{"id":2896,"date":"2011-06-03T04:00:50","date_gmt":"2011-06-03T08:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/joeclarksblog.com\/?p=2896"},"modified":"2011-06-03T04:00:50","modified_gmt":"2011-06-03T08:00:50","slug":"low-levels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joeclarksblog.com\/?p=2896","title":{"rendered":"Low Levels"},"content":{"rendered":"

This week, one of the subjects for my commercial class was airspace and as always, I made mention of the military training routes on the sectional charts.\u00a0 When I was flying in the Navy, we routinely referred to the routes as \u201clow-levels\u201d and I have to say, they were fun to fly<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What made them fun?\u00a0 Flying the routes at 150 to 200 feet off the surface at speeds of 540 knots!\u00a0 Occasionally, a student will ask about that 250-knot-below-10,000-foot rule.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot applicable on a military training route in a military airplane,\u201d was my standard answer.<\/p>\n

Five hundred and forty knots!\u00a0 If you divide by 60, you quickly discover you can refer to that same velocity as nine miles a minute.\u00a0 Nine miles a minute!\u00a0 Over 910 feet per second<\/em>.\u00a0 Almost as fast as a speeding bullet\u2014well\u2014a slow speeding bullet anyway.<\/p>\n

Still, 540 KIAS is fast!<\/em><\/p>\n

From the cockpit, the world looks completely different.\u00a0 The best I can do to describe it is to take you back to the movie, Star Wars<\/em>.\u00a0 When Luke flies into the crevasse on the Death Star, the scene shows the craft screaming through the corridor on his mission.<\/p>\n

Got to tell you, flying a jet close to the ground at those speeds is just like that. \u00a0On the routes in Florida, it is somewhat easy because you don\u2019t have to worry about changing elevations and rock outcroppings.<\/p>\n

I remember being on VR-1002 one fine Friday approaching the Gulf of Mexico near Cedar Key.\u00a0 I was pushing it hard around the corner in a high-g low altitude right turn.\u00a0 I had my Corsair banked over to about 75 degrees angle-of-bank; the g-meter was somewhere near four in the turn.\u00a0 I looked down, to my right, and there were a couple of guys on a boat, fishing.\u00a0 I wondered what they were catching.\u00a0 For just a moment, they stopped fishing and waved.\u00a0 I waved back, but wondered if they saw it before I was gone.<\/p>\n

Out West, things are a little different.\u00a0 You have to worry about the changing elevations and those rock outcroppings.<\/p>\n

In other words, when you fly up to a ridgeline, you have to roll the jet upside down\u2014200 feet above the ground.\u00a0 Then you pull about four g\u2019s across the ridgeline to the get to the other side.\u00a0 When they told us we would learn how to do this at Weapons School, we all looked a little like deer staring into headlights.<\/p>\n

The first few times, we never made it close to crossing at 200 feet above the rocks.\u00a0 But eventually with a little practice, we got it.\u00a0 Just as I am sure, the new generation has got it.<\/p>\n

Wish I could go flying with them sometime.\u00a0 I miss the low-levels.<\/p>\n

-30-<\/p>\n

\u00a9 2011 J. Clark<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This week, one of the subjects for my commercial class was airspace and as always, I made mention of the military training routes on the sectional charts.\u00a0 When I was flying in the Navy, we routinely referred to the routes … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,6,9],"tags":[109,131,338,339,361,363,808,845,1008,1157,1456,1468,1491,1505,1528,1584,1950,2055,2233,2254,2355,2386,2391,2392,2436,2505,2559,2686,2795,2897,3076,3078,3126,3311,3350,3706,4226],"class_list":["post-2896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aviation","category-flying-2","category-personal","tag-910-feet-per-second","tag-a-couple-of-guys-on-a-boat-fishing","tag-airspace","tag-airspeed","tag-almost-as-fast-as-a-speeding-bullet","tag-altitude","tag-cedar-key","tag-changing-elevations","tag-corsair","tag-discipline","tag-florida","tag-flying","tag-flying-in-the-navy","tag-flying-on-vr-1002","tag-flying-the-routes-at-150-to-200-feet","tag-friends","tag-inexperienced-pilots","tag-judgment","tag-looked-like-deer-staring-into-headlights","tag-low-levels","tag-memories","tag-military-airplanes","tag-military-service","tag-military-training-routes","tag-mountains","tag-navy","tag-nine-miles-a-minute","tag-out-west","tag-pilots","tag-professional-pilots","tag-rock-outcroppings","tag-roll-the-jet-upside-down","tag-sailors","tag-speeds-of-540-knots","tag-star-wars","tag-the-gulf-of-mexico","tag-weapons-school"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t