Fighter Combat has released a chart depicting the areas southeast of Phoenix-Mesa Gateway (IWA) airport in which they are operating Tuesdays through Saturdays.
Please be aware of these areas, their operating times and altitudes and remain vigilant to high-speed aircraft in aerobatic maneuvers.
You can download a full-sized version of the chart overlay here. (10 MB PNG)
A 25-percent increase in the number of commercial airline passengers at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport (IWA), making the airspace surrounding Phoenix some of the busiest in the nation, is raising concern about flight safety in the Southeast Valley.
An ad hoc organization known as The Phoenix Airspace Users Working Group has been studying the issue for about 1 year, and recently asked the Phoenix Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON), which controls much of the airspace in the area, to distribute information about the level of congestion. Among the information are images depicting a complex web of controlled and uncontrolled flight operations surrounding IWA.
The AFTW this month also met and agreed to begin discouraging practice VOR holds over IWA, as well as practice NDB holds over the transmitters of radio station KCKY-AM.
Download a PDF of the Dec. 14, 2012, Letter to Airmen. (4.5 MB PDF, requires Adobe Reader.)
Excerpt from IWA's "Fly Friendly" PDF, available on the airport website for pilots.
A reminder from our friends at IWA (Phoenix-Mesa Gateway) that noise-sensitive areas exist all around the airport.
In particular, heightened sensitivity has focused on the area east of the corridor for traffic heading to the Southeast Practice areas. Also, be aware of Fighter Combat conducting aerobatic training east of IWA’s Class Delta airspace.
IWA Community Relations Coordinator Patrick Oakley says that some residents in those areas have recently expressed concern about the noise of some departing and arriving aircraft.
IWA’s website provides a good section for pilots on how to “Fly Friendly.” It’s worth a look. Here’s the link: http://www.phxmesagateway.org/FlyFriendly.aspx Continue reading
The blue tracks indicate VFR aircraft squawking 1200, red tracks depict large turbine aircraft arriving or departing IWA, and white tracks represent other aircraft being provided air traffic services by Phoenix TRACON.
The ad-hoc Phoenix Airspace Users Working Group recently issued some stunning graphics showing just how congested the airspace in and around IWA in the southeastern Phoenix metropolitan area is becoming.
“Pilots operating in the airspace near IWA should be aware of the density of air traffic operations in the area,” writes Phillip D. Thornton, Air Traffic Manager, Phoenix Terminal Radar Approach Control, in a Jan. 18, 2012, Letter to Airmen. The letter becomes effective in 30 days . “Approximately 800 aircraft operations a day transit the airspace depicted above at or below 5,000’ MSL (excluding Phoenix Sky Harbor traffic).”
Download the Letter to Airmen, which contains more graphics indicating the airspace issues. (PDF, requires Adobe Reader.)
Permalink, where you can discuss this: http://aftw.org/wp/2012/01/iwaairspace/