It drives me crazy mainly because its in my back yard.
The Camp David, MD presidential retreat sits nicely in the Catoctin Mtns just between Frederick, MD and Hagerstown, MD. Good old P-40 is a prohibited area that is a three mile circle centered on the camp and goes to 5,000agl. R-4009 sits on top of the prohibited area and goes to 12,500ft.
Now since 9-11, the TFR around this space goes from a 4 mile circle to a 10 mile circle based on NOTAMS.
When the circle goes to 10 miles, it means that either the president himself is at the retreat or that the president is travelling and Mr. Cheney is safely squirreled away there. The NOTAM went out today that this weekend is a 10-mile TFR.
My beef. One - if I know this, then anyone who is evil minded has a definitive way of determining an action that would affect the chain of command of this country. Two - at ten miles, the TFR disrupts both the ILS approaches into HGR and FDK basically wiping out airports in a twenty-five square mile area. It wipes out all glider activity at FDK and the Soaring center near Emmitsburg that uses the mountains for practice. And it affects traffic arriving at IAD-Dulles. The closest ILS serviced airports to this area are at Martinsburg, WV and Baltimore, MD. I guess the government has determined that nobody important lives on the I-70 corridor.
I don't understand the thinking of the Secret Service. I was involved with another DC area law enforcement group and they understood the word "clandestine". I sat in an "unmarked" building in the middle of an office complex with no apparent security and handled all sorts of sensitive material and had all sorts of "special" guests.
So I wonder why the advertising? If they just left the TFR at 5 miles (to enhance security due to 9-11) and left it alone, we wouldn't have this broadcast advertising that something special is going on at Camp D. No, instead they mark it as a huge target and say don't get anywhere near - in fact don't even try to live a normal life anywhere near here. Why don't they just hang a "bulls-eye" on Camp David's gate?
Vent over. It's stupid.
The Camp David, MD presidential retreat sits nicely in the Catoctin Mtns just between Frederick, MD and Hagerstown, MD. Good old P-40 is a prohibited area that is a three mile circle centered on the camp and goes to 5,000agl. R-4009 sits on top of the prohibited area and goes to 12,500ft.
Now since 9-11, the TFR around this space goes from a 4 mile circle to a 10 mile circle based on NOTAMS.
When the circle goes to 10 miles, it means that either the president himself is at the retreat or that the president is travelling and Mr. Cheney is safely squirreled away there. The NOTAM went out today that this weekend is a 10-mile TFR.
My beef. One - if I know this, then anyone who is evil minded has a definitive way of determining an action that would affect the chain of command of this country. Two - at ten miles, the TFR disrupts both the ILS approaches into HGR and FDK basically wiping out airports in a twenty-five square mile area. It wipes out all glider activity at FDK and the Soaring center near Emmitsburg that uses the mountains for practice. And it affects traffic arriving at IAD-Dulles. The closest ILS serviced airports to this area are at Martinsburg, WV and Baltimore, MD. I guess the government has determined that nobody important lives on the I-70 corridor.
I don't understand the thinking of the Secret Service. I was involved with another DC area law enforcement group and they understood the word "clandestine". I sat in an "unmarked" building in the middle of an office complex with no apparent security and handled all sorts of sensitive material and had all sorts of "special" guests.
So I wonder why the advertising? If they just left the TFR at 5 miles (to enhance security due to 9-11) and left it alone, we wouldn't have this broadcast advertising that something special is going on at Camp D. No, instead they mark it as a huge target and say don't get anywhere near - in fact don't even try to live a normal life anywhere near here. Why don't they just hang a "bulls-eye" on Camp David's gate?
Vent over. It's stupid.
