On 14 Nov 2003 00:21:07 GMT, (Teacherjh)
wrote:

but gosh, it's hard to miss a city.

Actually, it's quite rural around the boundaries of the DC ADIZ.

Don't tell that to me. I live in this "rural" area under the edge of
the ADIZ and it's getting less so every day. Anyway, the boundaries
of the ADIZ are one thing, the boundaries of the FRZ within the ADIZ
are another.

I didn't write this next quote.
But 600? That's ineptitude on a grand scale

Well, something's broke. Maybe it's not the pilots? Last time I was in the DC
area ATC was talking about scrambling jets becuase a pilot was confused about
which code he was supposed to use (they gave him two - one at the start of the
flight for the ADIZ and one when he was approaching it)

What's broken is the assumption that ATC is staffed and equipped well
enough to handle the ADIZ and FRZ rules *reliably*. For that matter,
civil aviation in general isn't well equipped to handle this ignorant
bit of policy.

I'd like to know how many terrorists were stopped by these intercepts.

It's a Pink Elephant defense: Seen any Pink Elephants? No? Then it
must be working.

It's real easy to sit on a high horse. But you make mistakes too. (and by
"you" I mean every reader here, including me) And the mistake you're most
likely to make next is the one you don't think you'll ever make because you
know better.

As with anything, it's not the making of mistakes, it's the magnitude
of the mistake and how far you go before it is discovered. I won't
deny making mistakes. I've filed my share of ASRS reports. The
difference is that I am always looking for ways to cross check my
decisions. Hopefully, I won't go too far before I discover my
mistakes.

Folks, despite our best wishes, we can't go flying the way the we did
in the last century. Temporary restrictions are popping up all over
the place. Anyone who flies a cross country trip without previously
checking up on these things is just asking for trouble. This is a
mistake on par with not preflighting an aircraft before the first
flight of the day. To me, this is like forgetting to get dressed in
the morning before walking outdoors.

Anyway, for those of you who are not based anywhere near the DC ADIZ
here is my recommendation:

File IFR.

And if you don't have the rating, I strongly recommend you get one
before flying here. I say this because even if you're flying VFR in
the ADIZ, Potomac Approach doesn't care. You're still practically on
an IFR flight plan anyway, with none of the privileges or services an
IFR flight receives. Flying VFR, and navigating by landmarks in
particular, is just asking for trouble --unless you're based here and
are already very familiar with the area.

Sorry folks, that's the way it is. If you don't like it, please
complain to your congress critters. I have. I got a letter from
Senator Mikulski and a staggeringly ignorant form letter from Admiral
Loy. We aren't making enough noise about this issue. Until we do,
this aviation paranoia will get worse, not better.


Jake Brodsky,
PP ASEL IA, Cessna Cardinal N30946, Based @ FME
Amateur Radio Station AB3A