Airspace and Radar Services

Airspace classes & dimensions

Fig. 5 Airspaces. (source)

Entry requirements & procedures

Fig. 6 Airspace entry requirements. (source)

Basic VFR minimums

Fig. 7 VFR minimums in various airspaces. (source)

TAC VFR corridors & transitions routes

VFR Terminal Area Charts (TACs) provide more detail when flying in or near Class B airspace. They cover the busiest airspace in the country. They have a scale of 1 inch : 3.43 NM.

• VFR corridors are marked “tunnels” through a Class B airspace. You don’t need an ATC clearance to fly a VFR corridor. They have lateral and vertical boundaries.

• Class B traffic routes (IFR arrivals) are marked, often with altitudes. Avoid these areas of heavy traffic.

• VFR transition routes are commonly used by ATC to move traffic through busy airspace. You need an ATC clearance to fly a VFR transition route.

• VFR flyways have a thick blue border with arrows on either end, and altitudes marked. These are routes you can follow to avoid flying through Class B airspace. You don’t need an ATC clearance to fly a VFR flyway.

VFR radar services & flight following

Flight following provides

• Safety alerts

• Traffic advisories

• Limited radar vectoring

• Sequencing at some locations

Flight following is different from your flight plan; requesting flight following does not open your flight plan, for which you need to contact a Flight Service Station (FSS).

You must still

• Maintain VFR separation from other aircraft

• Remain clear of clouds, remain in VFR conditions

• Comply with FARs

Flight following is provided on a workload permitting basis. If ATC is too busy, they may not be able to provide flight following.

ATC would probably prefer to have you on frequency, as it’s one less aircraft they have to guess intentions for.

To request, consult the A/FD, chart supplement, or sectional chart for published Center or Departure/Approach control frequencies. Some airports may offer flight following through ground control before departure.

To request flight following, contact the appropriate ATC facility and provide:

• Your aircraft identification

• Your aircraft type

• Your current location and altitude

• Your destination

• “Request flight following”

To end flight following, contact the appropriate ATC facility and:

• “Cancel flight following”, or

• “Cancel radar services”, or

• “Cancel VFR flight following”

Special use airspace

Based on CFI Notebook.

Prohibited airspace

• Area within which flight of aircraft is prohibited.

• Prohibited areas are established for security or other reasons associated with the national welfare.

• These areas are regulatory in nature, and violating an area is grounds for interception and legal action.

• These areas are depicted on aeronautical charts. Areas are charted as “P” followed by a designation number.

Restricted airspace

• Area within which flight is not wholly prohibited, but subject to restrictions.

• Restricted Areas are subject to restriction as they contain unusual, often invisible hazards to Aircraft, such as artillery firing, aerial gunnery, or flight of guided missiles

• Penetration of restricted areas without authorization from the using or controlling agency may be extremely hazardous to the Aircraft and its occupants

• Regulatory in nature

• Depicted on charts, identified with an “R” followed by a number.

National security areas

• National Security Areas (NSAs) are established at locations where there is a requirement for increase security and safety of ground facilities

• Depicted inside a magenta dash, similar as a class echo Airspace extension to surface, but larger

• Pilots are requested to voluntarily avoid flying through a depicted NSA

• Regulated under Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) Part 99

• Flight inside NSAs may be temporarily prohibited by regulation under the provisions of FAR 99.7 when necessary

  • Regulatory prohibitions will be issued by System Operations Security and disseminated via NOTAM

  • Prohibitions will be issued by Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM), when required

Military operating areas

• Military Operating Areas (MOAs) are blocks of Airspace that are established to separate certain military training activities from Instrument Flight Rule (IFR) traffic

• Activities contained within MOAs include:

  • Air Combat Tactics

  • Air Intercepts

  • Aerobatics

  • Formation Training

  • Low Altitude Tactics (see also: Military Training Routes)

• These areas are non-regulatory and do not require pilot participation.

Visual Flight Rules (VFR) traffic

• Pilots operating under VFR should exercise extreme caution while flying within a MOA when military activity is being conducted

• The pilot should contact the controlling agency when operating within 100 NM of the MOA to be crossed as the status (active/inactive) may change frequently

• While flight through an active MOA is not prohibited to civilian traffic, it is a very bad idea due to dynamic operations in this airspace

• Despite the safety hazard, it will cause military activity to “knock-it-off,” resulting in wasted time and gas

Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) traffic

• Whenever an MOA is being used, non-participating IFR traffic may be cleared through an MOA if IFR separation can be provided by Air Traffic Control (ATC)

• Otherwise, ATC will reroute or restrict non-participating IFR traffic

Controlled firing areas

• Controlled Firing Areas (CFAs) contain activities which, if not conducted in a controlled environment, could be hazardous to non-participating aircraft (e.g. military artillery operations).

• CFAs are not depicted on a map as they do not cause a non-participating Aircraft to change its flight path

• When a spotter Aircraft, radar or ground personnel determine an Aircraft might be approaching the area, the activities are discontinued

• Non-regulatory in nature

Alert areas

• Alert areas are depicted on aeronautical charts to inform nonparticipating pilots of areas that may contain high volumes pilot training, parachute jumping, glider towing, or an unusual type of aerial activity.

• Alert areas are non-regulatory in nature

Warning area

• Area extending from 3 NM and outward from the coast of the U.S., that contains activity that may be hazardous to nonparticipating aircraft.

• Warning areas may be located over domestic or international waters or both

• Vertical dimensions are not depicted on charts. For floors and ceilings you must reference the Special Use Airspace table on the edge of the aeronautical charts.

• The U.S. Government does not have sole jurisdiction over the Airspace and is shared with the U.S. Navy

• Warning areas may be considered for joint use if the area can be released to the FAA during periods when it is not required for its designated purpose, and provided the warning area is located in Airspace wherein the FAA exercises ATC authority under ICAO agreements