf  )or review ASF's 
"Know Before You Go" program (  http://www.aopa.org/asf/know_before/ ).

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