Hey guys!
Jon from fly8MA.com and today we're going to be going over low enroute charts, and some
of the basic symbology on these charts that's a little bit different than you're regular
VFR sectional charts.
So as we come down here to the Sarasota/Venice area, we're going to go ahead and take a look
at our basic airport markings, and we don't see the blue or magenta markings like we're
used to.
We now see green, brown or possible blue airport markings as we have up here in Jacksonville.
Jacksonville is a blue airport.
So, if it's green or blue, realize that there are instrument approach procedures going into
that airport.
If it's brown, then there simply is not approach procedure or radar minimum published for that
airport.
As we come back down towards our local area here, we're going to see some more common
things that we recognize.
Like, compass roses, or VORs, Victor airways that are often published on VFR sectional
charts.
The difference is we notice here-- it's a little bit more obvious when these Victor
airways intersect with each other and create intersections, and of course, all these intersections
have names.
And these intersections are often found in a GPS database and can be navigated to, and
you'll use those intersections when you're building VFR-- or, I'm sorry-- IFR flight
plans.
When you're building an IFR flight plan, you may name these different intersections on
your route of flight along with something like "From the Labelle VOR via Victor-157,
to Rinse intersection."
We can see where our Victor airways are named.
Victor 521, Victor 157.
And we see some numbers below them, and those numbers are distance markers.
What's the difference between this number that's all by itself "11," versus this "177"
that's in a box?
Well, if it's in a box, it's a total distance marker.
It's measuring from the Labelle VOR all the way up to the Lakeland VOR, compared to this
"11" which is measuring the distance between Quincy and Rinse intersection.
We can see here we have some notes even on Victor 157, that it's 77 miles from Lakeland
VOR to the Labelle VOR, or 94 miles from the Lakeland VOR all the way down to the RSW VOR.
Now we're used to those minimum elevation figures-- those big numbers the big first
number and the little second number that denotes the highest obstacle in the area on a VFR
sectional chart.
Around Sarasota, that number is 1,900-- a big "1" and then a "9."
And that talks to us about that little tower that's out to the east of Sarasota.
It's up pretty high there, and a hazard for us.
Now we notice we have the same big number-- big first number, little second number-- and
that is going to be our (OROCA) Off Route Obstacle Clearance Altitude.
So the OROCA, 2,900, is one thousand feet higher than the 1,900 we normally have in
this quadrant because of this number here doesn't tell you the height of the highest
obstacle, it gives you the altitude you should fly at or the minimum altitude you should
fly at if you're off route in that area and still have your minimum 1000 foot clearance
between you and terrain.
When you're flying IFR in non-mountainous areas, you should always have 1000 feet between
you and terrain.
And then in mountainous areas, like North Carolina maybe, you need 2000 feet between
you and the highest obstacle.
So, for us here, the off-route obstacle clearance altitude is 2,900.
If we stick to a published route like Victor 35 here, then we could go down to 2000 feet,
if we're along that published route because that route keeps us clear of that obstacle--
that tower.
We can even see here on Victor 579, we could fly at 3000 feet and that is our "MEA" or
Minimum Enroute Altitude.
Or we have an asterisk next to 1,600.
We could fly at 1,600 feet along Victor 579 and still have 1000 feet obstacle clearance
but that is a "MOCA" or Minimum Obstacle Clearance Altitude and all it guarantees you is that
you're not going to hit anything.
It does not necessarily guarantee you that you're going to be able to receive the Viola
intersection, or identify it, because you may be too low, and too far from the VOR to
receive a good signal.
So, this MOCA is an altitude that will guarantee you obstacle clearance, and signal reception
if you're within 22 miles of the VOR.
So if you're within 22 nautical miles from the VOR, you will get the signal reception,
guaranteed, and obstacle clearance.
But once you're more than 22 miles, you may not be able to pick up the signal, and you
would have to go up to 3000 feet.
