The area around Washington, DC is protected by an enormous Restricted Zone. It is, in fact an ADIZ (Air Defense Identification Zone) courtesy of Homeland Security and the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration). Gaining an exemption to fly in the area is extremely difficult and not often granted. We went through several difference channels and were not able to obtain such an exemption. For that reason we had to veer far around the DC area. At times this put us over the Chesapeake Bay and other areas with low population densities.

We also needed to make good time on certain legs of these trips. When on a tight schedule we circle dense population areas and then continue in the most direct route to the next area with large population densities. At times this requires the Blimp to be flown over “less than optional” exposure areas. Keep in mind that the Blimp travels at about 30-35 miles per hour with no wind. Sometimes it is necessary to take direct routes because of time issues. At times there are flight safety issues and the air crew makes those decisions in the best interest of the Blimp. They have the final word when it comes to operational safety.

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 22nd, 2007 at 1:20 am by Charles and is filed under A. All Posts, J. FAQs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.