I was planning a short joyride to FT Lauderdale for lunch last week. However, President Obama was in town and the corresponding temporary flight restriction (TFR) made my home airport a “no fly zone” until 3:15pm.
Apparently, the president didn’t know (or care) about my plans… So I had to wait till he was gone. So much for the proverbial $100 hamburger 🙁
It was such a nice day, I at least wanted to go for a joyride anyway. But i knew TFRs can sometimes get unexpectedly extended. So, I wanted to ensure that I didn’t violate any airspace rules.
The easiest way I have found to stay legal in situations like this is to simply file IFR.
It felt odd to file an instrument flight plan for a short 160NM trip in beautiful weather… But I did it anyway with a planned departure time of 3:16 PM.
I got to the airport to found a bunch of pilots loitering and waiting for the president to “get out of the way”
After finishing the preflight, I joined the crew loitering in the pilots lounge. Then ~ 2:55, one of the other pilots heard from Lockheed Flight Service that the TFR was about to be terminated a few minutes early!
Immediately, the lounge cleared out as everyone (myself included) scurried to their aircraft to prepare for departure. I finished my run-up and called Tampa Approach for my clearance @3:08.
It was such a nice day, I at least wanted to go for a joyride anyway. But i knew TFRs can sometimes get unexpectedly extended. So, I wanted to ensure that I didn’t violate any airspace rules.
The easiest way I have found to stay legal in situations like this is to simply file IFR.
It felt odd to file an instrument flight plan for a short 160NM trip in beautiful weather… But I did it anyway with a planned departure time of 3:16 PM.
I got to the airport to found a bunch of pilots loitering and waiting for the president to “get out of the way”
After finishing the preflight, I joined the crew loitering in the pilots lounge. Then ~ 2:55, one of the other pilots heard from Lockheed Flight Service that the TFR was about to be terminated a few minutes early!
Immediately, the lounge cleared out as everyone (myself included) scurried to their aircraft to prepare for departure. I finished my run-up and called Tampa Approach for my clearance @3:08.
They immediately cleared me with a void time of 3:16 and I was airborne by 3:12!!
(I know it was only a couple of minutes early… But it felt like a minor consolation)
Apparently others had the same idea as me because the Tampa approach frequency was very crowded. After I departed from the immediate area, things got back to normal.
The weather near my destination had deteriorated a little which you can see below:
The weather near my destination had deteriorated a little which you can see below:
Luckily FXE was perfectly positioned right between all of the precipitation.
So after an uneventful, dry landing, I ended up hanging out in Ft Lauderdale and having dinner on the beach instead of lunch. 
Cheers,
== T.J.==
== T.J.==