Bigger Class B?

I used to fly out of an airport on the coast just south of the San Francisco Class B. While controllers tried to permit transit, there was no guarantee. If they also have a 91.131(a)(2) problem, that Miami solution would seem attractive to San Francisco. The result for VFR traffic on a trip headed north might be to add up to 100 miles or more to bypass the Class B to the east, or a deviation far out over the Pacific Ocean, neither of which is an attractive alternative.

Editorial Staff

Wednesday, September 25, 2019 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

The Miami Class B has a problem. There’s a seldom-followed regulation, 91.131(a)(2), saying large turbine-powered aircraft—essentially a King Air 350 and larger—operating from a primary Class B airport, must remain in the Class B airspace. The problem in Miami is that many aircraft descend below the floor of the Class B.

The FAA’s solution isn’t education or even enforcement; it’s expansion of the Class B plus an unrelated expansion of nearby Fort Lauderdale’s Class C.