A summer Sunday with the FAA
It is a wonderful Sunday, and I have just spent an hour under the hood with George, my patient instructor. Instrument training is fun, but now it's time to enjoy the weather--without George looking over my shoulder. Visibility unrestricted, sky clear...Why not shoot some touch and goes in Burlington, just a 20-minute hop away?
Departing from Horace Williams Airport in Chapel Hill, I follow Interstate 40 west and listen to the Burlington automated weather observation system (AWOS). The wind is from the north, so Runway 6 will be in use. I make my initial call on the unicom frequency: "Burlington Unicom, Piper Eight-Zero-Eight-Zero-Alpha, 10 miles west, airport advisory please." I do not get an answer, and there is no Burlington traffic on the frequency. I call again--still no answer. I announce my position and prepare for a midfield entry onto the downwind for Runway 6.
As I approach the field, I realize that an airshow is going on. There is a large crowd, and dozens of airplanes are parked on the ramp and the grassy areas. I announce my position and watch carefully for other airplanes in the pattern. Nobody else seems to be around. As I join downwind, I make another position report, and then I change my mind. I better not land here today.
"Burlington traffic, Piper Eight-Zero-Eight-Zero-Alpha, leaving the pattern." I look right for other airplanes and suddenly, my headphones come alive: "Aircraft on downwind, call tower one-one-nine point niner-five, this is a towered airport."
Burlington--towered? Apparently, they have installed a temporary tower for the airshow.
Nervously, I tune in to 119.95, turn right, and leave the pattern before calling the tower. I come back to the pattern with a standard 45-degree entry. The tower advises me to follow a biplane on downwind and then: "Piper Eight-Zero-Eight-Zero-Alpha, cleared to land, runway zero-six."
The wheels touch down smoothly, and I leave the runway. It takes a while to find a parking spot for the Piper Warrior. I climb out of the cockpit, and as I jump from the wing, two friendly looking guys appear, and smile at me: "Welcome to the airshow, I am Guido and this is John."
My first thought is that these casual-looking guys are going to have me pay the admission fee. Then Guido says, "We are with the FAA."
"Did you check any notams today?"
Bad question. No, I didn't. I explain that I am from the Chapel Hill Flying Club, and that Burlington is one of our training fields, and I realize that I sound pretty defensive. Guido and John remain silent. So I stop my explanation and ask, "What are you going to do now?"
The two FAA guys still seem relatively friendly and informal. "Have you ever had a ramp check?" No. "You are going to have one now."
First, they want to see my pilot certificate and my medical, and they are curious about my German license. Everything is OK with those papers. Guido has Swiss ancestors and speaks some German. The atmosphere remains friendly, but I feel tense. Now, they want to see the airplane papers. Where is the airworthiness certificate? And the registration? I realize that I never bothered to find out. What other papers are supposed to be with the airplane? The flying club takes care of all of that, don't they? Why did I never ask and verify? I feel pretty stupid.
Guido actually helps me to look for the documents while John remains in the background, his arms behind his back, a more serious look on his face. I start sweating, but then we find the documents in the baggage compartment, behind a worn plastic cover. Guido takes them out, unfolds them, and shows them to John. They seem satisfied.
Finally, it's over. Guido waves goodbye. "Well, there is some nice food here, enjoy"--and before I can ask whether my failure to check the notices to airmen and my airspace violation will have any consequences, Guido and John have disappeared in the crowd.
Somehow, I do not really enjoy the airshow, and I soon fly back to Chapel Hill. The lesson here is that it can be worthwhile to call for a preflight briefing even for a hop to the next training field. To avoid embarrassment, find out where the aircraft registration and other pertinent documents are if you fly rental or club airplanes. By the way, to be on the safe side, I filed my first report with NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System. And no, I never heard back from the FAA about this encounter.
"Learning Experiences" is presented to enhance safety by providing a forum for students and pilots to learn from the experiences of others. It is intended to provoke thought and discussion, acknowledging that actions taken by the authors were not necessarily the best choices under the circumstances. We encourage you to discuss any questions you have about a particular scenario with your flight instructor.
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