Regional Affairs

FAA listens to pilots, proposes changes to Castle Class D

When pilots and the FAA work together, airspace designs just turn out better. Case in point: airspace affecting Castle and Merced airports. When the FAA implemented Class D airspace around Castle Airport in Atwater in January, members contacted AOPA with concerns that the airspace overlapped that of nearby Merced. AOPA worked with the FAA to create a working group of local users to develop an alternative that would better suit the needs of pilots. Castle Airport Support Network (ASN) volunteer Stanley Thurston participated in the airspace redesign meetings with local pilots. The FAA has just released the agreed-upon proposal, which lowers the ceiling of the airspace below 2,000 feet msl, moves the southern boundary, and expands the northern boundary. [View a map.] Pilots can comment on the proposed redesign before July 13.

June 8, 2007