Forwarded from the Bearhawk group. Read this. If you fly for recreation,
you may not be doing that much longer.

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I apologize for the length of this but wanted people to realize what is
going on. This total insanity is being repeated at all 450 commercial
airports in the US and unless we can counter it will put an end to free
travel around the country for private pilots. I cant think of a better
illustration that our government is totally out of control and needs to
be reigned back in now!

Rod Smith

It seems “ they “ are at it again.  We were told AOPA was quite
unaware of this Special Directive

While I am not the MTJ rep, and do not know who is (maybe you could tell
me)  I attended,  though I am the rep for Delta Blake field some 30
miles down the road, with some 60 plus others tonight, a meeting no one
had even heard about until two days ago.  And really only email amongst
folks on the field and the EAA chapter caused anyone to be there.  It
was a full house, even though the address given was incorrect.  I would
guess the average age was 50 with a lot of former military and airline
pilots in attendance, or folks having other long time security
clearances professionally, and who were a bit amazed at all this. Nearly
all pilots.

Four TSA reps were there from Grand Junction , we think that is where
they were from:   Rennie (sp?)  Dunn, Chris Putnam, Dick Wiles and a
Peter Cook.  Two never said a word, Wiles offered two or three
sentences, and Rennie carried the freight.  They all left in the same US
Govt black SUV.  One was reputed to be a former special forces Lt Col in
the mid east and therefore familiar with security concerns.  Frankly,
none were very impressive but on the other hand, they had been
volunteered for a clearly thankless role.

The basic overall concept is another “Federal Unfunded Mandate”
which several in the crowed noted, in this case known as a Security
Directive affecting all individuals having access to commercial service
airports to become effective April 30.

Anyone wishing access after that date must, on only four near term days,
apply on a preliminary basis for security threat screening.   Those
dates are 2/25/ 2/28  3/4 and 3/7.

Anyone not able to be present on those four near term dates must pay a
$50 fee to begin the screening process.   Persons must bring approved
identification from the approved list to be found at
www.montroseairport.com

Reportedly the SD is fourteen pages, but no one except the TSA is
allowed to know what the rules are, as we ALL understood it, until or
unless you break one of the rules.  Each of the four TSA people there
acknowledged they had seen the document.   A Catch 22 - Alice in
Wonderland moment.

A question was raised, what redress or appeal process is available.  The
answer was surely it would be reasonably handled.

A local prominent attny who was a former prosecuting attny opined that
not only is this all backwards, in his view it was simply
unconstitutional.

It presently appears that anyone on the ramp without a TSA ID is subject
to fines or convictions in unknown amounts and arrest or detainment by
unknown persons as it seems not to be known how enforcement will be
conducted, or by whom.  The sole female TSA person, I could not fathom
or match the persons to the names, quietly said, the one time she even
dared look at the crowd, that patrolling would likely be random and
infrequent.  Or something very like that.

Of course the question was then raised, why bother.  No answer.

It further appears that each airport will need to conduct is own
application and fee process and then TSA will do the screening.  It
further appears that each of the 450 commercially served airports will
have to issue its own security badges, raising a bit of an issue for
those who are professional pilots, travel to more than one airport, or,
put rather dramatically, stop for fuel at self service pumps.  The self
service fuel vendor from Grand Junction , Colo traveled down to this
meeting and advised that at a similar meeting yesterday, the first time
fee for a screening and badge there will be $175 per person.  Montrose
said their first badge will be free, and subsequent ones on expiry of
the first will be an as yet unknown amount.  I myself flew three states
last weekend.  The west is a bit larger than the area within the
beltway.

One fellow asked why not have identical badges at all airports so folks
know what to look for>

One on field commercial operator said it would be cost prohibitive for
all employees who might escort someone to be screened and badged. And
there are certainly are no excess personnel available for such duty.
The airport manager then volunteered the same answer for his staff.

