Should I be doing I.F.R. to the right?

AggieMike88

AggieMike88

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The original "I don't know it all" of aviation.
I.F.R. = I Follow Roads,

I don’t recall anyone providing me the “common guidance” answer to this.

When following a highway at a lower level (say around 3000 AGL or below), which side should I be on? The right?

I am frequently transiting between KDTO and KTKI, following Hiway 380 that connects the two towns. And at 2500 MSL for the short 10-15 minute journey.

And couldn’t remember if anyone in my flying history ever provided the answer
 
In the early 1960s my private ground school instructor warned us to always stay on the right, be it railroads or highways, because sure as hell you'll meet Arthur Godfrey coming the other way.
 
dtuuri said:
In the early 1960s my private ground school instructor warned us to always stay on the right, be it railroads or highways, because sure as hell you'll meet Arthur Godfrey coming the other way.
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Country boy joke….

Two country boys driving out in the boondocks come across an intersection with a blinking red light on their side, a yellow on the other. The driver puts his foot down and roars through the intersection.

“You just ran a red light!!!” yells his passenger.

“Dontchu worry…. My brother drives like this all the time!”

Another intersection, same style light with the red facing them, and again, the driver roars through reminding his passenger that his brother drives like that.

Next intersection, it’s the yellow light facing them. The driver slams on brakes, fishtailing to a stop leaving long black skid marks on the road.

“Why did you stop?” Asks the passenger.

“Because my brother might be common’ the other way!” says the driver.
 
Ask the Highway Patrol Aviation Division which side they fly on. Got tagged once by a WSP plane (A very, very long time ago). Lucky for me their math was off, and they ticketed me for 20 mph slower than I was going.
 
This is a great topic since not many are left that fly this way anymore. I can remember when this technique was very common among VFR pilots or anyone flying in VMC.

I got my PPL in 1981 and remember doing it quite often. I also remember taking a few wrong turns....
 
Roads, and water towers to confirm path...

Now, many water towers are owned by corporations that sell water to cities and towns and they have a corporate logo or name on them.

Bah!
 
CharlieD3 said:
Roads, and water towers to confirm path...
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Here's from when I didn't get lost bringing the Champ home from Iowa. I wasn't IFR that day, though. I had to go VFR: Very Far 'Round an uncharted wind farm. Because the ceiling was too low to go over it.

IMG_1401.jpeg
 
Domenick said:
Ask the Highway Patrol Aviation Division which side they fly on. Got tagged once by a WSP plane (A very, very long time ago). Lucky for me their math was off, and they ticketed me for 20 mph slower than I was going.
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To the cars’ right, because it’s harder for the drivers to see the plane.
 
Stephen Shore said:
This is a great topic since not many are left that fly this way anymore. I can remember when this technique was very common among VFR pilots or anyone flying in VMC.

I got my PPL in 1981 and remember doing it quite often. I also remember taking a few wrong turns....
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I've been doing it all the time during the pandemic just for fun. It's been an interesting change from chasing magenta lines in the clouds at 10,000 ft. I'll look at the map before a flight and decide that I'll be following this power line at 1,500 ft AGL until it intersects that road, then follow the road to a river, etc. etc. It actually works, and I feel much more connected with the places I'm flying over. Two hours pass in no time, and there's no need to entertain myself during long legs with XM radio or similar, because the flying and pilotage themselves are the entertainment.

Oh yes, and always to the right of a linear feature like a road, railroad, powerline, or river.
 
AggieMike88 said:
I.F.R. = I Follow Roads,

I don’t recall anyone providing me the “common guidance” answer to this.

When following a highway at a lower level (say around 3000 AGL or below), which side should I be on? The right?

I am frequently transiting between KDTO and KTKI, following Hiway 380 that connects the two towns. And at 2500 MSL for the short 10-15 minute journey.

And couldn’t remember if anyone in my flying history ever provided the answer
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In South Africa it is the law to stay to the right when following any ground feature below 2000 AGL as I recall. I’m surprised that it isn’t the rule here in the US too.
 
If you dress left, you must fly to the right and vice versa.

Ron Wanttaja
 
I always try to stay right. Especially, following highways up over mountain passes. But, there's always that guy.

