Airport identifier trivia

[Sam D]

I may be the last to know this, but many one-letter, two-number airport identifiers are keyed off of the Air Traffic Control center area in which they are located. For example, my home airport is within Oakland center's geography and is O69. Many other airports in the same area also have an "O" in the identifier. SoCal has lots of "L"s. This isn't uniform and there are plenty of exceptions. But I thought it was interesting.

(More info at Order 7350.8)

 

[Tampico Trauma]

I may be the last to know this, but many one-letter, two-number airport identifiers are keyed off of the Air Traffic Control center area in which they are located. For example, my home airport is within Oakland center's geography and is O69. Many other airports in the same area also have an "O" in the identifier. SoCal has lots of "L"s. This isn't uniform and there are plenty of exceptions. But I thought it was interesting.

(More info at Order 7350.8)

O69... nothing finer than the two-niner diner....

Gateway to Dillon Beach!

That actually makes a ton of sense!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[flyingron]

Yep, all letters (which is ICAO complaint for weather reporting) or one letter corresponding to the ARTCC and two digits, or two letters and two digits where the letters are the state. NC26 here.

Occasionally, you get an oddball. Gilliam-McConnel here got re-idented as BQ1 (the pick-n-pig BBQ restaurant is on field). It was previously something boring like 5NC3 or such

 

[asicer]

So did some center get to 99 and that's why they started using the two letter (state) two number code?

 

[flyingron]

Well, it actually gets 300 identifiers in each center because you can have W99, 9W9, and 99W.

I think they just decided it made more sense to allocate id's for private fields on a state basis.

 

[Hank S]

Yep, all letters (which is ICAO complaint for weather reporting) or one letter corresponding to the ARTCC and two digits, or two letters and two digits where the letters are the state. NC26 here.

Occasionally, you get an oddball. Gilliam-McConnel here got re-idented as BQ1 (the pick-n-pig BBQ restaurant is on field). It was previously something boring like 5NC3 or such

My home field here in Lower Alabama is 41A; my parents live in Western NC, near both 33A and 24A.

 

[asicer]

Well, it actually gets 300 identifiers in each center because you can have W99, 9W9, and 99W.

I think they just decided it made more sense to allocate id's for private fields on a state basis.

Then why does A30 sit between 1O5 and O21?

 

[flyingron]

Then why does A30 sit between 1O5 and O21?

As I pointed out, there are a few airports that don't comply with the guidelines. That doesn't change that fact that A30, 3A0, and 30A all should probably be in the southeast if you follow the rules.

My home field here in Lower Alabama is 41A; my parents live in Western NC, near both 33A and 24A.

A = Atlanta (not Alabama). In fact, 14A here (and my airport NC26) are handled by the Atlanta ADO.

 

[Pilawt]

From FAA Publication 7350.7Y LOCATION IDENTIFIERS Effective 11/23/06 (emphases added):

1-2-7 Assignment System

a. Three-letter identifiers are assigned as radio call signs to aeronautical navigation aids; to airports with a manned air traffic control facility or navigational aid within airport boundary; to airports that receive scheduled route air carrier or military airlift service, and to airports designated by the U.S. Customs Service as Airports of Entry. Some of these identifiers are assigned to certain aviation weather reporting stations.

[...]

c. Most one-number, two-letter identifiers have been assigned to aviation weather reporting and observation stations and special-use locations. Some of these identifiers may be assigned to public-use landing facilities within the United States and its jurisdictions, which do not meet the requirements for identifiers in the three-letter series. In this identifier series, the number is always in the first position of the three-character combination.

d. Most one-letter, two-number identifiers are assigned to public-use landing facilities within the United States and its jurisdictions, which do not meet the requirements for identifiers in the three-letter series. Some of these identifiers are also assigned to aviation weather reporting stations.

1. One-letter, two-number identifiers are keyed by the alphabetical letter. The letter may appear in the first, middle or last position in the combination of three characters. When the letter signifies an Air Traffic Control Center's area, the assignment will not change if the Center's boundaries are realigned.

2. Identifiers in this series, which could conflict with the ''Victor'',''Jet'' or colored airway numbers are not assigned.

e. Two-letter, two-number identifiers are assigned to private-use landing facilities in the United States and its jurisdictions which do not meet the requirements for three-character assignments. They are keyed by the two-letter Post Office or supplemental abbreviation (listed below) of the state with which they are associated. The two letter code appears in the first two, middle, or last two positions of the four character code.

[...]

1-4-1 Use of Location Identifiers

An international location indicator is a four-letter code used in international telecommunications. The location indicator for airports in the contiguous United States is the three-letter identifier preceded by "K". For other non-contiguous United States airports, the following two letter prefix will be used:
Alaska - PA, PF, PO, PP
Hawaii - PH
Puerto Rico - TJ
Virgin Islands - TI
(See ICAO Document 7910 for listings.)
​

As has been pointed out above, there are myriad exceptions to all of these, but this is the official "Word" from on high.

 

[Ravioli]

Interesting. So I'm at T67 which I guess is Texas 67 and @SixPapaCharlie is at 52F which is within Fort Worth Center.

You learn something new every day, even on PoA!