Updates & Proposed Changes
CLASS C CONFLICT with CHINO Traffic Pattern
The Los Angeles Terminal Area Chart (TAC) is updated every 56 days.
How to REPORT CHART ISSUES: "Aeronautical Inquiries"
Use this link: http://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/flight_info/aeronav/aero_data/aeronautical_inquiries
VFR CHART CHANGE NOTICES:
The Western Service Center Operations Support Group provided the attached “CHARTING NOTICE – 56-Day Visual Charts” from the FAA web site; https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/flight_info/aeronav/safety_alerts/
The notice states; "Like other FAA Supplement, Enroute and Terminal products, each new visual navigation chart title panel will indicate the applicable AIRAC effective date range and no longer include an edition number.”
As the IFR charts on 56-day publishing schedule do not have an edition number, the new 56-day visual charts will be identified in the same way using effective dates.
AIRSPACE NEWS & PROPOSALS
04/16/2025 - Los Angeles / Santa Barbara Low Flying Violations - Notice Number: NOTC4361
There has been a significant number of minimum safe altitude violations in the Southern California area especially in the Los Angeles and Santa Barbara areas. Specific areas include Point Dume, Simi Valley, and coastal communities. Many of these flights are occurring during dual instruction flights using different practice areas. It is imperative that all pilots review and maintain the required minimum safe altitudes per 14 CFR 91.119.
Flight Instructors providing dual instruction must maintain situational awareness as to their altitude, especially during low-level flight maneuvers. - It is asked that Flight Instructors not utilize the same flight routes and practice areas multiple times daily or day after day, to avoid becoming a nuisance to the neighborhoods and people on the ground.
Pilots flying for recreation must maintain minimum safe altitudes per 14 CFR 91.119 over congested areas. Some areas of high terrain are in congested areas. Pilots need to keep their proper altitude above the ground and horizontal distances. - If the purpose of the flight is to fly along the coast, then pilots must maintain minimum safe altitudes over congested areas and not descend early before the open water. Once over the open water pilots still must maintain minimum safe altitudes in accordance with 14 CFR 91.119.
Keep in mind that the coastal terrain along most of California rises quickly. Being at 1000' Above Ground Level over the water will usually require a climb when flying back over land. - Pilots should be aware that the public has access to aircraft altitudes through multiple online applications, and those low-altitude flights are being reported to the local FAA Flight Standards District Offices daily.
For all flights that violate the minimum safe altitude prescribed by 14 CFR 91.119, the FAA will take the most appropriate action to correct the violation. - For more information please contact the Van Nuys Flight Standards District Office at (818) 267-3300.
04/10/2025 Restricted Airspace - Washington D.C. Area
Special Flight Rules Area (SFRA)
The Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area Special Flight Rules Area (DC SFRA) is roughly a circular area with a 30 nautical mile (about 33 statute miles) radius around Washington, D.C., and surrounds the Flight-Restricted Zone (FRZ).
The Leesburg Executive Airport is located on the boundary of the SFRA. The Leesburg Maneuvering Area was developed to ease access into and out of Leesburg airport. The current Code of Federal Regulations detail proper procedures to access the area. Flight exercise operations at non-controlled tower airports within the SFRA (but not within the DC FRZ) must be conducted in accordance with 14 CFR section 93.339 (C).
There are a number of requirements for aircraft flying within the SFRA:
- Pilots must obtain an advanced clearance from FAA air traffic control to fly within, into, or out of the SFRA.
- Aircraft flying within the SFRA must have an altitude-encoding transponder and it must be operating.
- FAA air traffic control must assign a four-digit number that identifies the aircraft by call sign or registration number when it gives a pilot clearance to fly in the SFRA.
- While flying within the SFRA, the pilot must be in direct contact with air traffic control unless cleared to the local airport traffic advisory frequency.
Flight-Restricted Zone (FRZ)
The Flight-Restricted Zone (FRZ) extends approximately 15 nautical miles (about 17 statute miles) around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The airport is located in Arlington County, VA, four miles from downtown Washington, D.C. The FRZ has been in effect since September 11, 2001.
The only non-governmental flights allowed within the FRZ without a waiver are scheduled commercial flights into and out of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Airlines operating charter flights that support the U.S. government may land at Joint Base Andrews Air Force Base or Ronald Reagan Washington National Airports without a waiver and under certain conditions per FDC NOTAM 8/3032.
Certain general aviation flights may be authorized to fly within the FRZ. Information about waiver applications and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) authorizations can be found at: https://www.tsa.gov/for-industry/general-aviation or by contacting TSA at (571) 227-2071. Individuals may submit a request for an FAA waiver at https://waivers.faa.gov.
Pilots who have been vetted by the TSA are allowed to fly in and out of the three Maryland general aviation airports. Other commercial air carrier flights can be vectored into the FRZ by air traffic controllers. Some approved news and traffic-reporting aircraft are allowed to operate under certain conditions within the FRZ. Contact TSA Maryland Three Program mdthree@tsa.dhs.gov for any questions.
