Now this is a retirement hobby

[BigNick]

I find this whole story quite charming, in a "not all hope for humanity is lost while people like this are around" kind of a way. A 75-year-old woman whose idea of something nice to do on a beautiful day is to go flying with her teddy bear.

I especially liked this masterpiece of diplomatic comment:

"The biggest thing to keep in mind is that when F-16s come screaming up to you, they are probably trying to tell you something," said Norad spokeswoman Stacey Knott.

No kidding.

 

[Amethyst]

What a cool lady. I guess she'll keep her radio on from now on, though

I want to learn to fly a small airplane.

Amethyst

 

[TromboneAl]

She also said she did not have her radio on. Jets were scrambled from Toledo, Ohio, when air traffic controllers were unable to contact her.

I bet she also had her directional signal on the whole time, and was flying slowly in the fast lane.

Lookin' good for 75 though.

 

[Leonidas]

She's a sweetheart. Looking good at 75, with her own plane (and Teddy) and still getting up there and doing what she loves. But Myrtle also has to get with the program - we live in the security theater era now and the guvmint might take her flying privileges away if she's not careful.

Anyway, if I make it to 75 I want to be rocking on just like her.

 

[Ronstar]

Great Story! Myrtle's got spunk. But a local pilot told me that they have to check in more frequently now that President Obama is flying to Chicago a lot. Myrtle must not have received that memo.

 

[Nords]

This doesn't look good for her next license renewal.

It also puts a whole new dimension* on the debate about when it's time for the elders to give up the car keys.

Nice lady and all, but why shut off the radio? When the engine dies or some other problem starts eating altitude, does she really want to spend the first 5-10 seconds of the casualty switching on the radio and doing a comms check for a Mayday?

* Altitude. "Dimension." Get it?

 

[KingB]

Will the goverment bill her for the cost of scrambling the F-16's? Why will the taxpayer shoulder the expense for her not checking the restriction?

 

[calmloki]

... we live in the security theater era now .....

.

+1

 

[TromboneAl]

Is it legal to fly an airplane with the radio off?

 

[REWahoo]

Is it legal to fly an airplane with the radio off?

Yes, especially if all you can get is hip-hop stations...

 

[packrat44]

Yes, especially if all you can get is hip-hop stations...

 

[powerplay]

Wonderful story, I hope she and Teddy keep flying awhile longer, but with the radio on.

 

[ERD50]

Will the goverment bill her for the cost of scrambling the F-16's? Why will the taxpayer shoulder the expense for her not checking the restriction?

Another +1 That part mars an otherwise great story.

Ms Rose told the Associated Press news agency that before flying her Piper J-3 Cub aircraft she normally checks for any airspace restrictions on her computer, but it was not working properly that day.

"I hadn't flown in over a week," Ms Rose told AP. "It was a beautiful afternoon."

She also said she did not have her radio on.

OK, so if she was unable to check on her computer (couldn't sh call her grandson to fix her computer?), isn't that even MORE reason to have the radio on?

Jets were scrambled from Toledo, Ohio, when air traffic controllers were unable to contact her.

From Toledo! How much fuel did that burn up!!!?

When Ms Rose landed on an airstrip on the outskirts of Chicago, police were waiting.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (Norad), which scrambled the two warplanes, said there was no excuse for not knowing about the airspace restrictions.

...

Ms Rose said she had filled in a report with the Federal Aviation Administration, which said she could face a fine, a pilot's licence suspension, or no action at all.

This is pretty serious IMO. If she's this flippant about regulations, I don't think she should be allowed to fly over other people's houses. Sorry.

Maybe she should get an ultru-light and fly over cornfields. She could still have fun and not endanger people.

-ERD50

 

[check6]

I always get a chuckle when I read stories about attempting to contact an aircraft via radio. There are 720 radio frequencies that aircraft use. Even if she had her radio on what are the chances someone could find her on one particular frequency? A good first start of course would be the frequency used by the airfield she departed. I have flown across the U.S. several times and never talked to a sole; it's not required.

Whether she was a threat that required scrambling the F-16s depends on how far she penetrated the 30 mile radius and if she was pointed toward ORD. Many small airports can fall within that 30 mile radius and since it was ORD Class B airspace, a transponder is required. It is unclear whether her departure airport was within that airspace and if the transponder was on if so equipped.

 

[freebird5825]

This doesn't look good for her next license renewal.

It also puts a whole new dimension* on the debate about when it's time for the elders to give up the car keys.

Nice lady and all, but why shut off the radio? When the engine dies or some other problem starts eating altitude, does she really want to spend the first 5-10 seconds of the casualty switching on the radio and doing a comms check for a Mayday?

* Altitude. "Dimension." Get it?

Radio failure is one thing.
Flying a small airplane NORDO in any airspace borders on crazy. Doing so in a restricted airspace (airport corridor) is just plain irresponsible.

I hate to be the wet blanket here, but imagine if another aircraft or ATC saw her flight path and tried to radio her to warn her about an impending mid-air collision. Picture your home and neighborhood being crushed by the resultant falling debris.

If I were her pilot's license reviewer, I would turn it down for willfully operating in radio silence. Ground travel without a radio on is one thing, but not in the air.

