FFZ Airport Directors letter to FAA re NDB

12/12/2006  

Yesterday, we received notification from the FAA that they will NOT be de-commissioning the NDB.  Apparently Phoenix TRACON could not support LNAV/VNAV minimums into Rwy 04R or Rwy 04L, and so they have decided to keep the NDB in place with the same procedure that is currently published.  

Corinne C. Nystrom, A.A.E.
Airport Director
Falcon Field Airport
 

Flight School NDB Letter

April 28, 2006

RE:     Potential Decommissioning of the NDB

To Whom It May Concern:

The Airport has received the following request from the FAA:

“The Federal Aviation Administration is continuing to expand the availability and capability of area navigation (RNAV) to improve safety and efficiency within the National Airspace System.  A major enhancement is the introduction of Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) capable RNAV instrument approach procedures that provide for near precision vertical guidance.

To meet the public’s demand for WAAS capable RNAV procedures, the FAA must manage the growth in the number of instrument approach procedures by eliminating redundant ground-based procedures.  The following instrument flight procedure(s) have been determined to be candidates for cancellation: NDB or GPS-A”.

The FAA is requesting that the Airport advise the Los Angeles Flight Procedures Office (LAX FPO) of the airport's intentions concerning the proposed cancellation of the NDB portion of the "NDB or GPS-A, Orig" procedure.  The FAA wants an official response from the Airport whether or not the Airport wishes to retain the NDB portion of the procedure, or if we concur with the cancellation.  The Falcon Tower chief provided the following input regarding the impact of the removal of the NDB:

1. Existing IFR departure procedure relies on the FFZ NDB.  This will need to be rewritten.

2. An average of 5 to 10 aircraft per day use the FFZ NDB approach for instrument student pilot training. Currently, FFZ and CHD are the only airports with NDB's left in the valley to provide this training for instrument student pilots.

3. This leaves only the GPS -A instrument approach left into FFZ.   PHX TRACON has stated it will not support the development of RNAV RY 4R and 4L approach procedures into FFZ.

If the airport intends to try to retain the NDB portion of the procedure, the FAA requests that we provide justification to support the need for retention.  The proposed date of cancellation of the procedure is December 21, 2006.  In either case, the Airport must reply no later than May 30, 2006.  If no response is received by May 30, 2006 it will be assumed by the FAA that the Airport concurs with the cancellation, and automatic action will begin.

Please contact me at 644-4230 to schedule a meeting so that we may discuss the potential impacts, if any, upon your flight training operations.  The airport would like your input regarding this issue.  Thank you for your assistance. 

Sincerely,

Jeff Tripp

Airport Projects Supervisor