[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 60 (Monday, March 30, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 15080-15081]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-7817]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 71

[Airspace Docket No. 97-AEA-45]


Amendment to Class E Airspace; Blacksburg, VA

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This action amends Class E airspace extending upward from 700 
feet Above Ground Level (AGL) at Blacksburg, VA. The development of a 
Global Positioning System (GPS) Standard Instrument Approach Procedure 
(SIAP) at Virginia Tech Airport has made this action necessary. This 
action is intended to provide adequate Class E airspace to contain 
instrument flight rules (IFR) operations for aircraft executing the GPS 
RWY 12 SIAP to Virginia Tech Airport at Blacksburg, VA.

EFFECTIVE DATE: 0901 UTC, August 13, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mr. Francis Jordan, Airspace Specialist, Airspace Branch, AEA-520, Air 
Traffic Division, Eastern Region, Federal Aviation Administration, 
Federal Building #111, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Jamaica, 
New York 11430; telephone (718) 553-4521.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

History

    On January 27, 1998, a proposal to amend Part 71 of the Federal 
Aviation Regulations (14 CFR Part 71) to amend the Class E airspace at 
Blacksburg, VA, was published in the Federal Register (63 FR 3854). The 
development of a GPS RWY 12 SIAP for Virginia Tech Airport requires the 
amendment of the Class E airspace at Blacksburg, VA. The proposal was 
to amend controlled airspace extending upward from 700 feet AGL to 
contain IFR operations in controlled airspace during portions of the 
terminal operation and while transitioning between the enroute and 
terminal environments.
    Interested parties were invited to participate in this rulemaking 
proceeding by submitting written comments on the proposal to the FAA. 
No comments to the proposal were received. The rule is adopted as 
proposed.
    The coordinates for this airspace docket are based on North 
American Datum 83. Class E airspace areas designations for airspace 
extending upward from 700 feet AGL are published in paragraph 6005 of 
FAA Order 7400.9E, dated September 10, 1997, and effective September 
16, 1997, which is incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1. The Class 
E airspace designation listed in this document will be published 
subsequently in the Order.

The Rule

    This amendment to Part 71 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 
CFR Part 71) amends Class E airspace at Blacksburg, VA, to provide 
controlled airspace extending upward from 700 feet AGL for aircraft 
executing the GPS RWY 12 SIAP to Virginia Tech Airport.
    The FAA has determined that this regulation only involves an 
established body of technical regulations for which frequent and 
routine amendments are necessary to keep them operationally current. 
Therefore, this regulation--(1) is not a ``significant regulatory 
action'' under Executive Order 12866; (2) is not a ``significant rule'' 
under DOT Regulatory Policies and Procedures (44 FR 11034; February 26, 
1979); and (3) does not warrant preparation of a Regulatory Evaluation 
as the anticipated impact is so minimal. Since this is a routine matter 
that will only affect air traffic procedures and air navigation it is 
certified that this rule will not have significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities

[[Page 15081]]

under the criteria of the Regulatory Flexibility Act.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 71

    Airspace, Incorporation by reference, Navigation (air).

Adoption of the Amendment

    In consideration of the foregoing, the Federal Aviation 
Administration amends 14 CFR part 71 as follows:

PART 71--[AMENDED]

    1. The authority citation for 14 CFR part 71 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40103, 40113, 40120; EO 10854, 24 
FR 9565, 3 CFR, 1959-1963 Comp., p. 389.


Sec. 71.1   [Amended]

    2. The incorporation by reference in 14 CFR 71.1 of Federal 
Aviation Administration Order 7400.9E, Airspace Designations and 
Reporting Points, dated September 10, 1997, and effective September 16, 
1997, is amended as follows:

Paragraph 6005  Class E airspace areas extending upward from 700 
feet or more above the surface of the earth.

* * * * *

AEA VA AEA E5  Blacksburg, VA  [Revised]

Virginia Tech Airport, VA
    (Lat. 37 deg.12'28'' N., long. 80 deg.24'29'' W.)

    That airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface 
within a 10-mile radius of Virginia Tech Airport and within 4 miles 
each side of the 297 deg. bearing from the airport extending from 
the 10-mile radius to 17 miles northwest of the airport, excluding 
the portions that coincide with the Roanoke, VA, and Dublin, VA 
Class E airspace areas.
* * * * *
    Issued in Jamaica, New York, on March 12, 1998.
Franklin D. Hatfield,
Manager, Air Traffic Division, Eastern Region.
[FR Doc. 98-7817 Filed 3-27-98; 8:45 am]
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