Prohibited Area 56 (P-56)
P-56A & B are prohibited areas surrounding the White House, the National Mall, and the vice president's residence in Washington, D.C.
The only aircraft that are allowed to fly within these prohibited areas are specially authorized flights that are in direct support of the U.S. Secret Service, the Office of the President, or one of several government agencies with missions that require air support within P-56. These prohibited areas have been in effect for about 50 years.
P-56A covers approximately the area west of the Lincoln Memorial (Rock Creek Park) to east of the Capitol (Stanton Square) and between Independence Avenue and K Street up to 18,000 feet.
P-56B covers a small circle with a radius of about one nautical mile (about 1.2 statute miles) surrounding the Naval Observatory on Massachusetts Avenue up to 18,000 feet.
Temporary Flight Restrictions
The FAA institutes temporary flight restrictions for security reasons and many aviation activities like air shows and hazards to aviation such as forest fires, smoke, and volcano plumes. Most temporary flight restrictions (TFRs) are noted on the FAA home page under "Graphic TFRs."
At the request of the U.S. Secret Service, the FAA can restrict airspace around locations where officials are visiting.
Airspace Security Violations
FAA regulations require pilots to check in advance for any flight restrictions that may be in effect on or near their planned routes before they fly. The best way for pilots to do this is to call their Flight Service Stations before take off for briefings on the weather, flight restrictions, and anything else that may affect the area in which they plan to fly. The FAA issues Notices to Air Missions (NOTAMs) to advise pilots of flight restrictions and other special circumstances (such as closed runways, restrictions due to volcanic plumes, etc). Both the NOTAMs and most of the graphic representations of all flight-restricted areas can be found on the FAA home page under "NOTAMs" and "Graphic TFRs." The agency has also performed extensive outreach, in coordination with the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and other aviation groups, when it implements unusually extensive temporary restrictions (such as the Presidential Inauguration, the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, and the G8 Summit).
The FAA has the authority to suspend or revoke a pilot’s certificate or issue civil-penalty (monetary) actions against pilots who violate the Federal Aviation Regulations or federal aviation laws. Other agencies may pursue criminal actions if those are warranted.
Visual Warning System for the SFRA
In some situations, NORAD (the North American Aerospace Defense Command) uses a warning signal to communicate with pilots who fly into the SFRA or FRZ without authorization. The signal uses highly focused red and green lights in an alternating red/ red/green signal pattern. This signal is directed at specific aircraft suspected of making unauthorized entry into the SFRA/FRZ that are on a heading or flight path that may be interpreted as a threat, or that operate contrary to the operating rules for the SFRA/FRZ.
The beam will not injure the eyes of pilots, aircrews or passengers, regardless of altitude or distance from the source.
If pilots are in communication with air traffic control and this signal is directed at their aircraft, they are advised to immediately tell air traffic control that they are being illuminated by a visual-warning signal. If this signal is directed at a pilot who is not communicating with air traffic control, that pilot should turn to a heading away from the center of the FRZ/SFRA as soon as possible and immediately contact air traffic control on an appropriate frequency. If a pilot is unsure of the frequency, he or she should contact air traffic control on VHF guard frequency 121.5 or UHF guard 243.0.
Failure to follow these procedures may result in interception by military aircraft and/or the use of force. This applies to all aircraft operating within the SFRA, including Department of Defense, law enforcement, and aeromedical operations.
04/08/2025 Arizona MOAs - Concern about the current proposal to bring MOAs down to 500'. AGL. - and 100' AGL, and allow Supersonic travel at 5000 LASER Strikes in Arizona are a concern as well. They are a felony in Arizona and convicted folks are subject to up to 5 years in jail and a $11,000 fine. Tree is an FAA Report link.
Here is WHAT TO DO when victimized by Laser:: Laser Strikes Ways for Pilots to Report Laser Incidents by Cary Grant:
- Hit the transponder identification button as soon as pilots are aware of being Lased. This will mark the planes position on the air traffic controllers radar scope, which may help law enforcement triangulate where the laser light is originating from.
- Tell us where the Laser event happened. Was it at a gas station, intersection, etc.?
- Verbally alert ATC of the attack using the phrase laser attack, including direction and location of the laser source, beam color and length of exposure (flash, pulsed or perceived intentional tracking).
- Once on the ground, complete the HYPERLINK: http://www.faa.gov/aircraft/safety/report/laserinfo/ FAA-requested Laser Beam Exposure Questionnaire.
04/08/2025 Saddle Peak Transceiver - OUT of SERVICE - It handles (or did) the Fillmore & Glendale sector (120.4 135.05) was burned up in the Palisades fire. A new tower is expected to be commissioned in February 2027. A secondary frequency is in use (transceiver is atop of Burbank tower, and the Santa Clarita area transmissions are compromised. Noted: there may not be communication NOTAMS that list outages.
