POTUS in the House
Temporary Flight Restrictions or TFRs are, as the name implies, a special restriction placed on civil aircraft in a certain area for a certain timeframe. Lately there have been tons of these issued for the many wild land fires we have had here in Northern California. Sometimes you absolutely cannot fly in these areas, or sometimes you just need to be cleared by air traffic control. The fire TFRs of late have not been a problem for me, since they are generally in the mountains and off the beaten path in areas I seldom need to pass through. But today there has been a TFR that is getting in everybody’s way, including mine.
President George W. Bush is landing today, first in Redding, then at Travis Air Force Base and then at Napa. A TFR, including a 10-mile radius “no fly zone” has been issued at all three locations. Today I had a client with a meeting in Davis, which fell within the TFR around Travis Air Force Base. I let the client know that POTUS was to be in the neighborhood and that to avoid delays it would be smart to be up and out of here before 3:00 pm. He wasn’t happy about it, but understood and we headed for our next stop in Colusa at 2:30. His last stop was in Stockton, which would have taken us through the TFR again. I filed a flight plan in hopes of getting clearance through the TFR. I was cleared to pass through the outer edge of the TFR and beleive it or not, I heard the air traffic controller talking to Air Force One as it they departed the area.
It is nice to fly out here on the west coast, because no-fly zones are rare. Stumbling into one in a small plane could quickly end up with a fighter jet escort and the loss of a pilot certificate or even jail time. Hopefully that hasn’t happened to any of my pilot comrades today.