EAA, Others Ask 1234 Become ADIZ SOP

FAA officials say this past weekend's test of a single transponder code for flight training operations within the New York City Aviation Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) was successful.

During a Monday teleconference with AOPA, EAA and several other general aviation organizations, FAA officials said the test, which took place at seven towered airports within the ADIZ on Saturday and Sunday, mandated aircraft performing closed-traffic flight training operations use a standard transponder code of 1-2-3-4 for positive aircraft identification. Weather prevented many flights on Saturday, so the majority of the 846 aircraft touch-and-goes performed during the test period occurred on Sunday.

FAA officials said that between other general aviation VFR flights not covered by the test and the normal IFR traffic, the New York area Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCCs) ran out of assignable transponder codes for flight operations by mid-day Sunday. The FAA estimates that without the single transponder codes for closed traffic flight training operations during the test period, the supply of codes would have been exhausted by about 8 a.m.

Now What?

Because of the test's success, FAA wants to test the procedure at the six to eight non-towered airports that have the largest flight training traffic counts within the New York ADIZ. EAA urges the FAA, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the U.S. Customs to approve this new test.

The EAA also asked these same agencies to make single transponder codes a permanent part of normal closed traffic pattern operations at towered airports as spelled out in FDC NOTAMS for flight training within ADIZ areas. The success of this test proves that flight-training activities are not a risk to national security and can be safely performed within reasonable rules and procedures.

FMI: www.eaa.org