Applying for an aerobatic practice box or contest box waiver? Below are resources to get you on your way in completing the Application for Certificate of Waiver, commonly known as the 7711-2, and getting all the paperwork needed to for your FSDO.
PREPARATION
All the information needed to submit a Request of Waiver is available from the FAA at their National Aviation Events Program website https://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/airshow where you will find two expandable boxes, one for Aerobatic Practice Areas and one for Aerobatic Contest Boxes.
There was a new version of the 7711-2 published in 2023, make sure you have the latest copy to send in. Review your completed, blue ink signed FAA Form 7711-2 Application for Certificate of Waiver for completion. Blue shows up clearly in scanned documents.
Review your supporting documentation for completion and accuracy. While the FAA's documentation often says they want 7711-2's submitted only 90 days before the requested date, they really want the paperwork 120 days before.
Whenever possible, the submission should be made in .PDF form, in its entirety, for ease of FAA review.
COVER LETTER/SUBMISSION EMAIL
Submission of Form 7711-2 to your local FSDO is done via email. A list of the primary email for each FSDO can be found at https://www.iac.org/fsdo-contact-list.
Once you've submitted your paperwork to your FSDO, you can follow up with a phone call a few days later. FSDO phone numbers can be found at https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/field_offices/fsdo.
Your cover letter and submission email are as important as the accuracy and completion of your application. The desk manager reviews the email, not the application, and forwards the application to the next Aviation Safety Inspector in their que. The Aviation Safety Inspector (ASI) assigned your application may have never processed a Form 7711-2. Your cover letter and submission email is your opportunity to guide the ASI to the correct start point in their guidance for their review and approval of your application. With this in mind, you would like your guidance to the ASI to appear in both your cover letter included as a .PDF, and your submission email. It is possible the submission email will not be forwarded to the ASI, only the attached data package, and any guidance you provide would be lost.
Example Submission Email/Cover Letter (use the terms appropriate to your application):
To whom it may concern:
Attached is my completed and ink signed FAA Form 7711-2 Application for Certificate of Waiver for (Aerobatic Contest Box, ACB / Aerobatic Practice Area, APA / Short Term Aerobatic Practice Area, APA)
and supporting documentation. This is not an application for an Air Show. If the application is being
made for an ACB or APA for a coaching weekend, specifically mention the following “This is an IAC sanctioned event.” If the requested waivered airspace is located at or near an airport, specifically mention the following “The XXX Airport management has been notified of our intentions.”
Note - You may use the reference materials below in your cover letter to convey to the ASI you have investigated and familiarized yourself with the requirements of the waiver you are applying for, and you are attempting to make the review process simple.
Guidance for review and approval or rejection of FAA Form 7711-2 is found in the following places:
Order 8900.1, Vol 3 Ch6 Sec4 for Aerobatic Practice Areas, activity code “1232,”
Order 8900.1, Vol 3, Ch6 Sec5 for an Aerobatic Contest Box, activity code “1233.”
Order 8900.1 Vol3 Ch6 Sec1 Figure 3-202 “Aviation Event FSDO Checklist.
The above referenced materials are listed specifically, because Order 8900.1 Vol3 Ch6 Sec1, where the ASI normally would begin their education on approving the application, does not reference ACB’s or APAs clearly, it is only in a note.
This guidance can easily be accessed at the FAA Website https://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/airshow
Supporting Documents
Supporting documents should be submitted along with Form 7711-2. Make it easy for the Aviation Safety Inspector (ASI) to locate the documents and organize them for future reference.
Supporting documents as required:
- Cover Letter including a statement, if necessary, that you have notified Airport management and are working with them to promote a safe operation at or near the airport.
- If you're applying for a long-term APA, you must complete the Environmental Information Document (EID) available at the FAA National Aviation Events Program site. That approval process is 40 days, make sure to factor that into your timeline.
- Current Incident Response Plan if you're applying for an ACB.
- Graphical Location of your waivered airspace on Google Maps, Google Earth, Current Sectional.
Google Earth has a 3D Box maker at https://amsama.com/flightpath/acroBoxMaker.html
CIVA has a tool also at https://www.civanews.com/draw-a-contest-box-using-google-earth/
Aerobatic Practice Areas not co-located with an airport may exceed the size of the box marker tools, and should be drawn on Google Earth, Google Maps, Foreflight, etc. A snip tool or screen shot can be taken for image submission with your application.
The Government Relations Committee continues to strive at creating a smooth process for requesting Certificate of Waivers from FSDO's across the country. Any time you run into difficulty or have questions about the process, contact one of us and we'll help you out. https://www.iac.org/yellow-pages
In addition, as a division of EAA, IAC members have staff representation in Washington, D.C., and access to the EAA Government Advocacy group who represent the best interests of our membership to our regulatory bodies including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the United States Congress.
