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United States Pilots Association |
Testifying at recent public hearings in Clovis and Roswell on the proposed New Mexico Training Range Initiative, USPA President Steve Uslan said the expansion of military airspace in eastern New Mexico would further restrict flight paths used by Permian Basin pilots and increase the chances of deadly midair collisions. The U.S. Air Force wants to expand its airspace west of Cannon Air Force Base, west of Clovis, N.M., from 500’ above ground to 32,000’ Uslan said Tuesday. If that occurs, GA aircraft departing the Odessa-Midland area en route to Albuquerque would have to fly much farther north, to Clovis, to get there, he said. “And that’s a long way around, and that means a lot of fuel and a lot of time wasted.”
The military says it needs to add extra airspace to create more realistic conditions for its pilots when they jettison smart bombs at supersonic speeds. “When you’re launching a guided bomb, imagine the amount of precise navigation you have to perform,” Uslan said. “The pilot will never get his head out of the instrument panel. He’s not going to look for me as I move into the airspace.”
The Air Force’s proposal would also force one commercial airway to be moved 20 to 25 miles north of the current path.
Uslan said that more airspace is an attempt to keep Cannon from falling victim to this year’s base realignment and closure (BRAC) list. “That is what this is all about,” he said. “This has nothing to do with training or anything else. This is about a need that is being created to keep Cannon open.”
Recent military and civilian collisions include January 18, 2005, in late morning in VFR conditions, an AF T-37 with two crew on board ran into a new Air Tractor crop duster over southern Oklahoma. The civilian pilot was killed and his aircraft destroyed. The two AF pilots ejected and survived. Their plane did not. And in November, 2000, near Bradenton, FL, two AF F-16s entered Class C airspace without a clearance, and one struck a Cessna 172, killing the pilot. The Air Force was held totally responsible for the civilian death.
Citing a lack of radio communication and radar service in the area, Uslan said, “The gist of the effort is: give us the radio and radar, and permit us unrestricted use under 12,500’ in the proposed “bridge” over V-68.”
A final environmental impact statement is scheduled to be completed by September 5.
Jan Hoynacki, Executive Director
United States Pilots Association
CLOVIS NEWS JOURNAL
Reactions mixed at Cannon airspace expansion hearing
By Ryan Lengerich: CNJ staff writer
ryan_lengerich@link.freedom.com
Area ranchers’ dissent toward the Air Force’s proposed air-space expansion surrounding Cannon Air Force Base was countered by support from Clovis residents’ at a town hall meeting Friday evening.
About 100 people attended the final of four public forums to discuss concerns or voice support about a proposal to expand military airspace around Cannon from 2,600 to 3,300 square miles. The proposal would also allow pilots to fly at supersonic speeds at approximately 6,000 feet above ground, roughly 20,000 feet lower than current airspace allows.
Eight people addressed the military judge present to mediate the forum. Public comments will appear on the New Mexico Training Range Initiative’s final report.
Clovis City Manager Joe Thomas publicly supported the plan.
“I believe the positives far outweigh the negative impacts,” Thomas said.
The positives, according to the Air Force, include the necessary space to perform realistic operational training for a full range of F-16 missions, something officials say is impossible under current conditions.
Col. Tip Wight of Cannon calls current conditions a “hodgepodge of airspace and altitude restrictions.”
Negative impacts include an increase in sonic booms from an average of one every five days to two every three days.
“We are being impacted more than is being let on,” said A.S. Elliott, a rancher who added he has filed nine damage claims with the Air Force in as many years. Elliott, one of the initiative’s most outspoken critics, also spoke at Wednesday’s meeting in Fort Sumner and at meetings last year.
Terry Moberly, a Clovis businessman, said the city has had a good relationship with Cannon.
“It is a small sacrifice we make so that our pilots will be better trained,” Moberly said.
Clovis resident Carl Melinat said he has a son-in-law in the Air Force.
“If we are going to have a good defense we need to have a good offense and this is the way to get it,” Melinat said.
But sonic booms and low flying jets are not the only concerns.
