DC ADIZ

Among the many annoyances created by the events of Sept. 11, 2001, was the "ADIZ" around Washington, DC. An ADIZ is an Air Defense Identification Zone, and such a thing has existed since before I learned to fly along US coastlines. However, these ADIZ's are not much trouble for pilots -- traversing them at normal speeds does not trigger any official reaction and is not illegal. (Flying far into them is unwise for those in single engine airplanes because you will soon be beyond gliding distance of land in case the engine fails).

The Washington ADIZ is something else -- a region where general aviation flight is tightly controlled and in a large part of the area not even allowed. The FAA has created an online course to familiarize pilots with the procedures, and announced recently that by February, every pilot flying VFR near the DC area needed to take the course. I had been hoping that the ADIZ might be abolished with the change in administration, since I see it as a hysterical reaction to the terrorist attacks and not a rational decision. Compared to an SUV, a general aviation airplane is little threat to the monuments and facilities in the capital -- and you can still drive an SUV, with a gross weight 3 times that of a Cessna 172, right up to the Ellipse in front of the White House without violating any laws or even attracting much notice. But I digress.

Last week, the FAA announced that the ADIZ was permanent. So, I decided I might as well take the course. It wasn't difficult and did show me a few things I didn't know -- like the procedures I would have to follow if I wanted to visit my old home airport, Potomac, where I used to lease 20% of a Beechcraft Bonanza F33A. (By the way, if anyone knows of somewhere near DC or St. Michaels where I could rent a Bonanza, please let me know! I've discovered a number of missions that would benefit from Bonanza speed.) There's a 4-digit PIN, in addition to the "squawk" on the transponder and the approach controller's frequency, that you need to fly into those close-in airports.

But the main purpose of the course is evidently to prevent pilots from penetrating the ADIZ by accident through sloppy navigation. With the G1000 I figure I have little risk of that, but I might as well be an official, approved DC-area pilot. I took the quiz that goes with the course and got a perfect score. I'll post my completion certificate so everyone can see what it looks like. Everything came out except my name, which is on my copy of the certificate in pdf format -- the Blogspot software can't handle that and when I cut and paste it into Paint and write it back out as a bitmap, my name disappears.

The DC ADIZ is an unnecessary reaction to the events of September 11. However, it seems we are stuck with it for the time being, and the FAA itself has made a good start at administering it better so that accidental incursions can be reduced. While no one has yet tried to attack the capital with a general aviation airplane, a handful of pilots have been intercepted by Blackhawk helicopters, or worse, F-16's, while operating inside the ADIZ without the proper clearance and/or equipment. A person can't be a successful fighter pilot without being a little trigger-happy. Someday, someone is going to be shot down by mistake. I'm doing what I can to make sure it isn't me.