Restricted Airspace Rules Change for Bay Bridge Airport (W29)
Scroll down for New FAA ADIZ Chart
By Jack Shaum, reprinted with permission from the Kent Island Bay Times
WASHINGTON - Flying in and out of Bay Bridge Airport became a little easier as of August 30, 2007. With the FAA's modified ADIZ, pilots using Bay Bridge Airport can now come and go without the need for a pre-filed flight plan or a transponder beacon required under ADIZ regulations. Limitations that had been in place on the airspace that could be used for landings and take-offs have been lifted.
That's because the Federal Aviation Administration modified the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) that has been in effect around the Washington Baltimore area since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Bay Bridge Airport is no longer in the ADIZ.
The FAA reduced the size of the restricted airspace to "make it safer, more secure, and easier for pilots to navigate," the agency said in a recent statement.
The ADIZ has been made circular with a radius of 30 miles, instead of the previous "mouse ears" configuration. The size of t he restricted airspace was reduced by 1,800 miles.
Bay Bridge Airport and Kentmorr Airpark are among 33 airports in Maryland and Virginia that will no longer be in the ADIZ zone.
"The irregular shape led to a lot of violations," said Bay Bridge Airport Manager Jaime Giandomenico. "A perfect circle is easier to navigate.
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