The airspace surrounding Columbus (Ga.) Metropolitan Airport will become Class D airspace on Jan. 13, 2011, at 0901 UTC, replacing the Class C airspace now in effect.
The FAA issued a final rule revoking Columbus’s Class C airspace, citing passenger enplanement and instrument approach numbers that showed activity at the airport to be only a fraction of the volume required for the Class C designation, as AOPA Online reported on May 24.
AOPA supports the Class D reversion plan, under which the new Class D will extend from the surface to 2,900 feet msl within a 4.4-mile radius of Columbus Metropolitan. Class D airspace also will include “that airspace within 1 mile each side of the 234-degree bearing from the airport extending from the 4.4-mile radius to 5 miles south of the airport.”
“The new Class D airspace is smaller in area and will provide greater efficiency to pilots operating in the area or to/from Columbus Metropolitan Airport,” said Tom Kramer, AOPA manager of air traffic services.
Another advantage for GA pilots will be the lowered ceiling height of the Class D airspace, he said. The reduction from 4,400 feet msl to 2,900 feet msl will make it easier for pilots to transition the area, which is adjacent to a large special-use airspace complex that includes the Benning Military Operations Area and several restricted areas to the southeast.
Aeronautical charts available on Jan. 13, 2011, will depict the new Class D airspace layout.
