MOA / "Airspace Reservation" ?

denverpilot

denverpilot

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Just happened to see this in the ZDV NOTAMS today...

!CARF 08/323 ZDV AIRSPACE PINON CANYON STATIONARY AIRSPACE RESERVATION WI AN AREA BNDD BY THE CONFINES OF THE PINON CANYON MOA 10000 FT MSL to FL300 1530-1700 DLY Effective from Sep 06 2011 15:30 UTC till Sep 11 2011 17:00 UTC

What the heck is a "Stationary Airspace Reservation"? I have never seen a NOTAM for a MOA being "hot" before.

Not that I'm going to go bombing through there or anything, but what are the regulatory differences between a standard "hot" MOA and a "stationary airspace reservation"? Is this just a way to say the MOA is active, or is this something completely new and different?

Just curious.
 
denverpilot said:
Just happened to see this in the ZDV NOTAMS today...

!CARF 08/323 ZDV AIRSPACE PINON CANYON STATIONARY AIRSPACE RESERVATION WI AN AREA BNDD BY THE CONFINES OF THE PINON CANYON MOA 10000 FT MSL to FL300 1530-1700 DLY Effective from Sep 06 2011 15:30 UTC till Sep 11 2011 17:00 UTC

What the heck is a "Stationary Airspace Reservation"? I have never seen a NOTAM for a MOA being "hot" before.

Not that I'm going to go bombing through there or anything, but what are the regulatory differences between a standard "hot" MOA and a "stationary airspace reservation"? Is this just a way to say the MOA is active, or is this something completely new and different?

Just curious.
Click to expand...

It's something different, but not something new. It's just using the lateral boundary of the MOA to define the airspace reservation.
 
Yes, but I can't find anything in the FARs that describes what an "airspace reservation" is.

Can a VFR pilot fly through an "airspace reservation"?

It's not a TFR... it's not a Restricted Area...
 
Think of it as a temporary MOA. I'm guessing the operation planned is going outside the MOA normal/published operating hours, hence the NOTAM.
 
Why didn't they just say "MOA Active outside of normal operating hours" instead of making up something new to call it? Airspace "reservation" indeed. :rofl:
 
Just noticed another item -- the ALTREV goes 10,000 MSL to FL 300. Pinon Canyon MOA is only 100 AGL to 10,000. This reservation essentially creates a temporary MOA on top of Pinon Canyon with the same lateral confines.
 
I found a couple of similar terms in the Pilot/Controller Glossary, but I'm not sure whether they are applicable to this situation:

ALTITUDE RESERVATION− Airspace utilization
under prescribed conditions normally employed for
the mass movement of aircraft or other special user
requirements which cannot otherwise be
accomplished. ALTRVs are approved by the
appropriate FAA facility.
(See AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEM
COMMAND CENTER.)
Click to expand...

STATIONARY RESERVATIONS− Altitude reservations
which encompass activities in a fixed area.
Stationary reservations may include activities, such
as special tests of weapons systems or equipment,
certain U.S. Navy carrier, fleet, and anti-submarine
operations, rocket, missile and drone operations, and
certain aerial refueling or similar operations.
Click to expand...
 
I'm pretty sure that the Stationary Reservation definition you quoted is what it is -- probably some sort of military activity requiring more vertical space than the MOA has as published -- giant dogfight, or mass attack, or something like that.
 
denverpilot said:
Yes, but I can't find anything in the FARs that describes what an "airspace reservation" is.

Can a VFR pilot fly through an "airspace reservation"?

It's not a TFR... it's not a Restricted Area...
Click to expand...

I'd never heard of one overlying the CONUS, they're mentioned in JO 7110.65 in the chapter on oceanic procedures. See section 8-6-1.

The NOTAM says nothing about any flight restrictions, I'd say treat it as you would a MOA. Note that the Pinon Canyon MOA only goes up to 10,000 MSL, it overlies the Army's Pinon Canyon training area and that's probably all the airspace needed for normal training operations. There's probably a joint exercise planned with high performance USAF aircraft that needs more room so you have an airspace reservation on top of the MOA. Note that many MOAs that do go up to 18,000 also have an ATCAA on top of them with the same lateral boundary as the MOA. An ATCAA is Air Traffic Control Assigned Airspace, they're not charted as they're exclusively in Class A airspace so ATC just keeps unwanted aircraft out.
 
roncachamp said:
I'd never heard of one overlying the CONUS,
Click to expand...
We didn't use them often, but we did use them from time to time, like when running a 42-ship Alpha strike from the carrier off the California coast against the Salton Sea bombing range. And if you read the NOTAMs in your computer-based briefing, you'll see them periodically.
 
I always read *every* NOTAM, all 300 of them, or I would be cited under the FAR about not knowing every possible thing about my intended flight. :rollseyes: :goofy:

Heh heh. I know it sounds sarcastic, but usually I actually do.

The NOTAM system is broken, but it's the best idea anyone's come up with so far. The FDC NOTAMS are ultra messy. And I've already ranted about VIP TFRs. Sigh.

All this bureaucracy. No wonder few want to learn to fly.
 
Ron Levy said:
Just noticed another item -- the ALTREV goes 10,000 MSL to FL 300. Pinon Canyon MOA is only 100 AGL to 10,000. This reservation essentially creates a temporary MOA on top of Pinon Canyon with the same lateral confines.
Click to expand...

Bingo!
I've flown many an ALTREV route that included departure climb into Class A, course routing, low level IR routing, MOA and ATCAA areas, routing home to a high alt penetration and landing.

I've also controlled aircraft using the ALTREV from ARTCC. Don't take an aircraft off the ALTREV route, it screws up their Enroute timing for safe separation from other aircraft in the ALTREV, once off the route they cannont re enter unless they are on their previously coordinated route timing or alternate entry control time.
 
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