Since the notorious day of September 11, 2001 regulations regarding private aviation have changed. Gone are the days when a private pilot could casually take a leisurely scenic flight. The Puget Sound area now has four Temporary Flight Restrictions or TFRs. TFRs are air space areas designated as off limits to any aircraft.

Since 9/11, TFRs have been used to restrict overflights of certain areas for reasons of national security. The four Puget Sound area TFRs are the Bremerton Naval Shipyard, the Everett Naval Base, the Bangor Submarine Base, and Port Townsend, the latter being centered over Indian and Marrowstone Islands to the southeast of the coastal town. This particular area has long been rumored to be an important naval weapons repository. The post 9/11 TFR status would appear to support this theory.

Inadvertent flight into a TFR places a pilot’s license, if not his or her life, at risk. The pilot may be subject to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) sanctions as well. Straying into a TFR can get quite exciting because you may be intercepted by military aircraft. No private pilot has been shot down by the military for straying into a TFR although there have been some tense moments. There is an established protocol for what to do if you happen to notice a military jet on your wing. The jet will rock its wings by day or flash its navigational lights at night. It’s sort of like getting pulled over by the Police.

The scrambled fighter jet will pull up along side and you are expected to tune your radio to 121.5 MHz to listen to instructions. This assumes, of course, you can hear over the sound of your pounding heart and your fingers aren’t shaking so hard that you can’t tune your radio dial. After you follow the jet in the indicated direction, it may perform an abrupt break-away maneuver. This means you are free to proceed on your way. If you are led to an airport and the fighter jet lowers its landing gear, that means you need to land ASAP and authorities will be expecting you.

Before 9/11, TFRs primarily were static and the restricted airspace delineations were used to protect the White House, Camp David, and wherever the President of the United States was in residence. Since 9/11, both the President and the Vice President have their own personal TFRs that move around the country with them.

What that means is, at the last minute before any flight, a pilot should call the Flight Service Station (FSS) to find out the location of TFRs that are relevant to the route of flight. Since 9/11, private pilots must have increased awareness of presidential movement.

Additionally, since 9/11, TFRs are now established for sporting events at any stadium having a seating capacity of 30,000 or more in which a major league baseball, NFL, NCAA Division One football, or motor speedway event is occurring. The TFR begins one hour before the scheduled event and ends one hour after the event.

Pilots must also now avoid the airspace in proximity to all nuclear power plants, dams, refineries, industrial complexes and military facilities. So, flying around the Puget Sound area requires a bit more pilot homework than during the pre 9/11 days.

If all that wasn’t enough, the FAA is now working on ways to warn pilots of “pop up” TFRs that are expected to become prevalent as the election campaign goes into full swing. No-fly zones are expected for general aviation not only for Bush and Cheney as mentioned, but for presumptive Democratic Candidate John Kerry and his running mate.

Bottom line: before you get in the air, know where your TFRs are located along your course for the period of time you expect to be in flight. In the coming months, make sure you know when Bush, Cheney, Kerry and his future running mate are coming to town. While you are at it, watch out for Safeco Field, too.