Don't use that new "blue dot" Cincinnati Sectional chart before August 30. There's a "gotcha" that could put you inside the Washington, D.C., ADIZ (Air Defense Identification Zone) if you do.
Here's what happened. A little section of the ADIZ appears on the very eastern edge of the Cincinnati chart. When the ADIZ shrinks on August 30, it will no longer extend into the area covered by the Cincinnati Sectional. So the FAA has reprinted and reissued the 78th edition of the chart (identified by a blue dot on the front panel) and told pilots to start using the chart immediately.
The FAA was wrong. The blue dot chart doesn't become effective until August 30. AOPA Airport Support Network volunteer Robert Clark (Thomson-Mcduffie County Airport in Thomson, Ga.) alerted AOPA to the problem. The FAA has now issued a notam to make it clear that pilots should use the old 78th edition until August 30.
That said, if you're going to be flying that close to the eastern edge of the Cincinnati chart, make sure you also have a current Washington Sectional and a current Baltimore-Washington Terminal Area Chart on board. If for some reason you end up flying a little farther east than you planned, you'll need to be very aware of the ADIZ, Camp David, and a few other sensitive airspace areas.
FDC 7/2805 FDC FI/P SPECIAL NOTICE... U.S. GOVT CINCINNATI SECTIONAL AERONAUTICAL CHART, 78TH EDITION, EFF 2 AUG 2007 HAS BEEN REPRINTED TO REFLECT MODIFICATION OF THE WASHINGTON DC METROPOLITAN AREA AIR DEFENSE IDENTIFICATION ZONE (ADIZ), EFFECTIVE 30 AUG 2007. AS OF THIS EFFECTIVE DATE, THE ADIZ WILL BE REDUCED IN SIZE AND WILL NO LONGER APPEAR ON THIS CHART. REPLACEMENT COPIES OF THE 78TH EDITION ARE DENOTED WITH A BLUE DOT ALONG THE TOP EDGE OF THE FRONT PANEL AND ARE NOT EFFECTIVE UNTIL 30 AUG 2007. PREVIOUSLY ISSUED COPIES (WITHOUT THE BLUE DOT) REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL 30 AUG 2007, AT WHICH TIME THEY SHOULD BE DESTROYED. THE 79TH EDITION OF THE CINCINNATI SECTIONAL CHART WILL BE PUBLISHED EFFECTIVE 20 DEC 2007, AS SCHEDULED.
Updated: August 18, 2007, 10:39 a.m. EDT
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