Title: Low-Altitude Flying Training > U.S. Air Force > Fact Sheet Display
Headings: Low-Altitude Flying Training
Low-Altitude Flying Training
Content: Pilots should know whether they can enter, where they may fly and whether their flight will be under visual or instrument flight rules. Military training areas and routes are shown in Flight Information Publications and FAA charts. Flight service stations have Department of Defense and sectional charts, the Airman's Information Manual, and other material which publicize the areas. The Air Force takes very seriously noise problems associated with low-altitude training. For example, most low-level flying is limited to daylight hours and low-level flying near densely populated areas is prohibited. Sharing Low-Altitude Airspace
The military uses some airspace below 10,000 feet for training operations and frequently flies at speeds of more than 250 knots. High speed operations include aircraft intercepts, air-to-air combat, close-air support for ground forces and photo reconnaissance. The mixture of fast military planes and slower civilian aircraft creates obvious low-altitude training safety concerns. Training areas were first assigned to the Air Force in the late 1950s when aircraft were slower, turning patterns were tighter and low-level flying was not considered a useful tactic. Today's technology, both ours and that of potential foes, has taken flight beyond the range and scope for which those original training areas were designed.