A few easy steps to flying in a TFR
Temporary flight restrictions pop up all the time. If you don’t know they are there and you fly into one, you risk a suspension of your pilot license. For student pilots, a TFR over your airport means you probably won’t be training that day but for a private pilot, you can still fly as long as you follow a few simple steps.
Rather than write this next article myself, I asked one of the pilots I know to write it because he recently flew into a TFR. I thought it would be good to hear it straight from someone that did it with explanations of the steps he took to do so. After reading this, you will realize that it’s not as scary as you thought. Thanks for taking the time to write this Jeff.
TFRs Got You Down…?
Jeff Dickenson
For those of us living in the Chicago area, Presidential Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) covering a circle with a diameter of 60 NM for a period of 2 or 3 days, have become a common occurrence. During these periods, I all too often hear pilots complaining about being grounded for yet another weekend. While it is true that most TFRs do prohibit some types of flight operations during certain time periods in certain parts of the airspace, it is simply not true that GA flying is prohibited as a whole. In fact, by following a few simple and easy steps, flying within a TFR is not only allowable, but very simple, and not very far removed from any VFR or IFR cross country flight.
Recently, I had a chance to put flying through a TFR into practice. A couple of weeks ago the President scheduled a visit to Chicago from Saturday August 11th until Monday August 13th causing multiple TFRs to pop up covering his arrival, stay and departure. I had previously planned a family mission from my home airport in Lake in the Hills, IL (3CK) south to Kankakee, IL (KIKK) for Sunday of that weekend. My route of flight would put me square in the middle of the TFR in place but with a little bit of research, I was able to come up with a plan to make it all work.
Step 1 – Read! The first step in planning a flight with a TFR in place is to read the details of the TFR – where is it, what time periods are covered, is there more than one for a given area, what are the rules, etc.? This information is easy to find in a variety of places including DUAT, DUATS and www.tfr.faa.gov. Additionally, most iPad navigation applications (I use WingX Pro) show TFRs plotted on the charts with pop-ups describing the details. After reading through the information a couple of times I discovered that there were two sets of TFRs – one set centered around O’hare that was in effect for about an hour and 15 min on the day of the President’s arrival and for 1 ½ hours the day of his departure. The second TFR was centered just south of the loop and covered the bulk of the President’s stay. In addition, both TFRs had two airspace designations – an inner ring and an outer ring. The inner ring covered a 10 NM radius from center point of the restriction and the outer ring covered a 10-30 NM radius from center. My route of flight would penetrate the outer ring of the TFR covering the President’s stay over the weekend.
Step 2 – Know the rules. I found, as is usually the case, that I would be restricted (with a few exceptions) from flying through the inner ring but that I could fly through the outer ring if I did a few simple things. For this TFR the requirements to fly through the outer ring were – 1) to operate under an IFR or VFR flight plan, 2) squawk a discreet transponder code obtained from ATC and, 3) maintain radio communications during my time in the TFR airspace.
Step 3 – Confirm the rules. The morning of my flight I reviewed the TFR information to be sure nothing had changed. This is an important step because the President’s schedule can and does change. I also got a flight briefing and confirmed my understanding with the briefer.
Step 4 – Follow the rules. For me, flight planning and execution was a simple process. Since I am Instrument Rated, I chose to file an IFR flight plan. On the ground at 3CK (and coming home from KIKK) I picked up my clearance, ATC frequency and Squawk Code. The ATC controller reminded me to have my transponder on before take off (the NOTAM describing the TFR stated this as well). By getting my clearance on the ground, I covered the 3 requirements of the TFR. From there, my flight was just like any ordinary IFR flight. Had I chosen to fly under VFR plan, not much would have been different in that circumstance either, except that instead of opening my flight plan in the air, I would have called Flight Service on the ground to do so. I would also have received my frequency and transponder code at that time as well. Another difference flying VFR would have been the requirement to maintain ATC communication throughout the flight. While this is not a normal requirement of flying VFR (in Class E or Class G airspace), I usually get radar services (you should too!) for my cross country VFR flights so ATC contact feels normal. Note – if you are not comfortable talking to ATC please do yourself a favor and get help from an instructor before attempting to fly through a TFR!
One final thought – even though the process of flying through a TFR really is simple and easy, screwing up has consequences which can include seeing an F-16 looming large in your windscreen! Know the details before you fly. Ask for clarification. Execute your plan. Just in case, I did spend a few minutes familiarizing myself with intercept procedures and knew that if anything happened I should just tune to 121.5 and follow instructions.
In the end I had a very successful outcome and only spent maybe an extra half hour planning my flight because of the TFR. The flight itself was completely uneventful. The fact that there was a TFR in place was certainly not a reason to stay on the ground! Don’t let the next one keep you from exercising your pilot privileges either!