Steve Uslan, a former president of the New Mexico Pilots Association, said adding a new strip of airspace in Lincoln County northwest of Roswell will hinder commercial and personal flights from the Odessa, Texas, area to Albuquerque.
According to the Air Force, the expanded Pecos complex will be used about twice each month for large-force exercises.
Uslan said commercial flights may be forced to be re-routed through Clovis while personal aircrafts will encounter added danger due to a lack of communication capabilities in the area.
“(The Air Force) speak(s) in terms of a perfect world, this is not a perfect world,” said Uslan, who added that more airspace is an attempt to keep Cannon from falling victim to this year’s base realignment and closure (BRAC) list.
“That is what this is all about,” he said. “This has nothing to do with training or anything else, this is about a need that is being created to keep Cannon open.”
A final environmental impact statement is scheduled to be completed by Sept. 5.
Cannon officials hope the initiative is approved by the Air Force and Federal Aviation Administration by the fall of this year.
ODESSA AMERICAN
Military's plans would affect civil aviation, pilots group says
Military says it needs extra space for supersonic bomb-run testing
By Julie Breaux
Odessa American
The expansion of military airspace in eastern New Mexico would further restrict flight paths used by Permian Basin pilots and increase the chances of deadly midair collisions, a representative of the U.S. Pilots Association says.
The U.S. Air Force wants to expand its airspace west of Cannon Air Force Base, west of Clovis, N.M., from 500 feet aboveground to 32,000 feet, Steve Uslan, president of the USPA said Tuesday.
If that occurs, private aircraft departing the Odessa-Midland area en route to Albuquerque would have to fly much farther north, to Clovis, to get there, he said.
“And that’s a long way around, and that means a lot of fuel and a lot of time wasted,” he said.
Uslan has testified at two public hearings on the proposed New Mexico Training Range Initiative, including a meeting in Roswell on Monday.
During that meeting, the Air Force discussed the findings of a preliminary environmental impact study.
The military says it needs to add extra airspace to create more realistic conditions for its pilots when they jettison smart bombs at supersonic speeds.
The expansion would eliminate one flight path between Roswell and Albuquerque and restrict another one nearby, Uslan, of Odessa, said.
Pilots in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico regularly use those two routes and fly in existing military operating areas, Uslan said.
Uslan said he has no problem with the Air Force’s plans, but he said it will increase the potential for midair collisions of F-16s and smaller, slower aircraft.
“When you’re launching a guided bomb, imagine the amount of precise navigation you have to perform,” Uslan said. “The pilot will never get his head out of the instrument panel. He’s not going to look for me as I move into the airspace.”
NMTRI project manager Brenda Cook said civilian safety is a “top concern” of the Air Force and will be addressed in the final environmental impact study.
“We appreciate his input into the process, and we are confident we can balance NMTRI with both the safety and environmental concerns of the local population,” Cook said.
The Air Force’s proposal would also force one commercial airway to be moved 20 to 25 miles north of the current path, which cuts through a military operating area west of Cannon AFB, Uslan said.
The Air Force estimates the change would add a minute or two to flight times.
Of the three airlines offering passenger service at Midland International, only Southwest offers direct flights daily from Midland to Albuquerque.
Southwest Airlines spokeswoman Brandy King said she was unaware of the Air Force’s plans and that the person who might know something about it was unavailable for comment late Tuesday.
The impact of increased military airspace in New Mexico on operations at Midland International Airport would be minimal, Don Baker, manager of air traffic control at the airport, said.
Baker said the Air Force has not informed him of its plans.
“If something was going to affect the way we were doing operations, I would have been told about it,” Baker said.
Midland International directs commercial and general aviation traffic within roughly a 60-mile radius of the control tower, Baker said.
The Air Force is also proposing to increase the number of supersonic training flights in and around Cannon AFB.
Even though the training area is more than 100 miles northwest of Odessa-Midland, Uslan said residents here would hear the booms.
“They’re not going to be terribly obnoxious, but you’ll hear them from time to time.”
Uslan said he expects the Air Force to make a decision in October.