Community Corner

NORAD Calibration Flights Begin Monday

Falcon Jet, Twin Otter, Cessna, and BD-5 and other aircraft will be flying over the area.

North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) will be conducting calibration flights from April 30 - May 11, 2012, over the Washington, D.C. area.

In a press release on its website, NORAD said that the majority of the flights would take place between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. But, additional flights will take place the nights of May 10 and 11 from midnight to 6 a.m. 

"Four small radio controlled models and four light sport aircraft - also known as ultra lights - will fly patterns between 150 and 3,000 feet above ground level," reads the release. "The radio-controlled models will fly in restricted airspace near Quantico and along the Potomac River. Other fixed wing aircraft will include Falcon Jet, Twin Otter, Cessna, and BD-5 aircraft flying a variety of patterns between 500 and 18,000 feet above ground level."

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NORAD said the flights are carefully planned and are held in coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration. 

"The flights are intended to assist in calibration of systems and equipment, and will serve to refine and improve our ability to respond to unknown and potentially threatening aircraft," said NORAD. "NORAD has conducted flights of this nature around the nation’s capital since the start of Operation Noble Eagle, the command’s response to the terrorist attacks that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001."

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