G26ster wrote:Reminds me of the students who cheerfully signed the petition to ban dihydrogen monoxide from the atmosphere because the name and information provided "sounded" dire.
Ooh. We really need to do a fake blog and say that Donald Trump is planning to issue an executive order that will allow the EPA to stop monitoring or regulating the amount of dihydrogen monoxide in the atmosphere. See how many snowflakes we can get to sign a petition. Think of the children!
But back on topic, the airspace around Houston is certainly...different this week. And is about to get even more different in a few hours. The Super Bowl is designated a National Security Special Event, and there are boatloads of security measures and
FAA restrictions in effect. Reservations for landings and departures are required from last Thursday through this coming Monday at 21 area airports, and that includes a requirement to use specific route structures.
A TFR (Temporary Flight Restriction), aka "no-fly zone" is in effect from 16:00 to 23:59 today in a 10 nautical mile radius centered on NRG Stadium, and a 30 nautical mile TFR ring with lesser restrictions. My understanding is that the no-fly 10-mile ring includes Hobby Airport and that arrivals are shut down for the duration this afternoon and evening; a limited number of departures will be allowed after per-arranged, special TSA gateway screening only.
Here's a link to a map depicting the TFR zones:
http://www.fly2sb51.org/Data/Sites/13/media/sb51tfr.jpg. Too big to embed here, but reduce it in size and it's illegible. Amazing how much the 30-mile ring covers. South almost to Lake Jackson, east almost to Baytown, north past Hooks Memorial Airport, and west out to Brookshire.
During the 16:00 to 23:59 window today, military helicopters will be in the air, as well as F-16s surveilling at high altitude with in-flight fuel refills as needed.
In addition, there is a 34.5-mile radius no-fly zone for all unmanned aircraft operations. If you want to fly your drone in Greater Houston today, just don't do it. I don't know they're monitoring for them (there are supposedly 40 local, state, and federal agencies involved in the security effort) or what they plan to do if they spot one, but if I had one I'd just keep it home.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LZJTl2brq0
"Drones are becoming much more popular, but they also pose certain safety risks," said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. "We’re working closely with our safety and security partners to spread the No Drone Zone message as widely as possible."
Ya know, the security measures for this week, and those discussed around the POTUS inauguration, has me wondering more about small, private drones and terrorism. Might need to start a new Topic, but it strikes me that good situational awareness in 2017 and beyond will look different than it did in 2013. That 360-degree awareness of human threats in an urban area may need to be adjusted...adjusted upward to include small flying things carrying payloads.