when the TTAs are active all non-participating
aircraft in the co-located LFAs must y at a
minimum of 500ft to reduce task saturation
for the aircraft conducting OLF as their
lookout is compromised.
Low ying isn’t only undertaken during
the day. Modern aircraft carry an array of
sensors that allow night low-level ying
too. At night the UKLFS uses a different
system divided into two regions – one
for helicopters, the other for fast jet and
transport aircraft. These are further split into
timed allocations to decon ict aircraft.
The minimum height for xed-wing
aircraft (other than OLF) is 250ft and 100ft
for helicopters. Some ying events will
see helicopters descend below this height
when conducting speci c training, such
as disembarking troops. To account for
valley ying, an additional restriction is
placed which creates a minimum separation
distance (MSD) of 250ft from any object,
man-made or otherwise, around the whole
of the aircraft. Although the MOD tries to
distribute low ying evenly across the UK,
very often, due to the locations of where
aircraft are based, some areas will be more
prone to it. Wales sees a lot of low-level
traffic because RAF Valley, on Anglesey, is
the main fast jet training base in the UK and
therefore utilises an area on its doorstep.
The UKLFS is available 24 hours a
day, all year round, but, in practice, use of
the areas is limited from 0800 to 2300hrs,
Monday to Friday with only limited ying at
weekends. Daylight low ying is con ned
to 30 minutes after sunrise and the same
amount of time before sunset (both 15
minutes for helicopters) to avoid the urry of
bird activity around this time.
If a birdstrike occurs, and I’ve hit many
in my time, the rst thing to do is nothing.
It sounds counter-intuitive, but to move the28 Aviation News incorporating Jets September 2018
Low-level ying is part of the basic fast jet training course using Tucanos from RAF Linton-on-
Ouse, North Yorkshire. Dino CarraraHelicopters, such as this Army Air Corps
Apache AH1, are allowed to y at 100ft or
sometimes lower for speci c training events.
Dino CarraraTransport aircraft crews also train to y low. RAF Atlas and Hercules aircraft regularly conduct
this type of sortie. Nathan Daws