Finding Out Restricted Airspace Status Ahead of Time

[birdus]

I'm planning a flight along the US/Mexico border and am concerned about whether or not I'll be able to fly through R-2301 in Arizona. If it's active at the time I want to pass, it would put a kink in my plans, but we'll see what happens. I asked for some help here and got a few different answers, one or two of which were "call Albuquerque Center." I got the same recommendation from the Scottsdale FSDO.

So, I called Albuquerque Center. The guy who answered seemed to be in a serious rush and ended up telling me to call FSS. So, I called FSS. The lady who answered was not nice at all (maybe I just picked a really bad day to call the Federales), but after quite a lot of tooth pulling, I got out of her that all she does to find out if any particular Special Use Airspace is active is to hit another website. She told me I could figure it out by going to faa.gov and searching. I was hoping there'd be one of those surveys at the end of the conversation asking for my feedback about the quality of service, but no such luck.

Anyhoo, I eventually found what I suspect is the website to which she was referring. If you want to find the status of any Special Use Airspace in the U.S., go here:

https://sua.faa.gov/sua/siteFrame.app

It appears as though the results may go out only a few days, but I suspect that may vary based on the airspace in question. If you want to find out if some airspace is active or not, no need to call FSS. Just go to that website.

 

[Brad Z]

I'm planning a flight along the US/Mexico border and am concerned about whether or not I'll be able to fly through R-2301 in Arizona. If it's active at the time I want to pass, it would put a kink in my plans, but we'll see what happens. I asked for some help here and got a few different answers, one or two of which were "call Albuquerque Center." I got the same recommendation from the Scottsdale FSDO.

So, I called Albuquerque Center. The guy who answered seemed to be in a serious rush and ended up telling me to call FSS. So, I called FSS. The lady who answered was not nice at all (maybe I just picked a really bad day to call the Federales), but after quite a lot of tooth pulling, I got out of her that all she does to find out if any particular Special Use Airspace is active is to hit another website. She told me I could figure it out by going to faa.gov and searching. I was hoping there'd be one of those surveys at the end of the conversation asking for my feedback about the quality of service, but no such luck.

Anyhoo, I eventually found what I suspect is the website to which she was referring. If you want to find the status of any Special Use Airspace in the U.S., go here:

https://sua.faa.gov/sua/siteFrame.app

It appears as though the results may go out only a few days, but I suspect that may vary based on the airspace in question. If you want to find out if some airspace is active or not, no need to call FSS. Just go to that website.

I'm confused by the question. According to the charts 2301W is continuous, and 2301E is active 0630-2400 daily (or more by notam). What would you like ATC to tell you in advance?

 

[Boone]

That website is a good start. I recommend also checking Notams right before the flight and also asking ATC airborne. I don’t remember specifically but I think scheduled times can be changed with a 2 hr notice. So that map is good but may not reflect perfectly actual conditions if you’ve planned prior.

 

[JScarry]

I'm confused by the question. According to the charts 2301W is continuous, and 2301E is active 0630-2400 daily (or more by notam). What would you like ATC to tell you in advance?

Continuous doesn’t actually mean continuous. I regularly fly through R-2516 which is marked as continuous but is rarely hot on weekends, evenings, and holidays. R-2517 says the same thing but is always hot.

I haven’t flown to Las Vegas lately, but the restricted airspaces in the Trona gap are also marked as continuous but I’ve flown through them sometimes and sometimes had to fly around them.

I don’t think ATC knows in advance if the airspace will be hot.

 

[Brad Z]

Continuous doesn’t actually mean continuous.

I don’t think ATC knows in advance if the airspace will be hot.

Exactly, continuous doesn't mean continuously hot. But ATC generally has no idea ahead of time of whether the restricted area will be hot, and conjecture on the part of ATC is neither permissible or helpful to the OP. It can be cold now but unexpectedly hot a few minutes later.

 

[Htaylor]

I'm planning a flight along the US/Mexico border and am concerned about whether or not I'll be able to fly through R-2301 in Arizona. If it's active at the time I want to pass, it would put a kink in my plans, but we'll see what happens. I asked for some help here and got a few different answers, one or two of which were "call Albuquerque Center." I got the same recommendation from the Scottsdale FSDO.

So, I called Albuquerque Center. The guy who answered seemed to be in a serious rush and ended up telling me to call FSS. So, I called FSS. The lady who answered was not nice at all (maybe I just picked a really bad day to call the Federales), but after quite a lot of tooth pulling, I got out of her that all she does to find out if any particular Special Use Airspace is active is to hit another website. She told me I could figure it out by going to faa.gov and searching. I was hoping there'd be one of those surveys at the end of the conversation asking for my feedback about the quality of service, but no such luck.

Anyhoo, I eventually found what I suspect is the website to which she was referring. If you want to find the status of any Special Use Airspace in the U.S., go here:

https://sua.faa.gov/sua/siteFrame.app

It appears as though the results may go out only a few days, but I suspect that may vary based on the airspace in question. If you want to find out if some airspace is active or not, no need to call FSS. Just go to that website.

