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Re: [TowerTalk] FAA & Private Airstrips

To: Gene Fuller <w2lu@rochester.rr.com>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] FAA & Private Airstrips
From: Mickey Baker <fishflorida@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 30 Dec 2011 10:55:11 -0500
List-post: <towertalk@contesting.com">mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
Since there isn't a published instrument approach to this strip, anyone who 
flies there under instrument conditions and makes a descent to land is taking 
their life in their own hands.

It is illegal to fly @200' almost everywhere except during an approach to an 
airport, but that doesn't mean someone won't do it.

I would make sure to file the FAA/FCC paperwork and note the proximity to the 
field, giving them the opportunity to put the tower on charts. They'll allow 
the construction to 200', almost certainly, but if I were flying into that 
airport, I'd want to know where and how high that tower is... 

But there are trees that tall close to airports in many parts of the west!

Mickey N4MB

On Dec 30, 2011, at 2:20 AM, "Gene Fuller" <w2lu@rochester.rr.com> wrote:

> We have some commercial towers in the area of the final approach to one of 
> the runways here in Rochester. As I heard one pilot say "run into one of 
> those guys  on a foggy night and you could ruin the whole trip".
> Gene / W2LU
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Al Kozakiewicz" <akozak@hourglass.com>
> To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
> Sent: Friday, December 30, 2011 12:34 AM
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] FAA & Private Airstrips
> 
> 
>> My very limited flight instruction was long ago and never put to use.  I 
>> seem to recall that the downwind and base legs were no exception to 
>> minimum clearances, but I also recall that I was a great looking dude in 
>> those days and I doubt that was accurate either...
>> 
>> My sense is that a ham would have to be VERY close to an airport to be 
>> denied the ability to erect a typical tower.  As an example, WTRY is close 
>> to the Albany County NY airport and its towers (200-300 feet based on the 
>> illumination) are either in, or practically so, the approach/departure to 
>> runway 1.
>> 
>> At any rate, like I said, when we wanted to put up 80 foot lighting 
>> towers, the town wanted an opinion from the FAA and we got an answer in a 
>> couple of weeks.
>> 
>> Al
>> AB2ZY
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: towertalk-bounces@contesting.com 
>> [mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of K8RI
>> Sent: Friday, December 30, 2011 12:10 AM
>> To: towertalk@contesting.com
>> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] FAA & Private Airstrips
>> 
>> On 12/29/2011 8:25 PM, Al Kozakiewicz wrote:
>>> The FAA does render an opinion on these matters pretty quickly.  The 
>>> youth football organization I was an officer of a few years back wanted 
>>> to erect lights on a field which literally overlooked the Schenectady 
>>> County airport.  There was no adverse finding.
>>> 
>>> IIRC, aircraft are required to maintain a clearance of 500 feet below.  A 
>>> runway glidepath is an obvious exception.
>> 
>> So is being within 1.5 Nautical miles and practically under the
>> pattern.   500 feet is the minimum altitude in sparsely settled areas,
>> but the clearance to people and buildings is much greater.  I do not have 
>> the AIM (Airman's Information manual) handy so I can't look it up, but 
>> it's not applicable to aircraft landing or taking off. So at less than 1.5 
>> miles and pretty much under the pattern they could be almost any altitude.
>> 
>> 73
>> 
>> Roger (K8RI)  www.rogerhalstead.com
>>> 
>>> FAR Part 77 covers the subject of navigation obstructions.  Here is a
>>> good Powerpoint tutorial:
>>> http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/F2C1829F-7969-4A47-ADCC-64C6B6320
