Psycho Sensei

For those who may not know much about general aviation, when this branch of flying began, small aircraft manufacturers touted their wares as the next logical phase of American travel. Everyone had cars in their driveways, now everyone could own an aircraft and use it to fly where they wished. And for those who decided to take to the skies, after a hefty amount of training (average of 60+ air hours plus written exams, flight tests, etc.) you could either purchase an aircraft, join a flying club, or rent an aircraft at your local airport, and as long as you stayed out of certain restricted areas, and complied with the airspace rules, you could basically go where you wanted without asking permission first. In many ways, it became the same as driving your car to grandma's house.

Of course, after 9/11 this all changed. In a misguided attempt to make people "feel better," the Bush Administration grounded general aviation totally. This included business jets, trips to grandma's, pleasure trips, and everything that was not scheduled airline service. When the restrictions eased, they first eased for scheduled airlines, despite the fact that general aviation was in no way involved in any of the attacks.

After a series of confusing, draconian, and inconsistent rules, etc., things gradually got back to almost normal. That is, until we went to Code Orange a number of months back. Then, "Defense Zones" were established above several urban areas. When we went back to Code Yellow we all hoped that these "Defense Zones" would go away. They did...everywhere except the Washington, DC area.

So, what does this "Defense Zone" do? Pilots are required to file flight plans for any types of fight whatsoever, then wait for a "discrete squawk code" to place in their transponders prior to taking off. After take off, you must follow your flight plan, or face being shot down by fighter jets. To get into any airport within the ADIZ, you must circle outside and attempt to break into overcrowded frequencies and get permission from overworked air traffic controllers. One aircraft already has run out of gas and crashed while waiting for permission.

What does this do for security? Absolutely nothing except inconvenience and
possibly endanger general aviation pilots. Proof of this occurs on a rather frequent basis. For example, last night I heard the roar of afterburners over my house as two F-16s were scrambled to find a hapless pilot who made a mistake and breached the zone. Despite this, the pilot in question figured out his mistake and exited the area before being intercepted. In other words, the ADIZ was breached, and the pilot escaped, flying an aircraft whose speed is akin to a pedestrian on the autobahn in relation to the aircraft chasing him.

Further, these flight plans can be filed by anyone. The name of the pilot in command is not even checked against the pilot database to make sure that the pilot has a license, or is qualified to file let's say an instrument plan. "Mickey Mouse" could be cleared to proceed direct to Dulles (but not to National because general aviation is no longer allowed there).

So why do I even care? Well, there are a number of reasons, the first of which being that i'm a pilot and flight instructor who highly enjoyed getting into my airplane at Gaithersburg, MD, flying north to a practice area, and "boring holes in the sky." Not anymore. Now they want to know who I am, what time I'm leaving, where exactly I'm going, etc., and then I get to sit and wait on the runway for an undertermined amount of time while filing this flight plan, and then another undetermined amount of time before I am allowed to get my code and leave. Then I have someone watching me at least until I leave the ADIZ area. While I don't mind being watched as one of a group of maybe 200 anonymous airplanes in the area at the time, seen only as incidental blips, I DO mind that they know everything possible about me and are tracking me as if I were a criminal. But then, as a GA pilot, I AM a suspected terrorist.

What also bothers me about this is where it could lead. Who is next? There's been talk about it being the boaters. Maybe it will be the truck drivers. After all, they reason that a GA pilot COULD be carrying explosives and COULD fly into the White House. Without debating whether that would be a good thing or a bad thing, doesn't it follow that a truck COULD be carrying enough explosive to drive close enough to the White House to blow it up? The argument would go that it is necessary to have truck drivers file "drive plans" and use GPS or other types of transponders linked directly to governmental agencies who track them to make sure they don't go too close to the White House or other places, like Disneyworld. This would definitely make a lot more sense than targetting general aviation aircraft. After all, while no GA has been involved in any terrorist activity in the US, a truck bomb blew up in Oklahoma City.

And why limit it to truck drivers? Those RV drivers most certainly could pack a load of explosives, as could large SUVs. Perhaps they should be required to let the government know before they take to the road. The Dell Interns would be required to file a drive plan and would be shot at if they deviated. Of course, this would inconvenience law abiding citizens, but you can't be too secure, can you?