Flying near Eglin R2915

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So I'm planning a trip from Central Florida around the coast to New Orleans. I'm planning around R2915 and I see the airspace restriction is continuous. If I'm not under Flight Following who would I contact to transition across that space. Specifically R2915B which is surface - unlimited continuous. I would prefer NOT to go out over the water if I can avoid it.
 
Star Keeper said:
So I'm planning a trip from Central Florida around the coast to New Orleans. I'm planning around R2915 and I see the airspace restriction is continuous. If I'm not under Flight Following who would I contact to transition across that space. Specifically R2915B which is surface - unlimited continuous. I would prefer NOT to go out over the water if I can avoid it.
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I’d start here, and it should answer most of your questions.

https://www.faasafety.gov/gslac/ALC/course_content.aspx?cID=47&sID=279
 
Star Keeper said:
So I'm planning a trip from Central Florida around the coast to New Orleans. I'm planning around R2915 and I see the airspace restriction is continuous. If I'm not under Flight Following who would I contact to transition across that space. Specifically R2915B which is surface - unlimited continuous. I would prefer NOT to go out over the water if I can avoid it.
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You can assume the R's around Eglin will be active most of the time.

You can fly along the coast line below 8500 while in flight following with Eglin Approach, they own the restricted area and will let you cut into if empty. You should contact Tyndall well east of the area around Panama City to get permission to the east/west corridor.

OR

You can fly North of I-10 and talk to Pensacola approach around Whiting field. You will eventually have to cross Mobile Bay and the coastal route does have some open water and only barrier islands to "catch you", so this might be the better option to you.

As Sluggo noted, the Part 93 airspace precludes you from not having flight following.
 
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Rgbeard said:
I’m referring to post #1.
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OK I read it is he's not on FF, who do I call to get it. I guess what you're really asking is why didn't he ask for FF from the get-go then?
 
tsts4 said:
OK I read it is he's not on FF, who do I call to get it. I guess what you're really asking is why didn't he ask for FF from the get-go then?
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I guess that was poorly worded, yes. Not ditching it, but avoiding it altogether.

I have a hard time understanding why people choose to avoid it in the first place. Being anywhere near restricted airspace without it - really puzzles me.
 
Rgbeard said:
I guess that was poorly worded, yes. Not ditching it, but avoiding it altogether.

I have a hard time understanding why people choose to avoid it in the first place. Being anywhere near restricted airspace without it - really puzzles me.
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I've started getting into the bad habit of not initiating flight following because much of the time I'm flying in Orlando or Tampa airspace and they have been unable to provide it a lot of the time. So I am starting from worst case scenario of I've been flying for a bit and didn't pick up flight following initially so trying to determine who I should contact. The information above helps with that question. Thanks
 
Star Keeper said:
I've started getting into the bad habit of not initiating flight following because much of the time I'm flying in Orlando or Tampa airspace and they have been unable to provide it a lot of the time. So I am starting from worst case scenario of I've been flying for a bit and didn't pick up flight following initially so trying to determine who I should contact. The information above helps with that question. Thanks
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Instrument rated pilots don't want you to know this one weird trick! (haha)

Did you know that the low-altitude enroute charts have some help with this? If you pop them up on something such as vfrmap.com, find the blue zig-zag box.

When I look around this area it gives me lots of ideas for how to reach Jacksonville Center in various locations.

Could be handy to have a couple of these freqs jotted down on your kneepad if you intend to not use flight following until you're out of your area of confusion/high traffic.
 
Rgbeard said:
Instrument rated pilots don't want you to know this one weird trick! (haha)

Did you know that the low-altitude enroute charts have some help with this? If you pop them up on something such as vfrmap.com, find the blue zig-zag box.

When I look around this area it gives me lots of ideas for how to reach Jacksonville Center in various locations.

Could be handy to have a couple of these freqs jotted down on your kneepad if you intend to not use flight following until you're out of your area of confusion/high traffic.
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Another option is to pick an airport nearby your present location and pull up any approach plate for that airport. It will have the ATC freq for that local airspace which may or may not be a Center depending on your altitude and proximity to a TRACON.
 
Rgbeard said:
Instrument rated pilots don't want you to know this one weird trick! (haha)
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You forgot to include a misleading picture of a pegged VSI with maybe a banana peel and Lincoln Log to go with that clickbait headline. :)

I think flight following from the beginning of the flight is a great idea in this scenario. But if you wait before getting it there are a few ways to find a frequency and get in touch. The IFR Low chart is one. Asking Flight Services on a frequency from the VFR sectional chart is another. A lot of GPS units will have a Nearest ATC feature. ForeFlight airport Info will have something about which ATC facility to talk to in the vicinity. Approach plates have it.

Remember that flight following is not flight leading. There will be things they tell you to do, and you have to do them, but other than that you fly the plane and tell them what you're doing as needed.
 
Made that trip from Tampa to Southern Miss many times. You can either follow the coast in the VFR corridor, or swing a bit farther north and go over the top of Crestview. Either is viable and the difference in time and distance is minor.

As posted by TCABM, the sectional provides instructions for the E/W corridor. If you don't pick up FF initially, you can do so with Jax Center once you get up adjacent to Gainesville, or you can contact Tyndale Approach for advisories and they'll hand you off to Eglin, Pensacola, Mobile, and Gulfport. Reverse order coming back.

If you go north of the restricted areas, there is a LOT of military training activity, probably as much as anywhere in the world, so FF is still pretty handy. But I've gone through there plenty of times without it, and spotted some really cool sights, like multi-ship T6 formations and a gazillion helicopters. If you get really lucky, you might share airspace with the Blue Angels.

IMG_20170503_114554 (1).jpg
 
Star Keeper said:
I've started getting into the bad habit of not initiating flight following because much of the time I'm flying in Orlando or Tampa airspace and they have been unable to provide it a lot of the time. So I am starting from worst case scenario of I've been flying for a bit and didn't pick up flight following initially so trying to determine who I should contact. The information above helps with that question. Thanks
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Similar experience here, and it's not just controllers being too busy, though I do get that once in a while. Tampa in particular has terrible radio coverage. Several times I've been talking to Jax while headed south, Jax hands me off to Tampa, and I cannot hear their transmissions. I seem to lose Tampa north of Inverness. On one northbound flight I had a Tampa controller tell me "My coverage isn't good where you are, so you'll probably lose me. Give it 10 minutes and try Jax on xxx.xx."

Orlando is better but not great. I was on FF this morning on a sightseeing flight and talking with Orlando (very helpful controller, BTW), but at my altitude (2000-2500) his transmissions became unreadable a little way north of Lake Wales.

I'm not sure it's all altitude related, as I've had similar problems when I've been at 5500' with both Tampa and Orlando.

I have no problem talking with Jax or Miami, but whenever either one hands me off to Orlando or Tampa it's a crap shoot whether I can hear them. And I've experienced the difficulty in several different airplanes.

VHF comms are basically line-of-sight, but at 4000'+ in central Florida you can see the Atlantic and the Gulf. I think Tampa, and to a lesser extent Orlando, must have pretty crappy antennas.
 
Ed Haywood said:
...or swing a bit farther north and go over the top of Crestview. Either is viable and the difference in time and distance is minor.
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When I brought my Beech home from Defuniak Springs in 2021 I stayed to the north and it worked fine. With a new-to-me plane fresh out of annual, I wanted to stay over land and close to airports. I planned a route that looked like a string of pearls, from one airport to another all the way to Winter Haven. I think I was always within 15 miles of an airport, just in case.

BTW, those restricted areas aren't just planes and helicopters. When I was with Lockheed we did a LOT of missile testing there, shooting everything from short-range air to ground stuff to long-range cruise missiles. Take those areas seriously.
 
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Rgbeard said:
Instrument rated pilots don't want you to know this one weird trick! (haha)

Did you know that the low-altitude enroute charts have some help with this? If you pop them up on something such as vfrmap.com, find the blue zig-zag box.

