Ordinarily, as summer winds down here at the virtual airport, the Pilot's Lounge regulars are engrossed in planning their hundred-dollar-hamburger trips in directions that will give them the best scenery as the fall colors start to show. But this year, discussion of the continued high level of incompetence at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and its scapegoating of general aviation, is the dominant activity. I was frustrated recently on a trip in which I'd talked with FSS twice before departure, asked about TFRs anywhere along the route, was told there were none, then decided to file IFR anyway because of some nagging discomfort and the fact I was flying over unfamiliar territory. Halfway to my destination, ATC rerouted us because the planned route would have taken us right through a TFR. Hey, TSA - one of the biggest assemblages of patriots in this country is GA pilots. We're trying hard to keep up as you continually fumble with the rules of the game, but it's no fair if you hide the information from the very people who brief us.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/features/the-pilots-lounge-52tailwheels-part-ii-the-checkout