I thought there was some restriction on flying over amusement parks and powerplants, but searching the FARs I can’t find anything about the subject. Looking at the Orlando area on skyvector.com, I see no airspace markings around Disney World. Can someone shine a light on the subject?
Thanks, Flyboy!
Okay, so it’s a TFR on Disney World/Land specifically - nothing about amusement parks in general? If I wanna circle over Kings Dominion in Virginia (which is now closed for winter), I can do that - right?
…and nothing about powerplants? I thought after 9/11… talk about dirty bombs and crashing planes into nuke plants…
Again, looking at skyvector, there is a nuke facility about 3 miles west of the PTW VOR - no markings on the chart and no TFRs (that I can find). If I wanna fly over that, I’m good?
I guess it depends on how you do it. Look at this video the LA Times posted today.
discussions.flightaware.com/viewtopic.php?t=9791
Frank Holbert
160knots.com
In my experience, ATC likes to vector us right at amusement parks, stadiums, and nuclear facilities at 2000 or 3000 ft. Go figure.
Why is that an issue?
It’s not an issue, Frank. But thanks for interjecting. It’s just humorous that the FAA issues TFRs for stadiums, amusement parks, nuclear facilities, etc… and then ATC vectors us right over the top of them.
Around the Oak Ridge National Lab, it’s listed on our VFR sectional for pilots to stay above 3000 ft. in the interest of national security.
Very very few nuclear facilities or amusement parks have TFR’s. Beyond that, when ATC sends you though a TFR you have permission to transverse the airspace in question.
I don’t go into John Wayne very often but when I do I told to cross over Disneyland.
It’s really not an issue.
Frank Holbert
160knots.com
I’m not sure why I bother sometimes, but okay, I’ll continue to try to make my point.
I never said that it was incorrect or illegal for ATC to vector us wherever they want. I just always thought it funny that at a time when the FAA was making a huge fuss about stadiums, nuclear facilities, etc…(shortly after 9/11) that ATC continued to vector directly at these facilities.
I lost count of the number of times, in the months just after 9/11 when irrational responses were still in full effect, ATC put me right on top of a nuclear powerplant at 2000’.
I wasn’t arguing that ATC had violated any procedure or whatever. Just that even when the FAA was putting on the window dressing of national security, ATC still had us flying the same ol’ routings. As if a terriorist couldn’t file IFR if he knew he was going to be vectored over a certain site.
Thanks for all the responses. We did a right 360 around the park from about a mile or two away - got some good pics. We weren’t intercepted by any military jets afterward.
One of the VFR position reporting points for PSM Tower is the Seabrook Nuclear Plant. We use it as a guide for lining up for the base leg.
“Pease Tower blah-blah-blah with you over the Nuke, visual for 34…”
Pease had so many nukes of their own, it just didn’t matter!
LOL! I think they’re still there. At least the bunkers are. That might explain my personality…