BELL 206 PLT ENTERS RESTR AREA IN BOS CLASS B AIRSPACE.

Narrative

I WILL PREFACE THIS RPT BY DESCRIBING THE LOCALLY RESTR AIRSPACE INSIDE OF THE BOS CLASS B AIRSPACE. THE BOS CLASS B AIRSPACE HAS VFR HELI RTES TO NAV THROUGH THE AIRSPACE. THEY ARE FROM DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS AROUND THE COMPASS AND COMPRISE A SERIES OF ROADS; RAILROAD TRACKS; WATERWAYS AND LANDMARKS TO HELP KEEP THE PLT ON THE RTE AND ALLOW THE ATC CTLR TO KNOW WHERE THE HELI IS AND WHERE IT IS GOING TO PROCEED. ALONG THE RTE FROM THE NE; AS YOU APCH THE DOWNTOWN AREA OF BOSTON AND JUST PRIOR TO WHERE THE MAJORITY OF THE RTES INTERSECT; THERE IS A LIQUID NATURAL GAS DOCKING FACILITY; WHERE SHIPS DOCK AND OFFLOAD LIQUID NATURAL GAS; JUST ON THE W SIDE OF THE RTE. WHENEVER THERE IS A LIQUID NATURAL GAS SHIP AT THE DOCK; THERE IS A RESTR AROUND THIS AREA. THE RESTR HAS BEEN VOCALIZED AT TIMES BY ATC AS A 1 MI RADIUS. MOST OF THE LCL AREA HELI PLTS HAVE PLOTTED THE CTR OF THIS AREA WHERE THE SHIP DOCKS USING STREET MAPPING SOFTWARE; OR AN APPROXIMATION FROM THE BOS TERMINAL SECTIONAL. OTHER THAN ATC VOCALIZING THIS RESTR; I HAVE NOT SEEN IT IN PRINT ANYWHERE. ON ANY GIVEN DAY; YOU MAY OR MAY NOT BE ADVISED BY THE CTLR; AFTER RECEIVING YOUR CLRNC THAT THE SHIP IS IN AT THE DOCK. THIS IS SOMEWHAT SHOULDERING THE RESPONSIBILITY ON THE PLT IN CLASS B AIRSPACE. PARTICULARLY AT NIGHT; THIS CAN BE A DAUNTING TASK TO SEE VISUALLY IF THE SHIP IS IN OR NOT; ALONG WITH ALL ELSE THAT IS TASKED WHILE PASSING OR WORKING IN THAT CLOSE PROX TO THE ARPT. ALONG WITH THE SOMETIMES VOCALIZED 'REMAIN 1 MI CLR OF THE LIQUID NATURAL GAS SHIP;' THERE ARE ALSO TIMES WHEN YOU WILL GET; 'WHEN INBOUND ON THE RTE REMAIN E OF THE BRIDGE.' THERE IS A BRIDGE ALONG THE HELI RTE THAT IS JUST E OF THE LNDG TERMINAL. MY POINT WITH THIS IS THAT THE INTENSITY OF THE RESTR SEEMS TO VARY WITH EACH CTLR AT TIMES. OR THAT SOME CTLRS PREFER TO USE SIMPLE LANDMARKS; WHICH IS FINE; HOWEVER; INCONSISTENT; AND THAT IS WHAT WAS THE PROB DURING THE FLT THAT I AM RPTING. 3 QUICK POINTS TO MAKE WHENEVER THE SHIP IS AT THE DOCK YOU MAY GET ANY ONE OF THE FOLLOWING: 1) A CLRNC INTO THE CLASS B AIRSPACE ALONG THAT HELI RTE WITHOUT A MENTION OF THE SHIP BEING AT THE DOCK. 2) A CLRNC INTO THE CLASS B ALONG THAT HELI RTE WITH A SIMPLE STATEMENT SAYING THAT 'THE SHIP IS IN.' 3) A CLRNC INTO THE CLASS B AIRSPACE ALONG THAT HELI RTE WITH A RESTR RANGING FROM 1 MI; TO STAYING E OF THE BRIDGE; TO SOMETHING EVEN FURTHER E TOWARD THE ARPT. THERE HAVE BEEN TIMES WHEN I HAVE ASKED THE CTLR IF THE SHIP IS IN AND THE RESPONSE HAS RANGED FROM 'YES' TO 'LET ME HAVE A LOOK' TO 'NEGATIVE' AND THEN A CALL BACK SAYING IT WAS. MANY; MANY TIMES YOU'LL RECEIVE YOUR CLRNC TO TRANSIT THROUGH THE AREA ALONG THE RTES WITH ABSOLUTELY NO MENTION OF THE SHIP BEING AT THE DOCK. KNOWING FULL WELL THE CTLRS ARE VERY BUSY AT LOGAN; ESPECIALLY WHILE WORKING 2 FREQS; I WORK VERY HARD AT HELPING THE SITUATION BY THINKING AHEAD AND CALLING TFC IN SIGHT; ETC; OR THAT I SEE THAT THE SHIP IS IN AT THE DOCK; BEFORE THEY CALL IT OUT TO ME. CERTAINLY; ALL IN THE INTEREST OF SAFETY AND COMPLIANCE. ONE FINAL NOTE; WHEN THE SHIP IS NOT IN AT THE DOCK; THERE IS NOT A RESTR. IT ALL HINGES ON THE SHIP BEING IN OR OUT. NOW ON TO MY FLT. DEPARTED AN ARPT NE OF BOSTON AND HEADED S FOR A PHOTO FLT S OF BOSTON NEAR THE RHODE ISLAND BORDER. I CONTACTED THE BOSTON TWR AND RECEIVED MY CLRNC THROUGH THE BOS