Interagency Airspace Coordination

Thursday (6/13/02) National Airspace System Update #4

Hi there- I have been working with the US NOTAM office in preparing some tips in improving our TFR coordination with the FAA. If you work with TFRs - this is a MUST read. Please network and share with folks involved in airspace.

Airspace Update: Currently Gary Jewett is Airspace Coordinator at the Rocky Mountain GACC and is doing a great job supporting the region. (303-455-4300). On Wednesday Steve Hirschi (Cell 303-378-8927) and Jim Unruh (303-921-4836) arrived to provide field airspace support. Mike Limb will be joining them to provide GIS support.

Jim will be supporting the Hayman fire and will liaison with the Temporary Tower, MAFFS Unit and Jeffco. Steve will be supporting Long Canyon, Dierich, Missionary Ridge, and Coal Seam. Gary Jewett will be supporting the Rocky Mountain GACC and all other incidents/TFRs in the region.

We had an outstanding success story today in Florida involving coordination with Tyndall MOA and a FS Forest Mortality flight that resulted in an advisory that avoided a near mid air collision. Strong cooperation with the military provided a safe environment for the flight to continue.

As of 0530 this morning (June 13th) we had 21 fire TFRs (3 in NM, 1 in AZ, 7 in CO, 1 in GA, 1 in NV, 3 in UT, 2 in CA, 2 in AK and 1 in Hawaii). TFRs are changing constantly so please consult NOTAMS for an update (http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/fire/aviation/airspace/)

The TFR mapping program is up and running. So far this year we have had almost 15,000 hits on the airspace website since we began in August of last year. Webmaster Dennis Griffin has been updating the website with lots of new items to be sure to check it out if you haven't been on it in a while.

Here is a quick note from AOPA's NOTAM website:

Attention pilots: The FAA has reissued special security notams 1/3355, 1/3356, and 1/3359 and reissued them under the following new notam numbers: 2/5319, 2/5128, and 2/5167. There are no substantive changes to the notams, and according to the FAA, this was done for administrative purposes only. ALL current waivers issued under the previous notam numbers are still valid, and operators are authorized to continue operating consistent with waiver requirements.

That's all for now - don't hesitate to call if you have questions. Julie

PS - if you couldn't open the document - here it is - it doesn't look like the links survived the transition..... jj

LET'S IMPROVE OUR TFR COORDINATION WITH THE FAA

6/10/02

From Julie Stewart, National Airspace Program Manager, USFS. Questions? Responses? Please e-mail me at julie_stewart@or.blm.gov or call me at 503-808-6728. BLM questions may be referred to Ben Hinkle at 208-387-5184 (excluding Washington and Oregon).

We have had a rough start nationally with our TFR coordination with the FAA. Here are some reminders to help ease your way. Now more than ever TFR's are under an intense scrutiny by the FAA and other aviation organizations. Please make sure that you have capable experienced people working with the FAA and DoD.

1) NEW TFR FORM IS NOT IN THE NATIONAL MOB GUIDE

(But it's on the Internet and is part of the 2002 National Mob Guide!)

Please use the new TFR Request form in the 2002 National Mob Guide or the IAMS/CAHIS version. The TFR Request form is located at http://www.nifc.gov/news/nicc.html (it's also on the airspace website in the "Library" section.

Click on Coordination Forms and scroll to the end of the list. The rtf version has format problems and needs to be corrected but you can print a copy of the pdf version for your use.

2) LATS and LONGS are NOT MATCHING Bearing and Distance

(And they MUST!)

The most common response from FAA ARTCC's is that our TFR location information is considered "Untrustworthy". There is a plethora of topo/GPS type programs out there BUT they are not serving us well if you give the FAA a bearing/distance that doesn't match your Lat/long.

You SHOULD plot your TFR on a sectional. This is how you find what kind of airspace is involved. We have great deconfliction tools such as IAMS/CAHIS which has a great conversion component. It appears that the GPS coordinates we are getting from "other topo programs" are NOT matching our bearing and distance. (They could be operating off of different datums, etc).

The FAA is getting very weary of our incorrect information. Please assure that the information you give them is correct and accurate.

3) WHAT IS THE FORMAT FOR LAT/LONGS AS REQUESTED BY THE US NOTAM OFFICE?