The 3000 feet not only guarantees you obstacle clearance, but it also guarantees you signal
reception along the entire route-- along this entire Victor airway.
Now, when would we change over from, say, the Sarasota VOR to another VOR we're flying
to?
Well, normally we would change over when we're halfway to our destination.
That makes sense.
The signal is half as strong coming from one place, so we switch over to pick up the stronger
signal as we get closer to the next VOR, unless it's designated otherwise.
What that looks like when it's designated otherwise, it that there will be a change-over
point.
That change-over point is actually where you want to switch the VOR signal.
I don't see any here in Florida.
We may have to look at another map here.
We can see that this little L-shaped or zigzag area is actually our change-over point.
The change-over point will tell you not only where along the route, pictorially, but it
also gives you the distances from each VOR from where you should be switching your VOR
receiver for the best signal reception.
The next things we notice here along these Victor airways are these thick black lines,
and then an intersection, and then another thick, black line.
But every so often we notice here that thick, black line terminates with a little stop symbol
there.
So what is that little stop symbol about comparing "V" versus "Viola."
"V" means that you need to look at your MEAs and realize that there's a different MEA along
that route.
Coming up here along the 312 radial, from Lee County Vortac RSW, we would be at 2000
feet along the route, crossing "Pints" at about 2000.
Then once we hit Viola, we need to immediately start climbing to 3000 feet because we have
a higher MEA.
The MEA here, 2000 feet, along Victor 35 is the same when we cross, say, the intersection
all the way down.
There are no markers here that denote a change in the MEA.
These funny little boxes here that, with the arrow, is a total mileage box depicting total
mileage to this point from the VOR.
Total mileage from the St. Pete Clearwater VOR, PIE, down to here, is 56.
From RSW to "Sabee" it is 40.
Here when we see we go 9 miles back to "Charo" it's 31.
And when we come just 2 miles back to "Cexan," then it's 29.
It's important to note that if you can't pronounce these intersections, don't feel bad.
There's a lot of 30-year captains at Delta and American Airlines that can't pronounce
them either.
They're very difficult.
Now, the next thing we want to talk about is the difference between this little triangle
here-- this little intersection-- and one that's an intersection, five letters, but
not the little triangle, and it's not along a Victor airway.
Well, that's a GPS waypoint.
The only way you're going to find it is not with your VOR, but with and R-Nav or GPS system
in the aircraft.
Remember, those GPS systems can't be an iPad, it needs to be panel-mounted, and an approved
TSO GPS for the airplane.
It does so happen that oftentimes we have GPS waypoints along Victor airways, but sometimes
they can be all by themselves, and the reason for that is that they are probably lying somewhere
along an approach, to get you lined up with an approach into, maybe, Clewiston, since
we do have approach procedures going into Clewiston.
Now, these brown lines here are not anything we're going to follow.
Those IR routes-- if you remember from the sectional charts-- IR were military routes.
When they're skinny military routes, like this one right here IR-20, that's a military
route with a 5 nautical mile or less radius, or width rather.
So, 5 nautical miles on either side of the center line, so really a 10-mile wide route
along here, along IR-20.
And then these, down here, are more than 5 miles wide.
It doesn't really tell us how much, but more than 5 miles wide on either side of the centerline,
so more than ten miles total diameter across the airway for IR-34.
Now sometimes you'll notice that there are these VOR compass roses, and then sometimes
they're bigger, and then sometimes they're not there at all.
Like, for the homestead VOR.
It simply is missing.
Well, if it doesn't have a compass rose, but it's depicted as a VOR with that little droid-type
symbol, it is a terminal VOR.
It's something you're only going to be able to receive 25 miles out.
It's for a very local area, probably just to help with approach procedures.
Then when you see a compass rose, the size of it actually doesn't matter.
The size is just there to accommodate the congestion of the airspace.
So there are two VORs next to each other here.
They made them smaller so they would fit nicely.
