Casa Grande – Airport Skydive Proposal

Skydive Coastal California, Inc. dba Phoenix Area Skydiving
8380 M-­‐119, Harbor Springs, Michigan 49740 Casa Grande – Airport Skydive Proposal Introduction: Skydive Coastal California (PAS) is interested in using the Casa Grande Airport (CGZ) for its Tandem Skydiving Operation. Skydive Coastal California is owned by AivCon Inc. and currently flies out of the CGZ airport but does the parachuting at a remote location. Additionally, AivCon Inc. owns and operates several skydiving centers around the country including operations in the metro areas of: Los Angeles, Miami, Phoenix, Detroit, Northern Michigan, Washington DC (Warrenton) and Atlanta. These operations have a great safety record and pride themselves on their ability to work well with all parts of the aviation community including; the air traffic controllers of the tower and approach agencies, the airport management, the local governments, the local pilots and other related aviation parties. Skydive Coastal California puts safety first and places a high priority on compliance with FAA, state and local regulations. Purpose of Proposal: Skydive Coastal California is proposing to operate a tandem skydiving operation at the Casa Grande Airport. On October 4, 2013, Richard Wilkie, the airport manager at CGZ, and Luther Kurtz had a very open and friendly conversation about the possibility of PAS skydiving directly onto the Casa Grande Airport. Mr. Wilkie indicated that he had concerns about the parachutes landing directly on the airport but promised to bring the proposal to the city for approval. Mr. Wilkie also confirmed that if PAS decided to base its business operation and landing area off the airport that PAS could certainly use the airport for normal aviation uses like taking off and loading passengers. PAS hopes to continue to work with Mr. Wilkie to improve safety and efficiency of the skydiving at or near the Casa Grande Airport regardless of whether its operation is based at the airport or based at another location and merely uses the airport to board passengers and takeoff and land. Proposal Topics: This proposal will include the following topics: -­‐ Type of operation. -­‐ Effect on Air Traffic Control. -­‐ Effect on transitioning air traffic. -­‐ Effect on local air traffic. -­‐ Applicable rules for landing area size and location. -­‐ Proposed office site. -­‐ Parachuting License -­‐ Economic Impact. -­‐ Conclusion. Tandem Operation: PAS proposes a Tandem Operation at the Casa Grande Airport. A tandem jump is defined by the FAA in Part 105.3 as a parachute operation in which more than one person simultaneously uses the same tandem parachute system while descending to the surface from an aircraft in flight. The United States Parachute Association (USPA), a volunteer membership organization governing skydiving that is recognized by the FAA, requires Tandem Instructors to, among other things, have 500 skydives, hold a D-­‐license (expert) and complete a 10 jump training course. PAS is a member of the USPA and uses only USPA rated Tandem Instructors. Additionally, the FAA requires in Part 105.45 that the parachutist in command of a tandem parachute operation have 500 jumps, three years experience in skydiving, hold a master parachute license, and have completed a tandem instructor course given by the manufacturer of the gear. PAS requires that its instructors complete both the voluntary USPA tandem training and the FAA required manufacturer-­‐training course. Therefore, every tandem parachute operation at PAS is, and will continue to be, limited to parachutists that have completed two training courses and hold a master parachute license. According the USPA: Tandem Skydiving has a much better safety record than student training. PAS is not proposing to do student training at the Casa Grande Airport. The USPA’s website shows data supporting that Tandem Skydiving is between two and four times safer than other skydiving disciplines. Over 90% of PAS’s jumps are tandem skydiving, with the same three instructors jumping over and over again, allowing them to learn the local traffic and follow the local rules and safety suggestions. Sport Jumping: Sport jumpers are parachutists that have a license from the USPA and do not receive instruction on their jump. They only pay for a ride to altitude. These jumpers are self supervised but can be required to follow safety guidelines and fly certain traffic patterns. PAS does not have many sport jumpers but it does require that all sport jumpers use an AAD (Automatic Activation Device) for every jump. PAS will also require that each jumper have at least an A – License from the USPA before jumping onto the airport. Effect on Air Traffic Control: After a brief discussion with Phoenix Approach I believe that the move to jumping at the Casa Grande Airport will still allow us to continue our great relationship with ATC. PAS will continue to comply with all applicable regulations including; Part 105.13(a)(ii), contacting ATC at least 5 minutes prior to jump; and Part 105.25(a), notice requirement to ATC. PAS will also make a request to have the parachute symbol on the chart moved to be directly over the airport, will continue to file a NOTAM and will also continue to contact approach controllers for updates regarding air safety. Effect on Transitioning Aircraft: Phoenix Approach will likely notify our jump aircraft of transitioning aircraft above CGZ. Additionally, parachutists are trained to look before jumping for additional aircraft unreported by ATC. Since PAS’s business is primarily Tandem it will be easy to monitor the operation so