September/October 2021 AIRPORTS and AIRSPACE Federal Aviation 8 From Shrimp 16 The Advantages 24 Paving the Way Administration Boats to of Airport Forward with Satellites Adventuring Airport Grants ABOUT THIS ISSUE… U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration ISSN: 1057-9648 FAA Safety Briefing September/October 2021 Volume 60/Number 5 The September/October 2021 issue of FAA Safety Briefing focuses on airports and airspace, which are integral parts of the National Pete Buttigieg Secretary of Transportation Airspace System’s (NAS) infrastructure. Articles in this issue Steve Dickson Administrator explore the value of our nation’s vast array of public-use airports Chris Rocheleau Acting Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety and their importance to the communities they serve. We also Rick Domingo Executive Director, Flight Standards Service highlight some critical “rules of the sky,” explore nearly a century Susan K. Parson Editor of evolution in the NAS, and review some best practices for Tom Hoffmann Managing Editor communicating with air traffic control. James Williams Associate Editor / Photo Editor Jennifer Caron Copy Editor / Quality Assurance Lead Paul Cianciolo Associate Editor / Social Media John Mitrione Art Director Published six times a year, FAA Safety Briefing, formerly FAA Aviation News, promotes aviation safety by discussing current technical, regulatory, and procedural aspects affecting the safe operation and Contact Information maintenance of aircraft. Although based on current FAA policy and rule The magazine is available on the internet at: interpretations, all material is advisory or informational in nature and should www.faa.gov/news/safety_briefing not be construed to have regulatory effect. Certain details of accidents described herein may have been altered to protect the privacy of those involved. 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DEPARTMENTS 2 Jumpseat: an executive policy perspective The FAA Safety Policy Voice of Non-commercial General Aviation 3 ATIS: GA news and current events 5 Aeromedical Advisory: a checkup on all things aeromedical 6 Condition Inspection: a look at specific medical conditions 19 Checklist: FAA resources and safety reminders 30 Drone Debrief: drone safety roundup 32 Nuts, Bolts, and Electrons: GA maintenance issues 33 Angle of Attack: GA safety strategies 34 Vertically Speaking: safety issues for Mission Possible rotorcraft pilots 20 Advocating for General Aviation in the TFR Process 35 Flight Forum: letters from the Safety Briefing mailbag 36 Postflight: an editor’s perspective Inside back cover FAA Faces: FAA employee profile From Shrimp Boats to Satellites The Advantages of Adventuring 8 The Evolution of the National Airspace 16 Using Airport Visits to Advance Skills System (and Pilot Stories!) 12 (Don’t) Drop the Mic! Take Our Quiz to Sound Like a Pro on the Radio 24 Paving the Way Forward How Federal Airport Grants Provide the Lifeblood for U.S. Airport Safety and Infrastructure 27 Making It Count How Aircraft Transponder Signals Take the Guesswork Out of Counting Non-Towered Airport Operations September/October 2021 1 JUMPSEAT RICK DOMINGO, FLIGHT STANDARDS SERVICE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RAMPING UP Over the past 18 months, we have experienced all kinds of COVID-re- lated events. The pandemic has given us plenty of opportunities to develop new habits and skills, and to exer- cise words like “unprecedented.” In far too many cases, though, it has deprived us of the ability to exercise other vocabularies and skills we once completed with ease. That list is long, but for purposes of this publication we will focus on the potential for lost proficiency in aviation activities. If you are a regular reader of this magazine, you probably subscribe as airspace, and air traffic control (ATC) past 18 months. As we have previously well to some of the aviation commu- — to include a look at the elements observed, though, “Aviation-ese” really nity’s excellent publications. Across comprising these fundamental parts is a unique language with a distinctive the board, there has been a lot of of our nation’s aviation infrastructure. grammar and vocabulary. Anyone who ink (real and electronic) invested On the subject of airports, we’ll has studied a foreign language can in reminders on how to regain and review some of the concepts you attest to the fact that fluency fades fast maintain proficiency. The FAA Safety need to regain both competence and when you don’t use it on a regular basis. Briefing team has long contributed confidence to venture beyond the There’s no substitute for real practice, to these efforts. If you are looking home ‘drome once again. Among which can include engaging with any for a one-stop-shop review of flying other things, the team takes a look of the many ATC simulation tools. To fundamentals, take a fresh look at at some of the app-based resources help you get started though, we will the January/February 2018 “Back to that can contribute to safe operations review the fundamentals of working Basics” issue, along with the “Chal- around new or dimly remembered with ATC. We think you will also lenge and Response” theme in this destinations. We also note the 75th enjoy the retrospective on how today’s year’s January/February edition. anniversary of this country’s airport national airspace system, or NAS, grant program, which helps support a evolved from its humble origins to the Competence and Confidence crucial part of aviation infrastructure. world-class service it offers today. Proficiency with flying skills is obvi- Venturing to different destinations On a personal note: This will be ously important; after all, it’s the first involves navigating airspace in addition my last Jumpseat column, because I item in the well-known Aviate-Nav- to the airports you visit. It’s important am retiring after 27 years of federal igate-Communicate trifecta. But the to remember that airspace configura- service. It has been a privilege to muscle memory involved in piloting tions can change with each chart cycle, “meet” you in these pages to share our an aircraft might sometimes be easier sometimes quite substantially. Don’t passion for aviation, and for aviation to restore than the mental muscles just assume you know the airspace you safety. I wish you all the very best — involved in navigating and commu- plan to traverse. Long before you head blue skies and tailwinds! nicating, both in the air and on the to the airport, sit down with a set of the ground. That’s part of the rationale most current charts and check care- LEARN MORE behind the FAA Safety Briefing’s fully for any changes. March/April 2021 “Enhancing Surface If you’re going places again via air- Archived issues of FAA Safety Briefing Safety” theme. This current issue plane, it’s likely that you’ll need to com- bit.ly/FAASB-Arc builds on that work with a review municate with ATC. ATC phraseology of subject matter related to airports, might not have changed much in the 2 FAA Safety Briefing GA NEWS AND CURRENT EVENTS ATIS AVIATION NEWS ROUNDUP real time as it travels through the National Airspace System (NAS). This new capability increases safety for all airspace users and assists the FAA in efficiently managing air traffic during space operations. The Space Data Integrator (SDI) prototype automates the delivery of vehicle-related telemetry data to the FAA Air Traffic Control System Com- mand Center. This vastly improves the FAA’s situational awareness of where the vehicle is as it travels to space or as it returns to Earth. In addition to existing tools, the FAA can also use New Runway Safety Sim Released Check out the animation library at SDI to manage air traffic more effi- A new animation to the Runway RunwaySafetySimulator.com to learn ciently as a space operation progresses Safety Pilot Simulator stresses the more about this and other topics like and address contingencies in the event importance of saying “unable” when eliminating distractions and avoid- of an anomaly during a mission. pilots are not ready or able to accept a ing runway confusion. The Runway Previously, the FAA had to close clearance from ATC. Safety Pilot Simulator also contains airspace for extended periods of time 14 CFR section 91.123 requires three scenarios for both new and when a launch or reentry vehicle a pilot to follow all ATC clearances rusty pilots to practice taxiing on travels through the NAS.