No rhyme or reason to the size or width of the compass rose.
People often mistake it for being a high or low VOR based on the size, and that's not
the case.
What we have here is just a high or low VOR, for the Dolphin VOR.
And a high or low VOR the Virginia Key VOR.
We don't know if it is high or low.
How we're going to tell that is to look in the chart supplement, and it will have an
"H" or "L" next to that VOR for an airport that it services.
Also, notice the difference between Vortac and VOR.
hen you see these little green dashed lines, that simply just means the same as like a
terminal area chart in our sectional world-- in our VFR world.
They have a more detailed IFR chart for this particular area.
We see this green along the coastline, that's denoting water.
So, when you have lakes, they're going to have green around them to note water.
We can see here that we have this funny little symbol coming off of West Palm Beach: "089."
What that is, is actually the localizer, and there's the localizer frequency, the identifier,
and the morse code for it, that you could tune to, and use that localizer to help you
identify "YIGBO" intersection or however you'd like to say that.
So you could identify Yigbo intersection off of the Vero Beach VOR which is Treasure Coast
VOR down Victor 159, and then when you're on Victor 159 and you intercept and are centered
on the localizer for West Palm Beach, then you must be at Yigbo intersection.
You could also identify Yigbo off of the Pahokee VOR.
Either way would work, it just depends on how you want to do it.
Maybe the Pahokee VOR is out of service, so you have to use the localizer or vice versa.
Now, we're familiar with MOAs and restricted areas from flying VFR.
The restricted areas are still denoted in blue, and MOAs are denoted in this brownish
color here.
And they simply will just try to vector you around those MOAs are hot.
It's really up to Air Traffic Control to keep you where you need to be when you're IFR.
You really don't have to worry about airspace, and that's why the only airspace we really
see depicted on here is Class Charlie and Class Bravo airspace.
It doesn't really affect us when we're flying IFR.
They're going to take care of sending us where we need to go, but it's just helpful for situational
awareness.
Another Class Charlie there at Daytona, and of course, Jacksonville is also a Class Charlie.
Now as we come down our map here, we can find the ADIZ that we know as that magenta dotted
line, and it's depicted with blue dotted lines that same solid line.
And so we still see where the ADIZ is on our Low Enroute Charts, and of course, if you're
crossing it and you're on an IFR flight plan, you really don't have anything to worry about.
It's still good to reference if maybe you're on a composite flight plan and you want to
know where that ADIZ actually lies so you can activate your IFR flight plan before crossing
it.
The other thing to notice here, is we have a lot of intersections-- these little empty
triangle boxes-- that are in fact, empty.
There are just little blank spaces there.
And our VORs are the same way.
They're empty as well.
Well, what happens when it's colored in?
Well, the difference is just that it's a compulsory reporting point.
We'll talk a lot more about reporting points in another video.
But it's a compulsory reporting point.
So it doesn't affect anything other than that it's a point that if you're not in radar contact,
you need to report crossing it to ATC.
You can see that the vast majority of our intersections are not compulsory reporting
points, simply because you're always in radar contact when you're in this area.
The last thing we'll talk about is a little bit outdated.
We don't really have it anymore, but we have NDBs depicted here.
All of these little dotted brown lines.
We can see another NDB here.
They were used for many years for IFR and VFR navigation, and now we no longer test
them, we no longer talk about them with students, and most aircraft either don't have the receivers
or the receivers broken.
Just simply know that's symbology there if you're wondering what it is, it is that 3-digit-
3-number, AM frequency for an NDB.
That's all we've got for basic IFR Low Enroute Charts.
These charts cover from the ground on up to 18,000 feet MSL, flight level 180.
Stay tuned for our next videos on the advanced IFR Low Enroute Charts, and High Charts.
We'll get a lot more in detail.
But all the other symbology that's on here, and all the other great information that's
buried in these charts, is very similar to all the great information buried in all of
those sectional charts.
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