Military Training Route numbering

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ayryq

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ayryq
Military training routes (MTR) are designated by three or four digit numbers. Four-digit number routes are entirely below 1500'AGL, and three-digit numbered routes have "at least one leg" above 1500'AGL. Meaning, presumably, they could have traffic at any altitude anywhere along them.

Does anyone have any clever ways to remember this distinction? I'm coming up blank and I have to look it up every time. A mnemonic, a song, a poem—clever or dumb, if it works I'll take it.

Thanks in advance!

Reference: https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/atpubs/so_html/chap6_section_2.html
 
It's a distinction without difference as far as you're concerned as a non participating civilian. Just avoid the low end of those altitude blocks. Also, FSS decided to drop the whole 255.4 monitoring, so they can't even give ya a heads up on what we're up to anymore.

Best bet is to become familiar with military units in the local area and see if they have an outreach product where they advise you of local use trends so you can deconflict with a practical level of efficacy. That way you can still enjoying whatever swamparse summer low altitude bee bopping you're inclined to dabble in. These producsts are usually available at FBOs in posters or printouts offered by the local base airspace office.

Absent that, a good rule of thumb is to be above 1500 AGL within 4NM of depicted centerline, and cross the centerline of the route leg in question at near orthogonal angles if possible, to minimize the amount of time you're in the cone getting run over or have your face smashed in.

Contrary to certain military hating pt91 "wE pAy uR CeLeRy!" segments of this moribund hobby, we spend a lot of time preparing our nav/tac charts to avoid untowered pattern altitudes as possible. Given the width of most of these routes, you'd be amazed the amount of untowered fields that fall within these MTR legal altitudes. We modify flight paths and even discountinue $17k-$100k+/hr cost training in the interest of prioritizing non-participating civilian traffic. DCA crash thread vitriol and current national division in every aspect of domestic living notwithstanding, we are truly on the same team here.
Fly safe.
 
hindsight2020 said:
current national division in every aspect of domestic living notwithstanding, we are truly on the same team here
Click to expand...
That. And I don’t give a frig if the mods choose to ban me for a “political” post.

One Nation
Under God
INDIVISIBLE
With liberty and justice for ALL

Inexplicably, disagreement is part of our DNA. Hate shouldn’t be.
 
Years ago we had a fly-in and some pilots from our local air base came out to discuss MTRs, wake turbulence, and collision avoidance. Having an understanding of where the MTRs were in the local area, altitudes used, and the rules and times lines when they would be hot was quite enlightening. We were told that if we took off and climbed to four thousand feet or more it was unlikely that there would be much of a concern.

We get a good bit of C-17 training in this area and I certainly don't want to get anywhere near one of them big boys with my light sport compliant experimental.

As for @Llewtrah381 post (# 4) we agree but I have to admit that hate is part of my DNA. There are evil things that I absolutely hate. I'll leave it at that ...
 
Llewtrah381 said:
That. And I don’t give a frig if the mods choose to ban me for a “political” post.

One Nation
Under God
INDIVISIBLE
With liberty and justice for ALL

Inexplicably, disagreement is part of our DNA. Hate shouldn’t be.
Click to expand...
Sounds almost like ya wanna be banned. To paraphrase an old joke, what’s the difference between a masochist and a sadist? The masochist says ban me. The sadist says nooooo…….
 
Gilbert Buettner said:
Sure. Think of it like a row of bricks, with four on the bottom and three bricks on top. The lower row of bricks represents the lower altitude, and of course the upper row represents the higher altitude.
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Thanks, this helps.
 
ayryq said:
Military training routes (MTR) are designated by three or four digit numbers. Four-digit number routes are entirely below 1500'AGL, and three-digit numbered routes have "at least one leg" above 1500'AGL. Meaning, presumably, they could have traffic at any altitude anywhere along them.

Does anyone have any clever ways to remember this distinction? I'm coming up blank and I have to look it up every time. A mnemonic, a song, a poem—clever or dumb, if it works I'll take it.

Thanks in advance!

Reference: https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/atpubs/so_html/chap6_section_2.html
Click to expand...
Interesting tid bit. I’ve never even wondered about it before. But it’s a useful tid bit of knowledge. I think you don’t need a mneomic. That you took the time to research it I think nails it that you ain’t gonna forget it. For others I think @hindsight2020 nailed it in many words. Many, many words
 
I have both a 4 digit VR route and a C-130 “slow route” that go over my house. 500 ft is usually their max. Shouldn’t be a factor unless you fly RW.
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IMG_9905.jpeg
 
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When I was a C-130 pilot in the late 1960s and early 70s, we flew a lot of 500' AGL routes in Kansas, then climbing to 1100 AGL for practice airdrops on Jayhawk Drop Zone across the highway from Forbes AFB in Topeka.

About three years ago, I was driving near Tomah, Wisconsin and saw a C-130 on one of those low-level routes. Online, I posted "Some things never change." Another pilot said, "Well, maybe not on the outside." and he posted a photo of the glass cockpit in modern C-130s.

My response: "What?! They took out the ashtrays?"
 
I've spent a lot of time in the 400series IR routes out west, 400-500ft AGL and 540knts, Day/Night it didn't matter. Flew a few of the other routes around the country. I remember the Hastings NE area when a Cessna went below us. We were 500ft AGL, I don't think he was crop dusting, but he was below us.
 
hindsight2020 said:
Also, FSS decided to drop the whole 255.4 monitoring, so they can't even give ya a heads up on what we're up to anymore.

Best bet is to become familiar with military units in the local area and see if they have an outreach product where they advise you of local use trends so you can deconflict with a practical level of efficacy.
Click to expand...

That's a bummer. I was under the impression that if I was talking to approach or center for flight following I could ask them if an MTR was in use. Would you recommend looking up a phone number in the AP/1B or is there some other way to "become familiar"?

hindsight2020 said:
Absent that, a good rule of thumb is to be above 1500 AGL within 4NM of depicted centerline, and cross the centerline of the route leg in question at near orthogonal angles if possible, to minimize the amount of time you're in the cone getting run over or have your face smashed in.
Click to expand...

This only applies if your crossing a low altitude (4-digit) route though, right?
 
Driving highway 95 between Hawthorne and Beatty, Nevada it is not uncommon to see F-somethings at 300-600' going 400+ knots. Last time I was on this road, all of a sudden there was an F-15 (or maybe 18) in a 60° bank and VERY low and very fast - perhaps 250' AGL. I only saw the belly of it less than 1/4 mile off the side of the highway going the opposite direction.
 
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