that the instructors continue to follow this safety procedure. Effect On Local Air Traffic: FAA Advisory Circular 90-­‐66A describes how parachutes and aircraft can safely mix on the same airport. A portion of this AC is depicted in Supplement 1 at the end of this proposal. Tandem operations can be done with a high degree of accuracy. Usually tandem parachutists are more accurate than most fixed wing aircraft -­‐ with a few extreme circumstances as an exception. However, even in extreme circumstances the tandem parachute will be able to see and avoid other aircraft. As depicted in Supplement 1, parachutes descend virtually straight down and avoid the aircraft in the pattern that are between 700 and 1200 feet AGL and between half a mile and a mile horizontally from the airport. This allows parachutes and aircraft to operate at the same time at the same airport. Our proposed landing area (see supplement 4) is adjacent to the taxiway. It is 1000 feet by 150 feet with a 40-­‐foot clearance on either side. This will allow ample room for Licensed Skydivers and Tandem Parachutes. Applicable rules for landing area size and location: The USPA requires that the tandem parachute be able to land in a location that is at least 50 meters from the nearest hazard. A waiver of this requirement is available but the waiver would not be necessary for the proposed landing area. Hazards are defined as power lines, buildings, trees, etc. (see supplement 2). Our proposed landing area for tandems has several locations that would be 50 meters from an obstacle. The USPA does not consider a taxiway or a runway to be a hazard. The FAA, in its proposed Parachute Landing Area (PLA), does consider the taxiway/runway to be a hazard but allows the minimum PLA size for tandem operations to be rectangular instead of circular, compensating for the need to have a longer than wider landing area. This also allows PLA’s to be located between the taxiway and the runway or adjacent to runways (see supplement 3). The FAA, in the same proposal, also requires that the landing area be at least 40 feet from any obstacle including the taxiway and runway. Our proposed landing area, after considering for the 40-­‐foot reduction on all sides (depicted on supplement 4), is 200,000 square feet. The minimum PLA size listed in the FAA proposal (Supplement 3) is 84,500 square feet for tandem operations and 5000 square feet for licensed skydivers. 200,000 square feet is much larger than 84,500 square feet so this landing area would fit into the proposed PLA requirements. It is important to note that this FAA PLA proposal has been withdrawn and no further proposal is expected. Therefore, the FAA would ultimately decide on a case-­‐by-­‐case basis if the airport were safe for skydiving -­‐ assuming we cannot come to an agreement. It is my hope that the Casa Grande Airport will use the USPA recommendations and find a way to incorporate skydiving into the airport operations. Proposed Office Site: PAS proposes two options for an office site. The first option is leasing the kitchen area of the terminal building. PAS would be open to discussions regarding payment of the necessary modifications to the inside of the terminal to accomplish this. PAS would also be open to discussing the option of PAS operating a restaurant in the terminal building – a goal that the airport has had for several years and has not been able to make work for one reason or another. The second option is the building of an office hanger on the airport. This is a process that we have been through on two occasions before at the direction of the airport board and we are still interested in this option. Based on direction from the airport PAS will present a more formal proposal for the location of the office site. Insurance: Phoenix Area Skydiving understands the insurance needs of the airport. PAS is willing to assist in finding an insurance policy that will cover skydiving on the airport. PAS is open to the possibility of paying the additional cost for the insurance to cover skydiving. Boost to Airport and Local Economy: PAS is already economically beneficial to the airport and surrounding community. If this proposal is accepted the airport would continue to benefit from the rent paid and the fuel purchased. In the first nine months of 2013, PAS paid the airport over $40,000. In addition to the financial benefits the airport realizes, PAS’s customers also have a positive impact on the local economy. Our customers often stop for gas at local stations, eat at local restaurants, and stay overnight in local hotels. We are often asked to recommend local eateries and we are excited to be able to send them to some of the great restaurants in the area. Conclusion: PAS purchases thousands of dollars of fuel every year and will continue to be an economic boost to the local economy and the airport. PAS works hard to be a good neighbor and also works hard to get along well with all aspects of aviation. Tandem skydiving is safer and easier on the local pilots than other types of skydiving operations because of the large size of the parachute and the experience of the tandem instructor. This proposal outlines a very workable solution for PAS to use the CGZ airport for its tandem operation. This is a solution that will be safe and mutually beneficial for both the airport and PAS. I encourage you to keep the communications open as to how we can move forward with this. Please contact me at [email protected] or on my cell at 231-­‐622-­‐2052 with any comments or suggestions regarding this proposal. Thank you, -­‐Luther Supplement 1: Supplement 2: Supplement 3:
Supplement 4: