From: lhe@sics.se (Lars-Henrik Eriksson)
Subject: Airway designators (Was Re: Colored airways in the lower 48)
Reply-To: lhe@sics.se (Lars-Henrik Eriksson)
Organization: SICS, Kista (Stockholm), Sweden
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1992 14:04:18 GMT

In article <17kd28INN3n5@darkstar.UCSC.EDU>, rob@cats (99708000) writes:
>
>Let's flog this horse some more.
>
>Kit Cosper and at least one other netter claim that there
>is an NDB airway on the East coast.
>I can't find it on my FAA Flight Case Planning Chart--
>AND I just got a Jeppesen revision of the introduction
>pages--check page 55 about halfway down; seez the fat green line
>means "LF Airway (Canada & Alaska only)".
>
>Whatz goin on here?  (I'm a bit hogtied 'cause I don't have
>either Jepps or FAA East Coast charts).  Do I need to call Jeppesen
>and tell them they are full of it??

The Jeppesen editions in Europe (and probably the world) use the same
introduction pages as the U.S. edition, so we have this page, too.
Since "LF airways" are charted in the same way as any other airway in
Europe Jepp charts, I have assumed that the comment means that green
lines are used for LF airways in Canada and Alaska and ordinary blue
lines everywhere else.

By the way, the concept of a "LF airway" with coloured designators and
VOR airways with "Victor" designators are a North American
peculiarity. Under ICAO standards, the colour designators are the
standard designators for any airway. So you won't find any Victor
airway in Europe, but lots of coloured ones. Actually, the colour
designators are being phased out by ICAO. Many (most?) of the
countries of the world use Romeo, Golf, Bravo, Alpha (and Whiskey),
instead of colours.

For each "ICAO region" (Europe is one), ICAO coordinates airway names,
so that airways don't change names at country boundaries and so that
different airways in two countries don't have the same name. Such
airways have the ususal R, G, B and A designators.

Each country may also have national airways with uncoordinated names.
Such airways use one of the letters H, J, W and another one that I've
forgotten (possibly M).

There are two additional sets of four designators for regional and
national airways that require RNAV. I can't recall these, but I know
that L is one such designator.

To make things even more interesting, an airway name can also have a
prefix: "U" if it is in the upper airspace (usually above FL195 or
FL245), "S" if it is intended for supersonic aircraft or "K" if it is
intended for heliKopters.

There are also two possible suffixes, which are used if the airway is
not really an airway (i.e. not in controlled airspace), but rather a
named route in uncontrolled airspace. A "F" suffix indicates ordinary
uncontrolled (class G) airspace, while a "D" suffix indicates advisory
(class F) airspace. The letters indicate the service offered instead
of ATC - Flight information or aDvisory service.

So UW23D would be a national advisory route in the upper airspace...

ICAO: International Civil Aviation Organisation.
-- 
-- 
Lars-Henrik Eriksson                            Internet: lhe@sics.se
Swedish Institute of Computer Science           Phone (intn'l): +46 8 752 15 09
Box 1263                                        Telefon (nat'l): 08 - 752 15 09
S-164 28  KISTA, SWEDEN                         Fax: +46 8 751 72 30