The Republican National Convention being held in downtown Milwaukee on July 15-18 will greatly affect air operations over and around the Milwaukee area on those dates and could impact flight planning for pilots coming to Oshkosh early for EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, which begins on July 22.
While the FAA will release the full TFR for July 15-18 approximately seven days prior to its implementation, the agency has shared a draft of it with EAA. The FAA has also posted a flight advisory at Resources - Notices - FAA - FAASTeam - FAASafety.gov. The RNC TFR includes:
- A surface-to-3,000 foot AGL restriction for a three-mile radius from downtown Milwaukee. That will be in effect from 8 a.m. until 1:59 p.m. CDT on July 15-18.
- Surface-to-17,999 foot MSL restrictions for 10- and 30-mile radius from downtown Milwaukee from 2-11 p.m. on July 15-18. The 10-mile radius will be a complete no-fly zone, while the 30-mile radius will have some gateway provisions included in the posted TFR. Flying within the 10 to 30 mile section of the TFR requires “talking and squawking” with Milwaukee ATC.
There is a long list of prohibited operations within the TFR, including flight training, UAS (drone) operations, ultralight operations, practice instrument approaches, and more.
The 30-mile radius affects multiple outlying airports in the Milwaukee area, including Racine, Kenosha, Waukesha, West Bend, Hartford, and others. Some of these airports are popular “last-stop” locations for pilots flying to Oshkosh. Inbound gateway screening for aircraft that require it within the TFR will take place at Madison (MSN) and Grand Rapids (GRR).
More information will be released as it becomes available. Pilots heading to Oshkosh during the July 15-18 period should stay current with TFR information in addition to understanding guidelines described in the FAA Notice for AirVenture.