04/08/2025 NAVAIDS Currently OUT of SERVICE - Santa Monica, Fillmore, Pomona, Homeland, Lake Hughes, Jullian, LAX TACAN & Ventura. This circumstance makes having GPS capability important.
04/08/2025 RCO NPRM - Possible removal of the RCO system may inconvenience pilots. The potential for pilot reports may be jeopardized. There is a COMMENT PERIOD in place, AOPA is concerned, They are concerned with Flight Service when airborne. They are more in favor of a phased close down of the unused RCOs. AOPA will participate in an upcoming SRM meeting. Link for making a comment: Federal Register :: Notice of Intent To Decommission Flight Service Remote Communications Outlets (RCOs)
04/08/2025 SMO VOR - Currently out of service at the moment suggesting that a waypoint needs to be charted as when the VOR is out of service. Also, should the airport close on December 31,2028, as the City of Santa Monica currently desires, it is unclear if the VOR will continue to exist. The VOR is a part of several procedures including arrivals into LAX.
04/08/2025 The nearby KWHP "4 STACKS," long out of industrial use are in the process of being removed. This presents a plethora of problems as they are depicted on Procedure Charts and Navigational Charts and have been used as the basis of situational awareness (e.g. departures from WHP) in the area. The removal is being completed with the goal to restrict toxic emissions from escaping.
This affects the 4 Stacks Visual Runway 15 procedure into BUR in addition to other examples (the 4 stacks depicted as a charted obstacle) that must be rewritten. Several agencies including FAA Runway Safety, Tracon, the FAA Western Region Service Center, are concerned. As the 4 Stacks sit on the boarder of Whiteman's Class D airspace and the inner circle of Burbank's Class Charlie Airspace, one concern is that pilots from out of the area will follow the AIM departure procedure to climb to 700' departing KWHP prior to turning crosswind and incur a Burbank Class C airspace violation. An are of concern is possible confusion created by three airports in close proximity that upon occasion has resulted in aircraft approaching an unintended airport.
03/31/2025 LAX AREA Transition Route Considerations - Do to concerns motivated by the recent Washington D.C. Reagan National Mid-Air collision, LAX tower management is addressing precautionary steps planned to enhance safety. Of concern are go arounds from LAX and the potential to conflict with VFR transition routes. LOAs have been cancelled for the offshore Banner tow route that has been flown at 150'. The nearby Shoreline Helicopter route (usually only used when there is westerly flow winds) (though that does not parallel the DC accident) at 150' within Class B airspace is in the crosshairs. It is assumed by some that the route will remain available. The Mini Route at 2500' over KLAX is also of concern. Should a jet go missed at 3000' some distance away might continue speedily at that altitude creating a potential calamity with Mini Route traffic. Due to staffing shortages at the LAX tower cab, it may not be possible to oversee Mini Route VFR transitions through the Class B airspace. That route whose use has been challenged for some time will no doubt remain depicted on the TAC chart but not enabled. The last change will be the Sepulveda Route going from 1500 feet to 2500 feet. The intent is to move the transition to a less congested area. The date of this change is still upcoming.
Navigation Charts - The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is increasing pilot safety and airspace awareness by marking more space launch activity areas on navigation charts.
Adding space launch activity areas to the navigation charts used by pilots who fly visually responds to the recent and expected continued growth of commercial space operations. All 12 FAA-licensed spaceports, and other federal and private launch and reentry sites, are represented on the charts by a rocket symbol. These areas are in Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia.
Pilots can download the free charts and reference the FAA Aeronautical Chart User’s Guide for more information. In addition, the FAA encourages pilots to check the NOTAM database for any Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) issued to divert air traffic from where space operations are scheduled.
In 2020, the FAA licensed 41 commercial space launches and reentries, the most in the agency’s history. For 2021, that number could reach 50 or more. Pilots also need to be aware of NASA, military and other government launches that the FAA does not license.
To learn more about how the FAA safely and efficiently integrates commercial space operations in the National Airspace System, please listen to the Ticket to Space episode of the agency’s The Air Up There podcast.
Needed - Additional LA TAC Flyway Routes:
Additional attention needs to be focused on two critical LA Basin flight path directions.
At this time the LA TAC Flyway Chart needs to address, via the creation of New Flyway Routes, the following:
1. Departing Torrance Area Northeast Bound (and arriving)
2. Departing Torrance Area Southeast Bound (and arriving)
These proposals should also consider the added dimension created by the flights that are exiting the LA Special Flight Rules Area, and those flights that are departing the MINI route as well. Any quick glimpse at the chart regarding this airspace will note that the Long Beach Airport (KLGB) Class Delta airspace looms to the east; and realizing that KLGB accommodates many GA and Commercial arrivals and departures, safe routes for VFR traffic that will avoid conflict with those arrivals, would make improved flight safety sense.
One only has to recall a February 2016 mid-air collision near San Pedro involving a Citabria flying to Torrance (speaking to Torrance Tower) and a Beechcraft 35. That accident resulted in 3 fatalities.