Reservists educate pilots on midair collision avoidance

  • Published
  • By 927 ARW Public Affairs
  • 927 ARW Public Affairs
LAKELAND Fla --  Representatives from the 927th Air Refueling Wing and 6th Air Mobility Wing, MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., teamed up with the Florida Air National Guard during the Sun n' Fun Expo in Lakeland Florida, April 1-6 to promote midair collision avoidance.

Their "Don't Fly Naked" slogan captured the attention of over 2,500 visitors while educating civilian pilots on the dangers of not communicating with other aircraft in military airspace.

"General aviation aircraft transiting military operating airspace and special use airspace without communicating on the radios or through their transponders creates major safety hazard," said Maj. Christine Stanaback, 63 Air Refueling Squadron, MacDill AFB. "This is what is referred to as 'flying naked' and our goal is to educate people on the proper procedures when operating in airspace used by the military."

The Don't Fly Naked booth also promoted the website www.seeandavoid.org to eliminate airspace incursions and reduce close calls between military and civilian aircraft.

"A lot of times, MOAs and SUAs have fast moving aircraft executing maneuvers and training in these areas," said Lt Col David Paulsgrove, Chief, Air National Guard Flight Safety.

"This website provides information on active and pending areas for flight planning and appropriate control frequency for altitude deconfliction if flying through the area cannot be avoided to allow civilian and military aircraft to safely share the skies.," he continued.

The website uses Google Maps to depict military low level training routes, airspace and bases across the country for situational awareness.

"I like the graphical representation of the website and how it provides real-time data I can use," said Stephen Petrikas, general aviation pilot.