News Archive

AOPA effort creates more efficient IFR routes for pilots

Thanks to a five-year AOPA effort, IFR pilots will be able to transition through the Charlotte, North Carolina, area more efficiently beginning September 1. On Wednesday, the FAA announced its intentions to chart four RNAV IFR Terminal Transition Routes (RITTRs) in the Charlotte terminal area.

"This is another successful step in AOPA's ongoing efforts to use satellite navigation to give GA pilots better access to airports and airspace around the country — more routes are expected to be charted for Jacksonville, Florida, and Cincinnati," said Melissa Rudinger, AOPA vice president of regulatory affairs. "These routes can help end many of the ATC-directed detours around Class B airspace and allow pilots to receive more benefits from their IFR-certified GPS receivers."

The RNAV-based routes are strategically placed through Charlotte's Class B airspace to allow pilots to transition the area safely and efficiently. Pilots must be flying aircraft with IFR-certified Global Positioning System (GPS) or Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) equipment.

The routes will be similar to Victor airways, including minimum en route altitudes. On NACO charts, the terminal airways will be printed in blue. Eventually pilots may see such routes charted in many terminal areas where IFR transitions are currently difficult.

June 16, 2005