Lesson D21 1:56 21 of 26
Read the notes on an airport diagram: SAID, ASSC, runway status lights, a non-visibility area and declared distances.
The video plays from YouTube. FAA airport diagrams, d-TPP cycle 2611, effective 29 OCT 2026. Not for navigation.
Busy airports print notes on the diagram. Palo Alto, Oakland, and Long Beach print this one. SAID is the Surface Awareness Initiative Display. It shows the tower each airplane with ADS-B on. ADS-B is a transmitter in the airplane that broadcasts its position.
On all airport surfaces, keep the transponder in altitude reporting mode, with ADS-B on. Salinas has no SAID note. The AIM still asks for these settings at every airport. Some big airports use ASSC instead, the Airport Surface Surveillance Capability. Use the same settings.
Some airports have RWSL, runway status lights. Red lights mean the runway is not safe to enter, cross, or take off from. Never cross red lights. Stop, and tell the tower. When the lights go out, you still need a clearance. Monterey marks an air traffic control non-visibility area. The tower cannot see that spot.
The Chart Supplement says it is the holding bay at the east end of taxiway Alfa, by Runway 28L. If you wait there, keep a careful lookout. A D in a black box means the Chart Supplement lists declared distances, the runway lengths you may use.
At Monterey, Runway 10R is 7,175 feet long, but its landing distance available is 7,000 feet. The displaced threshold takes away 175 feet. Salinas shows no D. The AIM says to use the runway length, less any displaced threshold for landing.
On Runway 8, that leaves 5,608 feet. Before you fly to a new airport, read every note on its diagram. Next, a small towered field.
Before you fly, check the current airport diagram, the Chart Supplement and NOTAMs.
A discovery flight is actual flight training with a certified flight instructor at the Salinas Airport. Your hands on the controls, with the airport diagram on your knee.