I don’t think ATC knows in advance if the airspace will be hot.

I've been in R space with ATC permission and been told to exit as it will be going hot in 15 minutes. Edwards Complex.

 

[flyingron]

Years ago we were at KSUT for a Navion convention. Margy was working for a couple of ex-marine major general at the time who suggested that we call LeJeune and get authorization to fly through the R-areas there on the way to a KFFA. We did that and after a few minutes synchronizing the reporting points with what we had on our sectional, we briefed a dozen planes and headed out, us in the lead.

ILM: You do know R-5306 is hot?
27K: Yes, we have prior authorization.

We got up there and called in on the frequency. We were headed up the coast and the next ship in our group called in. A minute later they ask that guy to hold up a bit while they stopped firing. We're a couple of miles ahead of him, I inquire if they want me to hold as well. Oh, yeah, that'd be a good idea.

I've had Pax River negotiate transits of the hot areas over the Chesapeake a number of times.

 

[Boone]

Exactly, continuous doesn't mean continuously hot. But ATC generally has no idea ahead of time of whether the restricted area will be hot, and conjecture on the part of ATC is neither permissible or helpful to the OP. It can be cold now but unexpectedly hot a few minutes later.

The reason why is there is pressure not to keep airspace active unless it’s actually being used. So even though it’s scheduled for use, if something delays the users the then it won’t actually go hot until they are enroute. If they leave early based on wx, Mx, or something else then it goes cold.

 

[Sierra_Hotel]

A minute later they ask that guy to hold up a bit while they stopped firing. We're a couple of miles ahead of him, I inquire if they want me to hold as well. Oh, yeah, that'd be a good idea.

 

[Jeff767]

I would plan on R2301 being hot. It’s a very heavy use restricted area.

 

[NoHeat]

So, I called FSS. ... all she does to find out if any particular Special Use Airspace is active is to hit another website. .. I eventually found what I suspect is the website to which she was referring. If you want to find the status of any Special Use Airspace in the U.S., go here:

https://sua.faa.gov/sua/siteFrame.app

That’s the one.

I bookmark it, and I use it a lot.

Shortly before departing on a cross country, I do a screenshot, since I cannot update it while enroute, at least I can see on the screenshot what it predicted before I took off.

 

[Jim K]

And once again FSS demonstrates their uselessness. "Read it off the website ". Thanks, that's what I do for everything you offer.

 

[Velocity173]

Fore Flight is easier to use than the FAA’s website for Restricted Area status. Both are useless to what’s actually going on in an active R area though. ATC will know ahead if it’s active or not active because they coordinate with the using agency.

The thing about SUA is that they’re fluid. One could be active but no using agency participants are in there. That could change in short order though. You could have a R area that’s technically active but because of the LOAs and the type of activity going on the R area, you’re allowed to fly thru. If a non participating pilot is allowed to fly thru an active R area, you can bet either there ain’t jack going on and it’s been released to ATC or the activity going on, isn’t the type that prevents non participants from going thru.

 

[flyingron]

Years ago, I operated in and out of KAPG which is not only in class D airspace (well an ATA/CZ back then) but also in the middle of R-4101. As authorized users we knew to depart the field to the NW to avoid the ranges. Other's would often call on the tower frequency (which was only in operation 9-5 or so every weekday), asking for R-area status. I told them to call approach control as they were the "controlling agency" even though we were the user. Nobody at the airport knew what was happening on the range at any given time, except on the rare times that the Delaware ANG guys were dropping stuff on the field out of C-130s.

I don't recall what PCT has for indicating the status (probably in the computers in the overhead). At ZDC, there was a huge white board on hangnig high on one side of the radar room with the status of all the R-areas updated on it.

 

[N1120A]

Another reason to fly IFR

 

[write-stuff]

The ultimate answer won't appear until you're in the air, heading toward the RA. That's when you can get the final answer from ATC or Flight Service.

 

[midlifeflyer]

My favorite part of the site is the warning that the most popular browsers are not supported, but the legacy one (apparently reaching its end of life next summer) is:

ALERT: Due to high traffic volume on the website, non-supported browsers (Chrome, Edge, Safari) may show incomplete map layer data. The supported IE11 browser is operating normally. To see all active SUA airspaces and TFR data, only use the IE11 browser. A Website update is pending to support additional browsers.​

 

[Sierra_Hotel]

Fore Flight is easier to use than the FAA’s website for Restricted Area status. Both are useless to what’s actually going on in an active R area though. ATC will know ahead if it’s active or not active because they coordinate with the using agency.

Foreflight is good for showing the altitudes and controlling agencies/frequencies but won't tell you if it's hot. The SUA website will tell you what's active at the time you look and, for the ones that aren't used very often, will tell you and scheduled usage periods.

