USAF Adopts AOPA Safety Ideas For 'Lights-Out' MOA Ops | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-05.05.25

Airborne-NextGen-05.06.25

AirborneUnlimited-05.07.25

Airborne-Unlimited-05.01.25

AirborneUnlimited-05.02.25

Sun, Mar 09, 2003

USAF Adopts AOPA Safety Ideas For 'Lights-Out' MOA Ops

Keeping Planes From Going 'Bump' In The Night

The FAA has approved a scaled-back proposal for the Air Force to conduct "lights-out" night training flights in military operations areas (MOAs). But that approval incorporates safety recommendations pushed for by AOPA.

The safety recommendations include specific procedures that the military will follow to minimize the risk of collision between general aviation aircraft and military aircraft flying without position lights. Military aircraft need to fly without lights for pilots to train using night vision systems.

Close Cooperation

While AOPA objected to the initial proposal because of the potential safety hazard to non-participating general aviation aircraft, the Department of Defense worked closely with the association staff to resolve these concerns.

"The initial Air Force proposal was too broad in scope and did not provide adequate mitigation for the lost "see and avoid" capability of non-participating general aviation aircraft," explained Andy Cebula, senior vice president for Government and Technical Affairs.

"While AOPA understands the training requirements of the U.S. military, we felt it was imperative that AOPA's recommendations be adopted before the revised petition was granted. We appreciate the response by the military to our safety concerns."

Reaching Out About The Dark

The AOPA recommendations adopted in the FAA's approval of a petition for exemption include requirements for continuous radar coverage, for the military to cease operations and turn on external lights when a non-participating aircraft enters the MOA, and an on-going educational outreach program to the general aviation community and airports in close proximity to "lights-out" MOAs.

The AOPA Air Safety Foundation proposed and is currently working with the military to create a MOA education program, which will include "Lights-Out" operations. ASF is looking to establish an online program as well as a "Seminar in a Box."

FMI: www.aopa.org

Advertisement

More News

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (05.06.25)

Aero Linx: International Federation of Airworthiness (IFA) We aim to be the most internationally respected independent authority on the subject of Airworthiness. IFA uniquely combi>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (05.06.25): Ultrahigh Frequency (UHF)

Ultrahigh Frequency (UHF) The frequency band between 300 and 3,000 MHz. The bank of radio frequencies used for military air/ground voice communications. In some instances this may >[...]

ANN FAQ: Q&A 101

A Few Questions AND Answers To Help You Get MORE Out of ANN! 1) I forgot my password. How do I find it? 1) Easy... click here and give us your e-mail address--we'll send it to you >[...]

Classic Aero-TV: Virtual Reality Painting--PPG Leverages Technology for Training

From 2019 (YouTube Edition): Learning To Paint Without Getting Any On Your Hands PPG's Aerospace Coatings Academy is a tool designed to teach everything one needs to know about all>[...]

Airborne 05.02.25: Joby Crewed Milestone, Diamond Club, Canadian Pilot Insurance

Also: Sustainable Aircraft Test Put Aside, More Falcon 9 Ops, Wyoming ANG Rescue, Oreo Cookie Into Orbit Joby Aviation has reason to celebrate, recently completing its first full t>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC