“You have been intercepted!” Four words that can ruin a pilot’s day…week…or many months. One of the AirVenture’s best known and liked homebuilders was diligently following the instructions in the AirVenture NOTAM (this year called Oshkosh 2024 Notice) when those four words came over the radio, calling out his tail number. A Presidential TFR had popped up “but my Foreflight wasn’t showing it.” He didn’t have the TFR alert option turned on. The Homebuilt Pavilion was quite abuzz when I arrived later in the afternoon and learned that the Secret Service had been there, interviewing the pilot. “They even called my ex-wife!” he told me. Always good to stay on good terms with the ex.
Flying across the West, across middle of nowhere Nevada, I saw a fire TFR pop up along my route. Fortunately, I had my alerts on before a controller called to warn me on 121.5. (I like to monitor 121.5 in the middle of nowhere.) A look at the local map this morning (0740 CDT) shows lots of TFRs along potential AirVenture routes. BE AWARE! TFRs are like acne on a teenager’s face just before the prom…popping up with little or no warning. Whether for firefighting or campaigning politicians, we will be seeing plenty of them this summer and the burden is on us to watch for them. The RNC TFR in Milwaukee has closed but another (airshow) one is planned for next weekend, so be aware if you leave Oshkosh and head south next Thursday through Sunday. Stay safe (from politicians!) out there.