 

[Ed Haywood]

My favorite part of the site is the warning that the most popular browsers are not supported, but the legacy one (apparently reaching its end of life next summer) is:

ALERT: Due to high traffic volume on the website, non-supported browsers (Chrome, Edge, Safari) may show incomplete map layer data. The supported IE11 browser is operating normally. To see all active SUA airspaces and TFR data, only use the IE11 browser. A Website update is pending to support additional browsers.​

I use a lot of government websites as a defense contractor. They are uniformly terrible. Some look they were designed by a team of 8th graders. Ran across a brand new website recently, that serves a very important function, that uses multiple iframes. That is late 90's style web development. The only thing missing was MS Clip Art and animated gif explosions.

 

[Ed Haywood]

Foreflight is good for showing the altitudes and controlling agencies/frequencies but won't tell you if it's hot. The SUA website will tell you what's active at the time you look and, for the ones that aren't used very often, will tell you and scheduled usage periods.

Would be really cool to integrate active status data into ADS-B IN.

 

[Velocity173]

Foreflight is good for showing the altitudes and controlling agencies/frequencies but won't tell you if it's hot. The SUA website will tell you what's active at the time you look and, for the ones that aren't used very often, will tell you and scheduled usage periods.

The SUA website simply shows colors based on scheduling. A red area doesn’t necessarily mean there’s actual activity going on. Just means it’s scheduled for activity. You can tap on FF and get the same information. To know if anything is actually preventing a non participating aircraft from going through, you have to contact the controlling agency.

 

[jbkieser]

The SUA website simply shows colors based on scheduling. A red area doesn’t necessarily mean there’s actual activity going on. Just means it’s scheduled for activity. You can tap on FF and get the same information. To know if anything is actually preventing a non participating aircraft from going through, you have to contact the controlling agency.

The SUA website simply shows colors based on scheduling. A red area doesn’t necessarily mean there’s actual activity going on. Just means it’s scheduled for activity. You can tap on FF and get the same information. To know if anything is actually preventing a non participating aircraft from going through, you have to contact the controlling agency.

My experience is with R-2305 which may or may not be relevant to R-2301 E/W. In my case prior to the day of flight I called Range Operations (Snake Eye) at 623-856-8818 / 8819 and inquired about the anticipated status of the restricted area in the upcoming days. The in air frequency for Snake Eye is 122.775. The frequencies for ABQ Center in that area are 126.45 and 125.25. Also see the Chart Supplement for R-2305 transition information.

 

[luvflyin]

I'm confused by the question. According to the charts 2301W is continuous, and 2301E is active 0630-2400 daily (or more by notam). What would you like ATC to tell you in advance?

That it's not actually in use right now and you can go through. I used to work at KNXP and did airspace scheduling for R2501. It is a 'continuous' Restricted Area. But we gave airspace releases to Center. We'd do it weekly, releasing to them blocks of airspace by altitude and areas. Some Restricted Areas are further divided into areas other than N, S, E or W. These areas don't appear on Charts available to pilots, but ATC and the using Agency have them. We could recall a release and make it hot with, if I remember right, 4 hours notice. We could also negotiate with less time. It helped them out with the flow of traffic from the East into LAX. Even relatively short blocks of time made a difference for them.

 

[Sierra_Hotel]

The SUA website simply shows colors based on scheduling. A red area doesn’t necessarily mean there’s actual activity going on. Just means it’s scheduled for activity. You can tap on FF and get the same information. To know if anything is actually preventing a non participating aircraft from going through, you have to contact the controlling agency.

Right, that's all I was referencing. The restricted areas near me are all activated by NOTAM, which doesn't show up in Foreflight, but does on the SUA page.

 

[flyingron]

I use a lot of government websites as a defense contractor. They are uniformly terrible. Some look they were designed by a team of 8th graders. Ran across a brand new website recently, that serves a very important function, that uses multiple iframes. That is late 90's style web development. The only thing missing was MS Clip Art and animated gif explosions.

 

[Velocity173]

My experience is with R-2305 which may or may not be relevant to R-2301 E/W. In my case prior to the day of flight I called Range Operations (Snake Eye) at 623-856-8818 / 8819 and inquired about the anticipated status of the restricted area in the upcoming days. The in air frequency for Snake Eye is 122.775. The frequencies for ABQ Center in that area are 126.45 and 125.25. Also see the Chart Supplement for R-2305 transition information.

Yeah and that’ll help for R areas that schedule that far out in advance but like you said R2301 might not have those procedures. I can tell you with R3005, we never sent the R area (Ft Stewart) any flight schedule in advance. For a typical training NOE run, all that was required was a VFR round robin with a delay in R3005 in the remarks. A non participating aircraft wanting to transition thru wouldn’t have much of a planning heads up.

 

[smv]

They can go from "Inactive" to "Active" pretty quick. Cruising along at one-five thousand last summer on an IFR flight plan in a PA-46 headed right at a joint R- and MOA area when Center pipes up and says, "Either turn left 30° or immediate climb to FL190." We went up.