Presidential TFR on the day of my checkride, help!

Trogdor

Trogdor

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Trogdor
IFR checkride. Have waited two months to finally get a date. Everything looked good until a Presidential TFR just popped up. I’m more than upset.

So, the good news: My CR airport is 10nm outside of the inner ring so technically you can fly on a plan. DPE will probably not allow me to file IFR under his name given the liability. However, a VFR Flight Plan and/or FF would I think allow us to operate and get us out of the ring to the ride.

Does anyone have any experience with this type of scenario?

I realize I can reschedule but at this point I feel like the universe is conspiring against me.
 
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either go outside the TFR or reschedule, not too many other options, are there?
 
Look up where 52F is and take note of how close it is to Texas Motor Speedway. I use a 172 based there for my CFI work.

Last weekend NASCAR was in town and the sporting event TFR overlaid the airport.

I could not get a consistent answer when talking to friends and neighbors about how to legally depart and return for the lessons I had scheduled.

A buddy who is ATC for the DFW TRACON suggested calling the Clearance Request number (also known as the Data Desk and is published in the A/FD of the Chart Supplement).

So I did and asked my question of how to proceed for a VFR operation to get in the air and immediately proceed to the practice area NW of the race track and TFR. And how to return.

After a bit, a supervisor comes on the line and provides the following instructions
  1. For departure, call the data desk number and request a squawk code and VFR departure clearance like I would if it was IFR clearance. This would tag me as departing from 52F and the controller working that sector would be expecting me to call once I was clear of the pattern. Essentially I’m doing Flight Following from the ground at an uncontrolled airport. Once clear of the TFR area, I could cancel FF and do the lesson 1200.
  2. Returning, I would just dial up Regional Approach and request Flight Following.
The folks I spoke to on the TRACON phone line we’re super friendly and helpful. The supervisor even said he was glad I called with my question instead of causing headaches by blasting off and not talking to them.

If you are flying out of a tower controlled airport, then find out if they can set up Flight Following and provide the squawk code. Most of the SFW class D’s can and it is super convenient
 
My CFII said it is actually very doable. @AggieMike88: It seems I can ask for FF w/Clearance and that should do it after filing a VFR Flight Plan that I will never activate or speak of again. I do the same on the way back (and I can file that useless flight plan in advance and have a two hour window of protection).

For non-towered, it seems I have to call Tray, say my intentions, and they will give me a discrete and release time. Wheels up and check in as usual.

Provided my DPE isn’t wigged out, I can do it…holy cow!
 
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Trogdor said:
My CFII said it is actually very doable. @AggieMike88: It seems I can ask for FF w/Clearance and that should do it after filing a VFR Flight Plan that I will never activate or speak of again. I do the same on the way back (and I can file that useless flight plan in advance and have a two hour window of protection).

For non-towered, it seems I have to call Tray, say my intentions, and they will give me a discrete and release time. Wheels up and check in as usual.

Provided my DPE isn’t wigged out, I can do it…holy cow!
Click to expand...
One would hope your DPE would be suitably impressed that you 1) were aware of the threat to your planned activity and 2) have developed an acceptable way to mitigate it to a near non event.

Have a short explanation of “here’s the challenge and here is the solution” ready. Perhaps that becomes part of your flight plan prep scenario and discussion
 
Trogdor said:
IFR checkride. Have waited two months to finally get a date. Everything looked good until a Presidential TFR just popped up. I’m more than upset.

So, the good news: My CR airport is 10nm outside of the inner ring so technically you can fly on a plan. DPE will probably not allow me to file IFR under his name given the liability. However, a VFR Flight Plan and/or FF would I think allow us to operate and get us out of the ring to the ride.

Does anyone have any experience with this type of scenario?

I realize I can reschedule but at this point I feel like the universe is conspiring against me.
Click to expand...

Good luck on your check ride.

My DPE said it had to be VFR to take the flying portion, we didn’t file any flight plan. The weather just cleared enough to get my flight in. I experienced a 3 month delay until I was able to get it done. Because I had to reschedule 3 times because of the weather. Then wait weeks in between for the DPE.

She gave me vectors and instructions just like a controller. I didn’t talk to a controller at all. All unicom radio work.

Can you fly away from it?

BTW pretty sure my whole instrument check ride flight was under the bravo here.
 
Note: The sporting TFR is less restrictive than the POTUS TFRs.Two airports are grounded when he is home for short periods.Longer stays are doable but require more effort than the racetrack umbrella. Landing at a different airport for TSA intrusion before proceeding to the destination. great way to end an eight hour flying day.

My daughter lives near the POTUS in DE, but New Garden (Toughkanomen)west of her in PA is subject to the nonsense. gotta love that name
 
I once VFR departed and returned to KSFB when it was in the outer ring of the POTUS TFR. POTUS was in Orlando. Sanford actually had posted instructions for local pilots. Positive control (fly exactly how Departure told us) out by the shortest distance to outside the TFR. No practice approaches or pattern work. They also had specific initial call-up ground reference points they wanted us to use. Because of the POTUS TFR and the reduced traffic, it was not a big problem getting cleared into the Orlando Bravo and to the Sanford Charlie.
Tony T.
 
You will need to remove yourself entirely from the TFR rings.
C. THE FOLLOWING OPS ARE NOT AUTH WI THIS TFR: FLT TRAINING, PRACTICE INSTRUMENT APCH, AEROBATIC FLT, GLIDER OPS, SEAPLANE OPS, PARACHUTE OPS, ULTRALIGHT, HANG GLIDING, BALLOON OPS, AGRICULTURE/CROP DUSTING, ANIMAL POPULATION CTL FLT OPS, BANNER TOWING OPS, SIGHTSEEING OPS, MAINTENANCE TEST FLIGHTS, MODEL ACFT OPS, MODEL ROCKETRY, UNMANNED ACFT SYSTEMS (UAS), AND UTILITY AND PIPELINE SURVEY OPS.
 
Actually, about the above:

- Practice approaches I believe means "getting vectored" by ATC, i.e. I can still go to an airport and use an approach (say VOR-A) without ATC involvement and that would be OK. I'm not increasing their workload at all in that case (or very slightly).
- One could argue a check is not flight training (I mean you don't log duel received and I'm technically PIC; the DPE is just an educated passenger/safety pilot).

My biggest issue I actually think is if the DPE is not wigged out by it entirely and just doesn't want to do the check due to a perceived but unfounded risk we can shot down by Noble-1.

But there is absolutely no reason why I can't get FF till we are outside the ring, do a few approaches, some minor air work, and call it a day.

The other option is he drives down to an airport outside the ring or I fly him outside of the ring in the morning (TFR doesn't start till 10AM) to conduct the check and then pay an Uber to drive him home! (highly unlikely, but I do believe that is a viable option too).

@AggieMike88 I'm going to try to suggest all of these options before he can say "No". Talk about a scenario for the oral! What's funny is I will beat your record of waiting three months for a check if I can't fly on Monday.
 
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So awesome, the front tire is flat today! Somebody is out to get me!
 
Chip,
Who said he would be doing approaches at the TFR airport? I would not expect any DPE to be that stupid.
 
You can't do practice approaches though it's not clear to me you can't do an approach yourself (think VOR-A).
 
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