If flying in the Highlands please be aware that there is much military activity, particularly midweek and certain areas which remain a no-go for free flying pilots at specific times.

 

It is important to consider what the restricted area is there for. This airspace allows the military to engage in training manouvres without causing a danger to other air traffic by restricting general aircraft traffic them from these zones. These zones are likley to be active at any time however they are not available to aircraft between 3pm and 11pm (2pm to 10pm in Summer) Monday to Thursday.

Military aircraft will be engaged in flying that avoids detection which means they will be low, fast and erratic. They will probably be engaged with other aircraft and in pursuing their attack/evasion manouvres change direction and flight level quite dramatically. Furthermore they could be flying "head-down" and therefore not able to maintain VFR.

This said their are way to safely fly these areas and the CAA produce some solid documents which will allow pilots to understand what their responsibilities are and how they can safely access these areas.

Your first port of call is to read the CAA safety Sense leaflet which can be downloaded here  or this Aeronautical  Information Circular .

You should also have a copy of the relevant airspace map. These are sheet1( North West Scotland) and sheet 2 (North East Scotland) 1:250,000 scale maps.

Please note the 1:500,000 scale does not contain all the relevant info.

Permission to cross the Highland Restricted area is obtained by calling the Low Flying Booking Cell at RAF Wittering on direct-dial Freephone 0800-515544 or Freefax 0800-3892225 giving brief details of your intended flight or activity. The times of operation of the LFBC are:

You can cross the danger areas as long as you have called the low-flying cell and end your flight by 3pm in the winter or 2pm in the summer.

  Further info can be found inthe flight planning section here .