Sunday, November 16, 2014

Airport board votes down aerobatic box: Upper Cumberland Regional (KSRB), Sparta, Tennessee

WHITE COUNTY — The Upper Cumberland Regional Airport board recently voted to deny a request made by a pilot for an aerobatic box that reaches down to the surface.

An aerobatic box isn’t actually a box at all. It is a practice area where the pilot would be able to practice aerobatics, which includes moves such as loops and spins.

Jim Kmet, airport manager, brought the request for the aerobatic box to the attention of the airport board at last month’s meeting. Kmet did not reveal the name of the pilot who had requested the aerobatic box, but did say that pilot in question was a conscientious pilot.

The pilot had requested that the aerobatic box be above the airport for safety concerns. Kmet told the board members on Tuesday that putting the aerobatic box above the airport would allow the pilot to glide down to the runway if there was ever an issue.

After a lengthy discussion last month, the matter was tabled, which allowed Kmet to gather information to bring to the board concerning other airports that had approved an aerobatic box.

Kmet told the board that he spoke to two such airports — one in Joplin, Mo., and one in Union City, Tenn.

“The only complaints they have are the potential complaints that we discussed last month — occasionally gets complaints of noise and potential conflicts when other pilots are coming into the area and they haven’t done their homework to find the NOTAMs (notices to airmen) that were published,” Kmet said.

“They do say it’s a whole lot of work and there’s basically no return for the airport to allow this to happen. One of them said they would probably do it again. One of them said they probably wouldn’t,” he said.

Engineer Richard Rinks told them his recommendation would be that if they were going to consider doing it that they should publicly check with the neighbors in the area. There are some houses nearby that could potentially be affected to the aerobatic box.

Just because the aerobatic box has been denied doesn’t mean that the pilot will be unable to practice aerobatics over the Upper Cumberland Regional Airport. Kmet said any pilot is able to practice aerobatics at 1,500 feet without the special permission this pilot was seeking. Kmet told board members that the pilot wanted to come down to the surface so he wouldn’t be in violation of FAA rules if he went below 1,500 feet.

- Source:  https://www.herald-citizen.com

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