AOPA To Suggest Changes To Minneapolis Class B Redesign

The planned update of Minneapolis' Class B Airspace is not meeting with unanimous approval from some pretty high-ranking sources. AOPA says that it plans to challenge parts of the FAA's notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to redesign the Class B airspace over Minneapolis/St. Paul. The agency wants to raise the ceiling from 8,000' MSL to 10,000' MSL. AOPA's other concern is the lack of VFR transition routes.

"The NPRM is better than it might have been," said AOPA Manager of Air Traffic Heidi Williams. "After hundreds of comments from local users and consultations with an ad hoc users' group, of which AOPA was part, the agency scaled back their original dimensions.

"But there is still room for improvement, and AOPA plans to continue working for better access for GA pilots."

The Minneapolis/St. Paul Class B airspace ceiling is currently 8,000'. By raising the ceiling to 10,000', the FAA cuts in half the number of altitudes, both VFR and IFR, that do not have regulatory requirements for supplemental oxygen use. The NPRM also fails to identify or implement VFR transition routes through or around the Class B, again limiting access for GA pilots.

FMI: www.faa.gov