FAA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
The FAA is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation (DOT), so the first place to search for pilot services is in Washington, D.C., since all federal departments are headquartered in the capital city. Because Washington is really the bureaucratic center of the FAA the more highbrow services such as the chief legal counsel and the public affairs department can be found here. A pilot in search of answers about aviation legislation or legal issues would be wise to explore here. Despite the moniker, the public affairs staff is really there to deal with the media, not the public.
FAA Operations Center, Oklahoma City
While it's true that Washington is home to FAA headquarters, many services are located half a continent away. Centrally located on the Southern Plains is the agency's main operations center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In many areas, this is where the action is. Every record of every pilot certificate, medical examination, airline training evaluation, and the like is located in this giant FAA facility. Just about any problems or questions you have concerning your pilot or medical certificates can be researched, rectified, or explored in detail with the help of the FAA staff in Oklahoma City. The FAA's chief physician, for example, can tell you whether or not taking antidepressants will affect the status of your medical certificate, and if you lose your wallet while hiking in the Grand Canyon your pilot certificate can be replaced by calling or writing to the airman certification branch.
The Oklahoma City FAA facility also handles airworthiness certificates and maintenance records. If you plan to put together a kitplane in your garage, all of your paperwork will end up in Oklahoma City after the job is complete.
Flight Service Stations
The 75 flight service stations (FSSs) - most are called automated flight service stations - scattered across the country are multifaceted FAA facilities that offer pilots a huge array of often underutilized services. Information is available to all pilots through personal visits, the Web site, over the telephone, or in flight through your aircraft radio.
The FSS, although widely known as the place to obtain weather information and notams and file flight plans, offers much more information to the general aviation community. If you want to know the field elevation at John F. Kennedy International Airport, the FSS can tell you. If you need to obtain radar flight following after departing from an uncontrolled field at 3:30 a.m., the FSS can tell you the frequency to use to contact an approach control facility or an air route traffic control center.
The standard toll-free telephone number to reach an FSS serving your area is 800/WX-BRIEF. All FSSs monitor frequency 122.2 MHz for air-to-ground communications (as well as the emergency frequency of 121.5). In addition to the general frequency, all FSSs providing in-flight services have their own frequencies that can be found on IFR and VFR charts.
Among the useful services you can get from a FSS is the en route flight advisory service (EFAS), better known as flight watch. This service is available on 122.0 MHz to provide pilots with timely in-flight weather. Don't file flight plans or ask about uncontrolled-field radio frequencies with flight watch, just inquire about the weather ahead or at your destination airport. In many ways, EFAS is like a real-time ATIS with an actual person reporting.
Advisory Circulars
Advisory circulars can be obtained from the FAA by subscription or on individual subjects. These pamphlets cover a huge array of subjects useful to all pilots. The topics cover everything from safe flying, to operating in South America and Europe, to the best technique to employ when taking off or landing behind a fully loaded Boeing 747. Reading advisory circulars can help keep pilots well informed and well rounded.
Flight Standards District Office
Of all of the places to look for FAA services and information, none can top the flight standards district offices (FSDOs) located around the country. As a pilot, the FSDO is your ultimate link to the FAA. Information about almost anything the FAA does - and where to find additional details - can be obtained with a visit or a telephone call to the nearest FSDO.
FSDOs are staffed by highly trained personnel, including inspectors and counselors who can answer just about all of your aviation questions. And any they cannot immediately answer will be researched or referred to someone within the FAA (or outside of it) who can properly assist you. For example, before I went to Australia I called the local FSDO and asked if my U.S. pilot certificate would be valid there. The FAA inspector referred me to the Australian embassy's air attach�, who in turn connected me to the embassy's Australian Civil Aviation Authority representative. She gave me all the information and help I needed. Three weeks later I was piloting a Cessna 182 around the skies of Melbourne!
FSDO staff can also perform checkrides, sign off ATP candidates before they take their knowledge tests, help pilots connect with designated examiners, inform you about safety seminars, and provide scores of other helpful aviation services. One of the most practical services the FSDO can provide pilots is the instant access to questions pertaining to the federal aviation regulations (FARs) and operating procedures. If, after reading the FARs, you are not clear about which hours count toward your instrument rating or whether you can log certain hours as pilot in command, the FSDO can provide clarification.
FSDO staff can also mail you information crammed full of the names, numbers, and locations of every kind of FAA service available. With this information you can contact the people who can help you with virtually any aviation issue. A complete list of all the FSDOs in the United States can be found in the Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM).
