www.PSFmagazine.com | February 2019 | 5 4 | February 2019 | Powered Sport Flying FREE CATALOG! 1-877-4SPRUCE www.aircraftspruce.com 7 7 7 8 2 3 ROTAX 912 iS ROTAX 914 UL TURBO ROTAX 915 iS ROTAX ENGINE HEADQUARTERS The CPS Facility at the Corona Airport has the latest tools & equipment to service all Rotax engines. CPS also provides full service & maintenance on LSA’s. CALL 1-800-247-9653 • WWW.CPS-PARTS.COM BRYAN TOEPFER CPS Operations Manager California Power Systems 225 Airport Circle Corona, CA 92880 951-549-7786 24-Hour Fax: 951-372-0555 Tech Support Hotline: 951-317-8677 SALES • OVERHAUL SERVICES • ROTAX PARTS • ANNUAL INSPECTIONS • TECHNICAL SUPPORT • ROTAX CLASSES Press Pass The faa published Advisory Circular 90-66B last year that clarified how pilots should behave in the air around non-towered airports. This information is particularly important to most all ultralight and sport pilots since we fly almost exclusively out of airports without control towers. AC 90-66B calls attention to regulatory requirements, recommended operations, and communications procedures for operating at an airport without a control tower or an airport with a control tower that operates only part time. It recommends traffic patterns, communications phraseology, and operational procedures for use by aircraft, lighter-than-air aircraft, gliders, parachutes, rotorcraft, and ultralight vehicles. The AC cancels a couple of older ACs from the early 90’s. Importantly, it also includes instructions for how unmanned aircraft should operate near uncontrolled airports. AC 90-66B focuses on entry and departure from the patterns, flying the pattern and radio procedures. Some of the biggest changes are in how to fly, although the AC also offers great advice for radio work. We will focus on General Operating Practices here. Left Traffic. Use of standard traffic patterns (left turns) for all aircraft and Common Traffic Advisory Frequency (ctaf) procedures by radio-equipped aircraft are required at all airports without operating control towers unless indicated otherwise by visual markings, light gun signals, airport publications, or published approach procedure. It is recognized that other traffic patterns (right turns) may already be in common use at some airports or that special circumstances or conditions exist that may prevent use of the standard traffic pattern. Right-hand patterns are noted at airports on an aeronautical chart with an “RP” designator and the applicable runway next to the airport symbol. More on that, below. Collision Avoidance. The pilot in command’s (pic) primary responsibility is to see and avoid other aircraft and to help them see and avoid his or her aircraft. Keep lights and strobes on. The use of any traffic pattern procedure does not alter the responsibility of each pilot to see and avoid other aircraft. Pilots are encouraged to participate in “Operation Lights On,” a voluntary pilot safety program that is designed to improve the “see-and-avoid” capabilities. Unmanned Aircraft. Unmanned aircraft, commonly known as drones, do not require permission or authorization to operate in Class G airspace, at a non-towered airport or a part-time-towered airport when the control tower is not operating, nor are they required to maintain radio communications with other aircraft. However, the remote pic must always yield right-of-way to a manned aircraft and not interfere with manned aircraft operations. A manned aircraft may alter its flightpath or delay its landing or takeoff in order to avoid an unmanned aircraft that may present a potential conflict or otherwise affect the safe outcome of the flight. Because remote pics have an obligation to yield right-of-way to all other aircraft and avoid interfering in traffic pattern operations, the faa encourages remote pics to avoid operating in the vicinity of airports because their aircraft generally do not require airport infrastructure. Since small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (suas) do not operate under part 91, and this AC is intended for part 91 flight operations, additional information regarding unmanned aircraft airport operations operating under 14 cfr Part 107 may be found in AC 107-2. Preflight Actions. As part of the preflight familiarization with all available information concerning a flight, each pilot should review all appropriate publications (e.g., Chart Supplements, the aim, and notams), for pertinent information on current traffic patterns at the departure and arrival airports. New FAA Non-Towered Airport Procedures The FAA updated their 25 year-old procedures in their new Advisory Circular 90-66B
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