AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - January 2021 - 88

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88 | AOPA PILOT January 2021

Remarks, " which for Furnace Creek
in November 2020 noted, " Rwy 15/33
Pavement Heaving; Extremely Rough Sfc. "
It's clear that one pilot might land
at Furnace Creek with caution, while
another might consider it too hazardous.
Every pilot must assess the risks in relation to their skills, experience, and the
airplanes they're flying.
AOPA
DENNIS K. JOHNSON is an aviation writer and

frequent contributor to AOPA publications.

DENNIS K. JOHNSON

AOPA's Flexible Aviation Loan can be put
to work right now to get you on your way as
a better trained, more proficient pilot.

Less than 10 percent of cracks and joints
need sealing. Minimal or slight raveling.
No distortion. Patches in good condition. " As for whether you should land on
a " poor " or " failed " runway, only the
" failed " runway elicits a note that reads
" condition may be limiting service. " The
FAA leaves it up to the PIC to decide if a
runway is NG.
The PASER manual concludes with
a section of " practical advice on rating
airfield pavements, " which includes the
statement that, " no pavement feature is
entirely consistent, surfaces in one section may not have all the types of distress
listed for a particular rating...the objective is to rate the condition that represents
the majority of the pavement...and recommends rating a section by its worst part. "
Using the PASER manual is a good
(in my subjective opinion) and systematic method for airport managers to plan
future repair projects and budget for
maintenance.
So, the next time pilots read that a runway is in " good " condition, it might mean
something if they've read the PASER manual-and the runway evaluator referenced
it as well. " Good " is still a subjective word,
but the FAA has tried to put some reasoned logic behind it. And check all the
related information, including " Additional

AOPA DATA
An excellent source of runway
information is AOPA's Airport
Directory (www.aopa.org/
destinations) or on AOPA's
app. There, pilots can view
the basic information that's
widely available about any
airport-runway length and
width, markings and lighting,
fuel, FBOs; like many aviation databases, much of the
information comes from the
FAA. But AOPA adds other
businesses, flying clubs, and
restaurants, plus a satellite
image and sectional chart.
AOPA also adds a very useful
feature: the airport review
section. There, pilots can post
reviews of the airport, whether the price of fuel is correct, the hamburger juiciness
quotient, or the condition of
the runway.
For example, on February
4, a pilot who'd visited Furnace
Creek Airport wrote, " the Park
Service has allowed this runway to deteriorate to an unsafe
condition, " while on January
20, someone wrote, " the runway has not been maintained,
but is not in such bad shape
that I would stop flying to this
oasis in the desert. " Another
excellent advantage of AOPA's
airport reviews is that pilots
can post photos, and there is
currently one closeup shot of
the thermal cracks in the runway. You won't find that in the
FAA database. -DKJ
http://www.aopa.org/destinations http://www.aopa.org/destinations http://www.aopa.org/financemytraining
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - January 2021

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