FAR/AIM
The Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) and AIM are published together in a single book by the DOT (and many private companies, as well). If thoroughly explored, this tome can also help pilots find the answer to just about any question or provide the contact information for the people who have the answers. Everything from knowing whether the tamarind fruit you want to bring back from a weekend flight to Mexico is legal to import (look under the Department of Agriculture heading in the Entry Requirements section of the AIM) to knowing what the Morse code indication is for an out-of-service VOR (see the Air Navigation Aids section of the AIM). Practically every other subject too: weather, charts, medical facts, emergency procedures, air traffic procedures, airspace explanations, aeronautical lighting, airport signage and symbology, etc. All of this and more is thoroughly explained in the AIM.
Of course, the FAR section of the book tells pilots every requirement for earning an aviation certificate or rating, how to stay current, and how to operate legally in all flight situations, at all airports, and in all airspace (as well as waivers to those rules). The FARs logically begin with definitions and abbreviations. In addition, there is a National Transportation Safety Board section that informs pilots about how to properly report aviation accidents and incidents.
FAA Web Site
In keeping with the times, the FAA maintains an excellent Web site ( www.faa.gov ), which has very thorough sections on aviation regulations, airports, safety, jobs, news, aviation education, air travel information, and much more. One of the best sections on the FAA's web site is the FAA Organizations section, which has links to the Web sites of airports; air traffic facilities such as control towers, terminal radar approach control facilities, and air route traffic control centers; FAA regional offices; FSS, automated FSS, and international FSS facilities; FAA security offices; accident investigators; and dozens of others. Many of these sites, in turn, link pilots to other aviation sites, services, and information.
Other Government Agencies and Private Industry
Along with all of the FAA's services, facilities, people, and publications listed above, the DOT, and other government agencies such as the National Aeronautical Charting Office (NACO), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Air and Space Administration (NASA), and National Weather Service (NWS) publish books, such as the Airport/Facility Directory, and charts-sectional, terminal, enroute instrument, instrument approach procedures, and world aeronautical charts.
Private industry, too, provides pilots with a multitude of publications and services, often mirroring those of the government; although they tend to be much more visually appealing, sometimes more up to date, and often more expensive than their government counterparts.
Pilots in the United States have excellent and inexpensive (often free of charge) services furnished by the FAA, through its publications, facilities, Web site, and personnel, that are the standard the world over.
While these services are excellent, you may still sometimes find yourself frustrated when you can't find the information you need. In many cases, the experts in AOPA's Aviation Technical Services department have the information you need at their fingertips. As an AOPA member you can talk to these experts by calling 800/USA-AOPA or by sending an e-mail ([email protected]
12 FAA Services for Every Pilot
Department of Transportation
400 Seventh Street Southwest
Washington, D.C. 20590
www.dot.gov
202/366-4000
Federal Aviation Administration
Department of Transportation
800 Independence Avenue Southwest
Washington, D.C. 20591
www.faa.gov
800/322-7873
Federal Aviation Administration
Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center
6500 South MacArthur Boulevard.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73169
www.faa.gov
Department of Transportation,
Federal Aviation Administration
Airman Certification Branch
Post Office Box 25082
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73125
http://registry.faa.gov/amfeed.htm
405/954-4821
Department of Transportation,
Federal Aviation Administration
Aeromedical Certification Branch
Post Office Box 25082
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73125
www.faa.gov/avr/aam/acans.htm
405/954-4821
Aeronautical Information Manual
(AIM), some editions
Aeronautical Information Manual
(AIM), some editions
800/WX-BRIEF is the universal telephone
number. Discrete telephone numbers for
each of the FSSs can be found in the AIM
under Meteorology
Universal frequency is 122.2
Emergency frequency is 121.5
Discrete frequency for each FSS on VFR
and IFR charts
Service) radio frequency
Universal flight watch frequency is 122.0
Superintendent of Documents
U.S. Government Printing Office
Washington, D.C. 20402
Airport/Facility Directory
The National Aeronautical Charting Office
(NACO, part of the FAA) publishes sectional
aeronautical charts (37 geographical regions)
and terminal area charts (28) covering the
continental United States, and several
more for Alaska and Hawaii, at six-month
intervals. Airport/Facility Directories for
seven geographical regions of the
United States and Puerto Rico are
published at eight-week intervals.
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