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Pilots: Wallops airspace expansion off course

Jeremy Cox
jcox6@dmg.gannett.com
Staff Sgt. Edward Ezagui polishes an F-16 Thunderbird after its landing at Wallops Flight Facility for the 2010 Ocean City Air Show. The facility is proposing to double the size of its protected airspace.

NASA's plan to double the size of its restricted airspace around Wallops Flight Facility won't fly, local pilots say.

"There are already far (too) many restricted areas in that part of the country," an anonymous pilot said in written comments to the Federal Aviation Administration, which is considering the proposal. "Any further restricted areas will make north south travel even harder."

The FAA, which manages the country's airspace, received more than a dozen comments last fall about the Wallops expansion. The reactions split cleanly into two categories: ringing endorsements from regional government officials and calls for changes from pilots and their advocates.

Larger airspace is critical for the continued growth of Virginia's nascent aerospace industry, said state Del. David Yancey, R-Newport News, in his letter.

RELATED: Virginia company gets $19M Wallops airfield repair job

The commonwealth's aviation authority also is throwing its support behind the proposal.

"We believe expansion of the airspace as proposed is unobtrusive to the flying public, knowing that the protocol of utilization will only have the airspace 'hot' when aeronautical testing is underway," said Randall Burdette, director of the Virginia Department of Aviation.

Local support is still up in the air, though. The Accomack County Board of Supervisors postponed a vote on a letter of support at its July 20 meeting, saying it needs more information.

That decision came after an area farmer and former planning commission member raised a warning flag before the board.

“We’ve not had a pleasant experience with the flight-landing practice, and most people would not like to see something like that again," Phil Hickman said.

NASA's request doesn't apply to the rocket launches it conducts on nearby Wallops Island. Rather, the extra elbow room is intended for the three runways it operates on its mainland base north of Chincoteague Road.

A map created by NASA shows existing restricted airspace at Wallops Flight Facility in blue and red and a proposed expansion in yellow and orange.

The enlarged restricted area, if approved, would essentially restore what Wallops lost in 2004. The FAA greatly reduced its restricted airspace at the time in response to greater air traffic up and down the peninsula, officials say. That traffic led to heavier time demands on air-traffic controllers and pilots forced to reroute around the facility, which lies on the mainland just west of Chincoteague Island.

Afterward, it was NASA that faced more demands on its time.

The restricted airspace is needed only for flights deemed "hazardous operations," Bruce Underwood, the facility's deputy director, said in an interview. That usually applies to experimental aircraft — in other words, Wallops' bread and butter.

"We have a research airfield," Underwood said. "That's what it is. What we do out there is typically experimental."

Quirks in FAA regulations and the design of the Wallops-designated restricted area led to headaches over the years, he added. The downsized restricted area now includes only portions of Wallops' runways; no aircraft can take off or land without at least starting in an unrestricted area or flying into it.

The FAA requires special clearance whenever "hazardous" flights veer outside already restricted areas into the path of civil air routes. The application process can take months, Underwood said.

"We're just trying to get so we can use our airfield again without having to coordinate with commercial air travel," he said.

The work to restore Wallops' airspace is 10 years in the making, Underwood said.

But the campaign has gained new urgency amid a campaign to draw the Navy's Triton drone program to the Eastern Shore of Virginia base. The program would bring 400 personnel and their families to the area, officials say.

NASA isn't seeking the broadened airspace specifically for its Navy counterparts, Underwood said, "but they've let us know this is very attractive to them." Wallops is competing with two Navy bases in Florida for the program.

READ MORE: What the Triton program would bring to the Eastern Shore. 

The current restricted area extends east from the mainland facility into the Atlantic Ocean, bounded by Toms Cove to the north and Cedar Island to the south. The new area would include that existing swath and reach west to Route 13, stretching from Parksley to just southeast of Snow Hill.

Flying restrictions would only have to be activated as needed, and that wouldn't be every day, Underwood said.

Even so, several pilots are feeling like they're getting their wings clipped.

Having to fly around the enlarged airspace would burn more fuel and cost more money, said Rune Duke, director of airspace and air traffic for Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.

What's more, handy navigational aids such as Route 13 and the seashore would be put off-limits for unknown stretches of time, Duke said.

"Flying the shoreline at lower altitude is a particularly popular method of navigation," he said in his written comments. "The large expanse of Restricted Area would make circumnavigation to the east over open water dangerous for those single-engine shore line following pilots, and time consuming for those diverting around the complex to the west."

The association is calling for the FAA to consider ways of shielding the Wallops airspace that don't include a blanket flight restriction. It also suggests shrinking the protected zone to get it out of a key flight corridor stretching between Cape Charles and Snow Hill.

A group representing helicopter pilots also has qualms with the plan. Increasing the restricted space's altitude from 2,500 to 3,500 feet above sea level, as proposed, would put helicopters in greater danger of icing conditions, said Matthew S. Zuccaro, head of the Helicopter Association International.

The FAA should postpone its decision until a complete analysis can be done on the consequences for other aviation interests, Zuccaro added.

The agency is accepting public comment on an environmental assessment for the airspace expansion through Aug. 1. A final decision is expected within the next several months.

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