Yesterday, coming back over the pass, I met a guy head on at the same altitude. I wound up going to the left to avoid him. He never changed course. Since I don't have (or need to have) ADS-B out, I don't think he ever saw me. He was east bound at 6,500' msl, on the north side of the highway. Go figure!
 
wilkersk said:
I always try to stay right. Especially, following highways up over mountain passes. But, there's always that guy.

Yesterday, coming back over the pass, I met a guy head on at the same altitude. I wound up going to the left to avoid him. He never changed course. Since I don't have (or need to have) ADS-B out, I don't think he ever saw me. He was east bound at 6,500' msl, on the north side of the highway. Go figure!
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Freedom of Speech! (Isn't that what people say whenever they want to explain away something stupid, like in this case flying WAFDOF, not keeping a looking for traffic, and flying on the left side of a mountain pass all at the same time?) :)
 
Domenick said:
No, it's actually a north/south hemisphere thing.
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I was thinking in terms of the fact that they drive cars from the right seat in Britain, but on second thought, that not might apply to airplanes.
 
wilkersk said:
I always try to stay right. Especially, following highways up over mountain passes. But, there's always that guy.

Yesterday, coming back over the pass, I met a guy head on at the same altitude. I wound up going to the left to avoid him. He never changed course. Since I don't have (or need to have) ADS-B out, I don't think he ever saw me. He was east bound at 6,500' msl, on the north side of the highway. Go figure!
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Was he below 3000 AGL?
 
wilkersk said:
I always try to stay right. Especially, following highways up over mountain passes. But, there's always that guy.

Yesterday, coming back over the pass, I met a guy head on at the same altitude. I wound up going to the left to avoid him. He never changed course. Since I don't have (or need to have) ADS-B out, I don't think he ever saw me. He was east bound at 6,500' msl, on the north side of the highway. Go figure!
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Which direction was the wind from?
 
wilkersk said:
I always try to stay right. Especially, following highways up over mountain passes. But, there's always that guy.

Yesterday, coming back over the pass, I met a guy head on at the same altitude. I wound up going to the left to avoid him. He never changed course. Since I don't have (or need to have) ADS-B out, I don't think he ever saw me. He was east bound at 6,500' msl, on the north side of the highway. Go figure!
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I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass?
 
But, not too far to the right. Towers are rarely built in the middle of a road, but they often are close to a road.
 
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
But, not too far to the right. Towers are rarely built in the middle of a road, but they often are close to a road.
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Excellent point, but if you're below tower height, all bets are off. I prefer to maintain at least 500 ft (preferably 1,000) above the highest tower anywhere near my route. The OP was asking about following roads for navigation, not scud running (which would be a death wish in the cell-tower era).
 
David Megginson said:
Excellent point, but if you're below tower height, all bets are off. I prefer to maintain at least 500 ft (preferably 1,000) above the highest tower anywhere near my route. The OP was asking about following roads for navigation, not scud running (which would be a death wish in the cell-tower era).
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Or, you could fly above cell tower height, and learn how to spot the other towers that stick up into the clouds. ;)
 
I always fly to the right of the road and hope others do the same. The Houston corridor seems to get its fair share of right down the middle, which irks me considering the low ceiling.
 
MauleSkinner said:
Or, you could fly above cell tower height, and learn how to spot the other towers that stick up into the clouds. ;)
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That's fine in CAVOK when the towers are easy to see, but then, if the weather is CAVOK there's no reason to be flying lower anyway (unless you're doing something like pipeline patrol).
 
MauleSkinner said:
Works well in a mile vis, too.
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I've come to enjoy VFR pilotage during the pandemic, putting along at 1,500 ft AGL following roads and rivers, but in 1 sm viz, I'm filing IFR.

I've done my contact approaches and SVFR in 1 sm at various times in the past for various reasons, and while it was never frightening and I always felt on top of things, I don't want to keep testing the odds.
 
David Megginson said:
I've come to enjoy VFR pilotage during the pandemic, putting along at 1,500 ft AGL following roads and rivers, but in 1 sm viz, I'm filing IFR.

I've done my contact approaches and SVFR in 1 sm at various times in the past for various reasons, and while it was never frightening and I always felt on top of things, I don't want to keep testing the odds.
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You’re just testing different odds, and you’ve trained to maximize those odds.

Works the same for VFR, and it’s one of the reasons I don’t follow roads.
 
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