A couple of ag spray operators who necessarily fly into a variety of
airports here, and are always on call from various counties, were a bit
troubled by the multiple badge requirement, and since they often are
called out to do SEAT wildland fire fighting as first responders, (until
from what I can see the BLM can figure out what to do,) they felt that
waiting for a badge to get fuel and slurry water might be just a bit of
an issue.  How are they to anticipate where to apply, in advance?  No
answer.  Multiple pleas were made of one badge, nationally, and the
response was that concept would be taken back for discussion.

A local Colorado Dept of Wildlife pilot felt it might be a bit of a
burden to get credentials from all his typical airports, plus those for
the areas served by the other three pilots when they are on vacation, or
out of town, not to mention the economic costs, or the time to go and
apply at different places, etc.

Several FBO employees or free lance mechanics, or the Western Skyways
Engine shop to which has customer s routinely coming in from Brazil,
Mexico and other south and central American countries, were told,
directly, they will need to staff and accompany anyone not credentialed
who is on the field.  All of course said this would break them
financially, and the self fuel operators said they too could not staff a
self fuel op 24 x 7.

It is clear the Montrose Airport Appreciation day, when several hundred
people visit with old classic cars, motorcycles, balloon rides, flybys,
the LIONS cooking hotdogs and burgers to raise funds, homebuilts on
display, Civil Air Patrol handling off tarmac vehicle parking and on
tarmac crowd control, Americana if you will, could be a bit of an issue
and the TSA suggested local law enforcement could somehow staff the
escort necessities on the field. How exactly do you escort a large
milling crowd?  As it happens, I am also the Young Eagles-
Co-Coordinator for EAA chapter 1373.  We typically have about 100 young
Eagles we fly with a variety of pilots on those fall days, and as a
general rule, with mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers; you could
expect maybe 300 or more people in the course of a day, not to mention
grand parents, media folk, etc as a part of that operation.

Montrose airport serves the ski crowd, and movie stars going to
Telluride, when A.) the particular aircraft can not get into Telluride
due to size or B.) Weather.  And that field is to close shortly for
extended runway re-work.  The Montrose FBO asked how he was to possibly
monitor 30 limousines simultaneously, not to mention accompanying or
escorting anyone within the vehicles, apart from getting changing and
independent drivers to apply for credentials. I have seen easily 30
limos there myself, this is not an exaggeration, may be an
understatement.

Questions were raised about what is or are the levels of thresholds for
pass/fail on a security clearance, no answer.

One asked the TSA folk to verify the fine was $10,000 a day.  They could
not verify anything they said.  Might be less.

Questions were raised about whether a DUI or childhood infraction would
be cause for a turndown, no answer.

A question was raised whether an existing fire arm permit would be
adequate. (Presumably concealed but unclear.)  No answer.

Questions were raised about whether if a person were to escort someone
who had failed a clearance, but the escorter, not the escortee, did not
know it, if that escorting person would be charged with a violation?
(How were they to conduct their own clearances?)  No answer.

Questions were raised about how many persons one with a security badge
could escort.  No answer.  It is being looked at….

Questions were raised about on field ppties or buildings with ramp
access and non-secure or public access, i.e. two doors on opposite sides
of a building, were to be dealt with, and the answer was the doors must
all be locked and monitored, or screened.  The following question arose,
what if a mechanic was in or under a plane servicing it, and someone
undetected walked through, who was liable.  The impression was the
County might be liable.

An unfielded question was raised, what if locking doors is in violation
of the national or local fire code that all doors must be unlocked
during business hours…

Questions were raised about whether this was wheels or boots on the
tarmac, and which would constitute a violation.   NO answer.

Questions were raised why an existing Federal ID, was not adequate, say
a pilots license, perhaps with a security clearance stamp on the
corner.  NO answer.

Questions were raised why not a national one time clearance for all
airports, no answer.

Questions were raised about how it would be possible to get all this
done by the deadline, no answer.  There were ambivalent responses that
this was only version F or G and that further “refinements” were
likely.

Questions were raised about how this was all to be paid for; the answer
was the County or City that owned the airport.  The airport manager made
it clear, especially in these economic times; they simply could not pay
for this.

I intended to forward this, and forgot to remove the news group.