IT IS DEGREES MINUTES SECONDS with no punctuation. This helps us avoid errors! Looks like this: ddmmssN/dddmmssW

Here is in the 2002 National Mobilization Guide reference:

24.11 TEMPORARY FLIGHT RESTRICTIONS FAR 91.137 (TFR)

Temporary airspace restrictions will be established when incident related aviation activities present potential conflict with other aviation activities. The FAA (Note from Julie - the US NOTAM Office) requires that latitude and longitude information for TFR's must be provided in degrees, minutes, and seconds, including reference to north latitude and west longitude. If seconds information is not available, add two zero's to the description. Do not use spaces, commas or other symbols in the description. For example: ddmmssN/ddmmssW or 450700N/1170705W. The corner points should be listed in a clockwise sequence around the requested TFR to avoid "Bow Tie" depictions. The Interagency Airspace Coordination Guide describes further how flight restrictions are requested and implemented.

4) WHERE ARE THE FREQUENCIES IN THE NOTAM?

The FAA will publish the VHF-AM Air to Air Frequency but you must ask them to please add the frequency when you include it in your TFR request.

Please remind them how crucial this information is. You MUST monitor your TFR and keep the FAA notified if this frequency changes (as they frequently do when an overhead team arrives). This would result in the cancellation of your TFR NOTAM and the reissue of a new NOTAM with the new frequency. Keep your frequencies updated!

5) MSL ALTITUDE ONLY

Our TFR form seems to be misleading the FAA. And we are not catching the errors. Fire TFR's need to be in MSL (not AGL) so it provides a "hard top" to the ceiling of our TFR. The formula on the TFR form shows how we calculate from either the highest point on the incident or the altitude of the highest flying aircraft on the incident. Coordinate with Air Tactical GS, ASM or Lead planes to make this decision. Please monitor your NOTAM to make sure the altitude is in MSL and is accurate.

6) TFR SHAPE - It's either one or the other!!!!

Under block number five, there are two choices, a standard round TFR OR a polygon. Don't fill out both!! The usual TFR is a circle and it is rare to have a box, a rectangle, or a polygon, etc. You must choose. DO NOT FILL OUT BOTH PARTS OF BOX number five (LOCATION) as this is confusing to the FAA. Choose your format and fill out the location info.

7) HOW DO I GET A COPY OF MY TFR NOTAM?

You can access the DOD or FAA US NOTAM Website from the following URLs http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/fire/aviation/airspace/ or click on the below links:
https://www.notams.jcs.mil/ or
https://www.notams.faa.gov/ (They are the same website)

Click on "FDC NOTAMS, Special Notices and ARTCC TFRs" A screen will appear that lists all the ARTCC's in the nation. You can select the ARTCC(s) you are interested in or click on "All ARTCC TFR's" to look at your TFR NOTAM.

8) OTHER PERTINENT INFORMATION

TFRs are 24 hours a day - period. Can we open up our TFR's during the night to traffic? NO, Despite what local FAA offices may tell you - at the request of FAA Washington Headquarters Airspace and Rules division - our fire TFR's are 24 Hours a day. Do NOT "cut" any deals to open fire TFR's during the night.

Dispatch Three or Four Letter Codes - You may know what they mean - but the FAA does not. Please do not use internal codes on your TFR request form (Requesting unit, etc).

Phone Number: Please provide the appropriate 24 hours a day emergency contact phone number. This phone number is published in the NOTAM and is used by the FAA for coordination with us. It is also a point of contact for other agencies, media, etc to contact us to coordinate TFR issues. DO NOT use an expanded dispatch phone number or a day time only phone number.

Radius and Distance from a NAVAID: Please select a NAVAID that is Local. Too many TFR's are being submitted where the bearing and distance is calculated from a NAVAID that is over a hundred miles away. THIS DOESN'T WORK! The FAA reminds us to calculate our bearing and distance from the closest NAVAID.

Temporary Towers - There is a Temporary Tower request form in the 2002 Mobilization Guide that should be used for all Temporary Tower requests located at http://www.nifc.gov/news/nicc.html - click on Temporary Tower Form, either pdf or rtf. (also in the "Library" section of the airspace website)

Use this in conjunction with the checklists in Chapter 11 (Temporary Towers and Airspace Closures) of the Interagency Airspace Coordination Guide located at http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/fire/aviation/airspace/asguide.html).

Julie J. Stewart
National Airspace Program Manager - USFS
Regional Airspace Coordinator - USFS/BLM Pacific NW Region

Wk phone: 503-808-6728/Cell Phone: 503-780-0097
www.fs.fed.us/r6/fire/aviation/airspace



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