ARE YOU LOOKING FOR ME?

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col.EDWARD H. LINCH III
  • 12th Air Force and Air Forces Southern
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. --  As a general aviation pilot, I fly through military operating areas! ... And since I use my global positioning system moving map display, I can fly right along the border of a restricted area. My Mode C altitude reading sometimes doesn't work, and I tend to turn my radio off for most of the flight. I rarely call air traffic control because  I hate being vectored -- too inconvenient.

I've even flown from Oshkosh, Wis., to West Palm, Fla., without talking to a soul.   I fly direct to save time and gas, and, yes, I'm 100 percent legal.

If you believe I'm a cowboy aviator, you're wrong. I fully fly and maintain my aircraft well within Federal Aviation Administration regulations, using airmanship skills developed and honed as an Air Force fighter pilot. Because of this, I'm more likely to go above and beyond what a typical general aviation pilot would do to stay out of your way.

Actually, the question should be directed at you, the military aviator: Are you looking for me as we share the skies safely?

I know a lot about you since I'm a military aviator, but do you know much about me? What do you know about the civilian aviator in a light aircraft?

I fly an experimental aircraft with a 23-foot wingspan at 150 knots. My aircraft is difficult to see both visually and on your radar. Sometimes I fly in formation with several aircraft -- from fingertip to 6,000 to 9,000 feet line abreast with an altitude split. Or I could be flying single-ship doing aerobatics.

I hope you're visually looking for me and not just depending on your radar to find me and my friends. I'm usually flying between 3,000 and 10,000 feet as I cruise across the country. I would expect other light singles to be around the same altitudes, following roads and at speeds between 100 and 250 mph. For light twins, expect them to be in the mid-teens. I also would plan on civilians not observing the existence of your military operating area (as I have had them blast right through the middle of my four-ship engagements in the past). You may never even see them since you are focused on air-to-air tactics versus visual search for a "bug smasher." (For more information, check out the above article titled "How to See and Avoid.")

Regardless of your ability to find me and your situational awareness, I'm looking for you! Among other things, I fly below your air-to-air floor, and check the outstanding flying safety Web site SEEandAVOID.org for any information regarding your airspace.  The Web site, started by the Air National Guard, promotes information exchange between civilian and military flying communities to reduce close calls and help eliminate midair collisions.

Nevertheless, not all civilian aviators are looking for you.

A high percentage of civilian pilots are not aware of military airspace information for a variety of reasons -- lack of training, lack of information available, attitudes toward military airspace, ineffective midair collision avoidance programs at your base, and the list goes on.

I know what it's like to be on both ends of a close encounter. With experience in fighters, experimental aircraft and airliners, I've seen a lot of near misses with other aircraft. In most cases, everyone was legal. The bottom line is you have to be vigilant as you share the skies safely with everyone. ... Your best friend could be the guy in the other aircraft.