>>> BA0/0/FAR_Part77.pdf
>>> 
>>> Al
>>> AB2ZY
>>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: towertalk-bounces@contesting.com
>>> [mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of William Hein
>>> Sent: Thursday, December 29, 2011 7:57 PM
>>> To: towertalk@contesting.com
>>> Subject: [TowerTalk] FAA&  Private Airstrips
>>> 
>>> My family and I recently moved to a wonderful house in beautiful Glade 
>>> Park CO (on the other side of Colorado National Monument from Grand 
>>> Junction.  The house itself is an ultra-energy efficient Earthship 
>>> (Google "Glade Park Earthship" for more info).  We have 35 rural acres of 
>>> land around our house in a low population density rural area.  All in all 
>>> it's going to be a great place for ham radio.
>>> 
>>> I've had stations in Malibu CA (as KC6EDP and AA6TT), Tiffany CO (as 
>>> AA6TT/0) and Topsham VT (AA6TT/1 and NT1Y) so I have some idea of what 
>>> works and what doesn't with regard to terrain, RF and the ionosphere.  In 
>>> this regard my new location is superb with great 'shots' to EU and JA and 
>>> elsewhere and is confirmed by the success the other ham who lives up 
>>> here - Jerry K0DU - has in contests and pileups.  I'm counting the days 
>>> until the ground thaws and tower construction can start in earnest - I've 
>>> been off the air due to a heavy workload for several years and I'm dying 
>>> to be back on the air.
>>> 
>>> Since moving in I've noticed a small private plane passing overhead 
>>> fairly low (I'd say 100 feet or less) on a regular basis and landing 
>>> nearby.  Checking Google Maps aerial photos I discovered a small grass 
>>> airstrip with a windsock - "Pinyon Airport" - on what I believe is 
>>> private land a little over 5 km SE of me (5.586 km per Google).  The 
>>> runway is not pointed towards my house nevertheless seeing the plane 
>>> flyover directly overhead so low motivate me to Google FAA, airports and 
>>> towers.  Here is a picture from Google Maps of my house with a line drawn 
>>> to the closest point on the airstrip:
>>> 
>>> http://www.aa7xt.com/
>>> 
>>> if you want to take a gander at my place on Google Maps yourself:
>>> 
>>>  39.013949 N
>>> -108.744371 W
>>> 
>>> 479 South 16 1/2 Road
>>> Glade Park CO 81523
>>> 
>>> The FAA Website TOWAIR indicated that "Structure does not require 
>>> registration"after I plugged in my coordinates along with elevation 
>>> (6840-ft ASL approx.). There are no airports within 8 kilometers (5 
>>> miles) of the coordinates you provided."  TOWAIR went on to caution 
>>> "TOWAIR's findings are not definitive or binding".  Since "Pinyon 
>>> Airport" (a rather pretentious designation for a grass airstrip with a 
>>> windsock) is 5.5 km away I am guess it is either not registered with the 
>>> FAA or somehow doesn't count as a real airport.
>>> 
>>> I have a 142-foot Big Bertha tower which I previously had installed in 
>>> Vermont which I intend to reinstall here along with at least one other 
>>> 100-ft + tower and a few smaller structures.  For many reasons I'd hate 
>>> to see a airplane run into Bertha.
>>> 
>>> So what should I do now?  Contact the FAA for an opinion?  Find out who 
>>> owns the airstrip and give them a verbal or written heads up on my tower 
>>> plans and also request they avoid flying low over my house?  Something 
>>> else?
>>> 
>>> 73
>>> Bill
>>> 
>>> -----
>>> William Hein, AA7XT
>>> (ex-AA4XT, NT1Y, AA6TT, KC6EDP)
>>> 
>>> AMSAT Life Member
>>> ARRL Life Member
>>> UKSMG Member
>>> 
>>> 1st W to OH0 QSO on 6m
>>> 1st North America to Asia QSO on 60m
>>> 
>>> Tel   +1 (970) 628-5120
>>> Email   Bill.AA7XT@Gmail.com
>>> Loc:  DM59pa
>>> Web   AA7XT.com
>>> Web   twitter.com/williamhein
>>> AIM / iChat / iMessage   william.hein@me.com
>>> Skype   williamhein
>>> find me on Facebook&  Four Square
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
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