While the temporary flight restrictions over the Milwaukee area for next week’s Republican National Convention won’t affect the majority of pilots flying to Oshkosh this year, the event on July 15-18 does create the need for additional preparation if you plan on arriving early at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh.
The FAA and other federal agencies have finalized the TFR rules and NOTAM for the event, which is based at the Fiserv Forum in downtown Milwaukee. 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 individual, official NOTAMs are listed here:
- UAS Operations, July 14-15: https://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_4_7761.html
- Manned flight operations, July 15 (morning): https://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_4_7763.html
- Manned flight operations, July 15 (PM): https://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_4_7790.html
- TFR effective area, July 16-18: https://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_4_7762.html
- Expanded TFR areas, July 16-18: https://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_4_7792.html
- UAS operations, July 16-18: https://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_4_7760.html
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).
The FAA also created graphics to assist pilots in safely flying in or around the TFR areas (shown below).