 

[Nords]

Will the goverment bill her for the cost of scrambling the F-16's? Why will the taxpayer shoulder the expense for her not checking the restriction?

We call that "flight hours" for "general military training". The taxpayers bought the fuel a year ago but the military was saving it for a special occasion just like this one...

 

[Col. Klink]

Radio failure is one thing.
Flying a small airplane NORDO in any airspace borders on crazy. Doing so in a restricted airspace (airport corridor) is just plain irresponsible.

I hate to be the wet blanket here, but imagine if another aircraft or ATC saw her flight path and tried to radio her to warn her about an impending mid-air collision. Picture your home and neighborhood being crushed by the resultant falling debris.

+1 here as well. I suspect Ms. Rose may want to take up flying radio controlled aircraft from the ground. She is not fully focused on flying the aircraft over a major population area and she appears not to care one bit, in fact, she appears to relish the attention.

 

[Zero]

I'll be the soggiest wet blanket of all. Is it a bit fishy sounding that her computer didn't work at the very most critical time? AND, that she chose not to use her radio. Why could she not call to get a report on airspace. Like they did for many, many years before Internet.

Could she have deliberately set out to get her moment of fame? If so she did a nice job.

 

[ERD50]

Worse yet, now that I've seen more detailed write ups in our local paper - I'm familiar with exactly where she took off from. She's close enough to be flying over my house with her little 'hobby'.

Ground her - please!

-ERD50

 

[Zero]

Worse yet, now that I've seen more detailed write ups in our local paper - I'm familiar with exactly where she took off from. She's close enough to be flying over my house with her little 'hobby'.

Ground her - please!

-ERD50

It's a delicate subject but there has to be a way to get dangerous activities out of the hands of folks not qualified. We would never let a 5 year old own a handgun, no matter how capable he/she seemed but we defend with near foamy-mouth rabidness the right of a 75 year old (and a bit arrogant to boot) to fly a plane capable of wiping out several homes.

 

[Amethyst]

Ho ho. Your implication is clear; the pilot is 75, and that's why she's arrogant and careless. But 25-year-olds aren't arrogant and careless?

Be careful; if you're lucky enough, you too will be 75 one day. Do you want your car keys taken away on your 75th birthday?

A.

It's a delicate subject but there has to be a way to get dangerous activities out of the hands of folks not qualified. ...the right of a 75 year old (and a bit arrogant to boot) to fly a plane capable of wiping out several homes.

 

[Walt34]

She's earned a hefty fine and at least a license suspension, but to claim that a J-3 can "wipe out several homes" is an exaggeration.

I learned to fly in one. The airplane has an empty weight of less than 700 lbs, flies at about 65 mph, and lands slightly above 40 mph fully loaded. With only my skinny 150 lb. butt in it landing into a 10 mph wind I landed at about 25 mph ground speed and could have it stopped in less than 50 yards. The reason it was and is highly regarded as a trainer is that it requires true "stick 'n rudder" skills to fly, but does it so slowly that there is plenty of time to make mistakes and recover from them, and you have to work at being stupid to hurt yourself or anyone else with it.

That said, a phone call to the nearest FAA office would have let her know that the NOTAM's (Notice To Airmen) were out about the presidential visit. Locally here, Camp David near Thurmont, MD normally has a five-mile restricted airspace around it which expands to 25 miles when the President is there. It's not uncommon for out-of-area pilots to be unaware of that.

 

[sailor]

Flying a small airplane NORDO in any airspace borders on crazy.

Can you elaborate why?
I'm routinely flying with no radio in F and G (uncontrolled) airspace and so are hundreds others pilots.

 

[rescueme]

My late father owned/flew a J3 and later a PA18 (Super Cub) in the late 50's-early 60's. While I took lessons (not from him, but from a certified instructor), but never got my license (had other interests and really no desire to become a pilot), I still remember those days of flying, without a radio.

The planes were based on an old grass field that had a few T-hangers and not much of anything else. I used an old tractor to cut the grass (and was paid in instruction hours, rather than cash), also in a J3.

When flying in the area, we would often land at the local airport (used for private/commercial traffic) and would have to enter the pattern and hold until we would get a green light (literally, they used a light gun) from the tower to land. Don't know if that's still done, but you didn't need a radio to get clearance. Had to do the same, holding on the taxiway until getting the green light to enter the runway when taking off.

Memories...

 

[samclem]

Many (most?) J-3 Cubs don't even have a radio. The stock ones generally have no electrical system and are not allowed to fly at night. That's not a big deal to hard core Cub pilots, they go all over the US without a radio. Most airfields in the US are uncontrolled fields, and it's perfectly legal to fly through most of the US airspace below 18,000 feet without a radio.
Now, Myrtle screwed up by not checking on the current Temporary Flight Restrictions (she could have gotten this info quickly with a standard briefing received over the phone form a free 800 number). It also sounds like she was in Class B airspace (or "under the veil" of class B), which requires that she have a transponder and a radio (and that she actually uses them). So, she's in the wrong, absolutely no doubt about that.

Off topic,
Sailor, where do you fly that you find Class F airspace?