CLASS B AIRSPACE ALONG THE REQUESTED VFR HELI ROUTES. DURING THIS PARTICULAR CLRNC; AFTER I WAS CLRED INBOUND ALONG THE RTE FROM THE NE; THE CTLR (WHILE WORKING 2 FREQS) STATED THAT 'THE LIQUID NATURAL GAS IS IN.' I ACKNOWLEDGED AND SAID THAT I WOULD PASS E OF THE RTE IN THAT AREA. BEING DARK; I ENTERED THE WAYPOINT OF THE LIQUID NATURAL GAS AREA IN MY GPS. I STAYED OVER THE RTE UNTIL I APCHED THE AREA OF 1.3 MI FROM THE LIQUID NATURAL GAS AREA AT WHICH TIME I MADE A COURSE CHANGE TO THE E SO AS TO MAINTAIN THAT DISTANCE FROM THE LIQUID NATURAL GAS AREA. AT THAT POINT THE TWR THEN CALLED ME AND SAID THAT I WAS INSIDE OR NEARLY INSIDE OF THE LIQUID NATURAL GAS RESTR AREA; I DON'T REMEMBER THE EXACT VERBIAGE. I LOOKED AT MY GPS IMMEDIATELY AND IT SHOWED 1.4 MI FROM THE LIQUID NATURAL GAS DOCK AND I WAS WELL E OF THE BRIDGE. I TOLD THE CTLR THAT I WAS APCHING E BOSTON AND THAT I DID NOT BELIEVE THAT I WAS IN THE AREA. HE THEN TOLD ME TO TURN TO THE W AND VACATE THE AREA. OF COURSE I COMPLIED WITH THE TURN; PROCEEDED TO THE W AND UPON REACHING THE ENTRANCE TO THE SW DEP RTE; REQUESTED AND WAS APPROVED FOR THAT. I DON'T BELIEVE THAT I WAS IN THE RESTR AREA FOR THE LIQUID NATURAL GAS SHIP. AS I APCHED THE 1.3 MI MARK; I WAS TURNING MORE EASTERLY TOWARD THE ARPT AND AWAY FROM THE CTR OF THE LIQUID NATURAL GAS AREAS. I WAS TAKEN BY SURPRISE BY HIS STATEMENT; IN THAT THIS WAS THE SAME RTE I HAVE TAKEN MANY TIMES WITHOUT MENTION. HOWEVER; I DID NOT WANT TO TRY AND DISCUSS THE MATTER ON THE FREQ; ALSO; BY THE TIME I HAD REACHED THE SW DEP RTE THE CTLR HAD SWITCHED OUT WITH ANOTHER CTLR. I THINK IN THIS CASE; I COULD HAVE HELPED THE SITUATION BY FLYING A LITTLE FURTHER TO THE E; CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT I WILL BE REQUESTING WITH DEFINITIVE LANDMARKS IN THE FUTURE. I GUESS WITH THE NUMBER OF TIMES THAT I HAVE HEARD 'REMAIN E OF THE BRIDGE' BEING REFED THAT I MAY HAVE BEEN LULLED INTO THINKING THAT WAS A GOOD LANDMARK. MY ROUTING THIS FLT DID TAKE ME CLOSE TO THE BOUNDARY; MAYBE TOO CLOSE; CONSIDERING THE FACT THAT I; ALONG WITH OTHERS DO NOT HAVE THE SAME COORDINATES THAT THE TWR IS USING. ALSO; ANOTHER REASON I STAYED ON THE RTE AS LONG AS I DID; WAS THAT THEY WERE ALSO LNDG THE RWY 22 ON MY L SIDE. AS WELL; THERE WAS ANOTHER HELI IN TRAIL OF ME BY 1 1/2 MI OR SO. THE NEXT MORNING; I CONTACTED THE OPS AND PLANNING CTLR FOR BOS TWR. I EXPLAINED EXACTLY WHAT HAD TAKEN PLACE AND HE SAW NO REASON FOR THE CTLR REACTING THE WAY HE HAD. HE STATED THAT HE WAS GOING TO LOOK INTO IT AND GET BACK TO ME. I ASKED HIM IF HE COULD GET ME THE SAME COORDINATES THAT THE TWR WAS USING TO PLOT THE RESTR AREA CTR; SINCE MYSELF AND OTHER PLTS HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO FIND THEM. I TOLD THAT WHEN HE GOT THEM FOR ME; I WOULD PASS THEM AROUND TO THE LCL HELI PEOPLE. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR STATED THAT THE POS OF THE DOCK AND SHIP WAS REQUESTED FROM THE BOS TWR AND HE HAS SUBSEQUENTLY PLACED THAT LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE IN THE ACFT'S GPS. ADDITIONALLY; THE RPTR STATED THAT HE HAS DRAWN A 1 MI CIRCLE AROUND THE SHIP'S POS ON THE VFR CHART CARRIED IN THE ACFT ALONG WITH A 1 MI CIRCLE PLACED AROUND THE POS IN THE ACFT'S GPS. HE FELT THAT THE POS OF THE RESTR AREA SHOULD BE MORE READILY AVAILABLE FOR THE PLTS THAT USE THE VFR HELI RTES. ADDITIONALLY; THE RESTR AREA SHOULD BE PUBLISHED AS A NOTAM WHEN THE SHIP IS DOCKED.