ivil pilots familiarize themselves with Team Dover

Mark Tetreault, 436th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron transit alert, marshals a privately owned aircraft during the 2015 Dover Air Force Base Mid-Air Collision Avoidance Fly-in May 2, 2015, at Dover AFB, Del. Twenty-nine aircraft and 68 pilots participated in the fly-in. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Zachary Cacicia)

ivil pilots familiarize themselves with Team Dover

Capt. Matt Upchurch, 436th Airlift Wing flight safety officer, presents a safety brief during the 2015 Dover Air Force Base Mid-Air Collision Avoidance Fly-in May 2, 2015, at Dover AFB, Del. Upchurch was the primary facilitator and organizer of the event. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Zachary Cacicia)

ivil pilots familiarize themselves with Team Dover

Staff Sgt. Ryan Dougherty, 436th Operations Support Squadron Air Traffic Control watch supervisor, left, and Airman 1st Class Marcos Plaza, 436th OSS air traffic controller apprentice, brief civilian pilots during the 2015 Dover Air Force Base Mid-Air Collision Avoidance Fly-in May 2, 2015, at Dover AFB, Del. The civilian pilots toured the Air Traffic Control complex. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Zachary Cacicia)

ivil pilots familiarize themselves with Team Dover

Bill Kennedy, 436th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron transit alert, marshals a privately owned aircraft during the 2015 Dover Air Force Base Mid-Air Collision Avoidance Fly-in May 2, 2015, at Dover AFB, Del. Pilots flew in from the from the Delmarva Peninsula and the surrounding states of Pa., Md., N.J. and Va. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Zachary Cacicia)

Civil pilots familiarize themselves with Team Dover

Alex Gertsen, a civilian pilot based out of Washington, D.C., sits in the flight deck of a C-17A Globemaster III during the 2015 Dover Air Force Base Mid-Air Collision Avoidance Fly-in May 2, 2015, at Dover AFB, Del. Gertsen flew in from Gaithersburg, Md., to attend the event. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Zachary Cacicia)

Civil pilots familiarize themselves with Team Dover

Staff Sgt. Zach Odom, 3d Airlift Squadron loadmaster, right, talks with a group of touring civilian pilots during the 2015 Dover Air Force Base Mid-Air Collision Avoidance Fly-in May 2, 2015 onboard a C-17A Globemaster III on Dover AFB, Del. The pilots toured this C-17 to better understand how military aircraft operate. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Zachary Cacicia)

Civil pilots familiarize themselves with Team Dover

Published May 5, 2015
By Airman 1st Class Zachary Cacicia
436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- With Team Dover's fleet of flying giants regularly occupying the airspace around Dover AFB, many local civilian general aviation pilots are reluctant to enter its airspace.

To better familiarize these pilots, the 436th and 512th Airlift Wings Safety Offices held their second ever Mid-Air Collision Avoidance (MACA) Fly-in May 2, 2015, on Dover AFB, Del.

"This is an educational piece, we get general aviation pilots who are not familiar with Dover Air Force Base per se," said Lt. Col. Mark Radio, 436th AW Safety chief. "However they do fly into our airspace, so any opportunity we have to give them an idea of what our operations do and how that impacts what they do on a regular basis flying around our airfield, benefits both the base and the pilots."

Team Dover hosted 29 aircraft and 68 pilots, who transited from the Delmarva Peninsula and the surrounding states of Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia. Safety Officers began the event by presenting the civil pilots a safety brief on Dover AFB's airspace and activities.

"We presented information about Dover's airspace and how our aircraft operated," said Capt. Matt Upchurch, 436th AW flight safety officer. "They hopefully gained some knowledge on how military aircraft operate in areas that they fly through, helping them practice safe aviation."

The civil pilots were also given a tour of the base operations and air traffic control complex during their visit. Airmen working here also benefited greatly from the fly-in, receiving valuable knowledge on how small general aviation aircraft operate.

"It's the information crossflow we get between us getting to see their side and them getting to see our side," said Staff Sgt. Ryan Dougherty, 436th Operations Support Squadron ATC watch supervisor. "We mesh together."

Dougherty also noted that these visiting pilots should now be more comfortable entering Dover AFB airspace and talking to its air traffic controllers.

"These pilots tend to be reluctant and want to stay away from our heavy aircraft," Dougherty said. "But we are here to provide a safe and expeditious service; we keep them safe."

One of the visiting pilots, Tom Mauchly, who flew-in from Northeast Philadelphia, was impressed with Team Dover's ATC operations.

"The biggest takeaway for me is when we went into the RAPCON (Radar Approach Control)," said Mauchly. "Learning about their perspective, compared to our perspective."

Alex Gertsen, who is based out of the Washington, D.C. area, frequents the airspace about the Delmarva Peninsula as he transits up and down the East Coast.

"I now have a better understanding of the way that military traffic intermixes with the heavy general aviation traffic," said Gertsen. "I think I'll be a safer pilot and use the air traffic control services that are available here."

The event concluded with the pilots touring a C-17A Globemaster III aircraft static display on Dover AFB's flight line. This gave the pilots the opportunity to explore and better understand how military aircraft operate.

"This gave us an opportunity to educate them and avoid mishaps in the future," Radio said. "This is all about prevention."