There is no surer way to end a piloting career than paying a visit to airspace owned by the President without an invitation. Today through Monday there are 2 major TFRs in effect - Palm Springs and John Wayne. We understand that invitations are in very short supply, so aviators, pay attention!
Fly Corona! will be grounded on Monday from morning opening until 11:05am for TFR compliance. Palm Springs is off-limits for the next 3 days, so flights to the Vegas area should use the Borrego pass or Cajon. (with care) - and NOT the Palm Springs TRSA. The blue ring above depicts the off-limits airspace, and anyone heading East should proceed with extreme caution.
Imagine the sheer joy for any aviator watching an explosive flare suddenly detonate 20 feet off of the nose of his Cessna, a care package sent by the 2 F-16s dispatched to discuss who owns the airspace surrounding the Leader of the Free World. As Goose and Maverick suggest your new landing place, a nearby Colonel will be calling everyone at the airport personally to arrange your immediate detainment, while the local police and a number of black suburbuans rush to greet you on the tarmac.. with complimentary steel bracelets.
Fanciful, perhaps, but this time, we aren't making this stuff up -- it happened last year before our very eyes here at Corona. (and we got to speak with the charming Colonel -- who it turns out did not have a strong sense of humor about our refusal to detain a fellow pilot) The bungling pilot was not one of ours, but then, he's not anybody's anymore. That guy is done flying. Don't follow in his footsteps.
Calling Flight Service is not just to learn about clouds and dewpoints - a standard briefing will include advance notice of any such TFRs or NOTAMs in the area, and will keep you out of any unusual trouble. 3 minutes on the phone can save your ticket.
Fly Safe!
- Mike