When I look around this area it gives me lots of ideas for how to reach Jacksonville Center in various locations.

Could be handy to have a couple of these freqs jotted down on your kneepad if you intend to not use flight following until you're out of your area of confusion/high traffic.
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I assume you mean this?

upload_2023-3-2_15-5-19.png​


Not sure how much that helps. In the region I clipped above, we talk to Orlando Approach, not Miami or Jax. And I doubt I could reach either one from near the blue zig-zag anyway.
 
Half Fast said:
I assume you mean this?
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The "box" he referred to is different. Go south of your view to AVO and you'll see a box with a castellated border, which says:

MIAMI
Avon Park
127.2 317.75

It means that you can talk to Miami Center using the Avon Park communications outlet on 127.2 MHz VHF or 317.75 MHz UHF.

Of course, finding those boxes amongst the mess of airspace and other items charted in that vicinity is not going to be easy in the air. :confused:
 
Fly the coastline. When you get to Apalachiola (AAF), call up Tyndall Approach and tell them where you're going. Often you'll be cleared to fly down the coast. I've flown from Panama City to Dauphin Island like this many times.
 
Half Fast said:
I assume you mean this?



Not sure how much that helps. In the region I clipped above, we talk to Orlando Approach, not Miami or Jax. And I doubt I could reach either one from near the blue zig-zag anyway.
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No - that's not what I mean. You successfully found a center boundary. Congratulations.

Look up two posts at the graphic - see the "JACKSONVILLE" box at the bottom right? 120.825

The low-altitude charts have these littered all over them.
 
iamtheari said:
The "box" he referred to is different. Go south of your view to AVO and you'll see a box with a castellated border, which says:

MIAMI
Avon Park
127.2 317.75

It means that you can talk to Miami Center using the Avon Park communications outlet on 127.2 MHz VHF or 317.75 MHz UHF.

Of course, finding those boxes amongst the mess of airspace and other items charted in that vicinity is not going to be easy in the air. :confused:
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Which is exactly why I recommended to look at the chart from the comfort of home, and jot a couple of freqs down on your kneeboard.
 
iamtheari said:
Of course, finding those boxes amongst the mess of airspace and other items charted in that vicinity is not going to be possible in the air especially at low altitude with no autopilot. :confused:
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FIFY ;)

Our airspace around here is rather complicated. Three large bravos, a bunch of charlies and deltas scattered around, MOAs and RAs everywhere, KSC over on the east coast, and more uncontrolled, private, glider, and grass strips than you can shake a Cub at. Not to mention the seaplane bases.


Rgbeard said:
No - that's not what I mean. You successfully found a center boundary. Congratulations.

Look up two posts at the graphic - see the "JACKSONVILLE" box at the bottom right? 120.825

The low-altitude charts have these littered all over them.
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Oh, okay. I see what you're referring to. But, in the screenshot below, let's say you're where the X is shown and flying south. From the chart, how do you decide whether to call Tampa approach (the bravo to the west), Orlando approach (the bravo to the east), or Miami center?

I know from experience to call Miami, and if I happened to call, say Tampa, they'd just give me Miami's frequency, so it gets resolved easily, but from the chart how would you know? And is there a way to tell where center and approach transition?


upload_2023-3-2_17-54-4.png​
 
In the case of the OP, I'm presuming he's hunting for a frequency for a center. I'm trying to give him a hint on something that may not be known.

The IFR charts don't illustrate where ARTCC stops and overlaps with an ATC approach/departure airspace.

In the screen shot above, I see Miami's available at 127.2. This is consistent with your experiences?
 
Rgbeard said:
In the screen shot above, I see Miami's available at 127.2. This is consistent with your experiences?
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No, actually. I just checked, and previously I've used 134.55 to reach Miami from that area.

Today I was talking with Orlando Approach on 119.4, and I know to use that one from experience and from looking at the AFD for MCO, as that's one of two frequencies they specify for low altitudes. (Not that it works that great at low altitude....)
 
If you call the on wrong frequency, they'll tell you who to call.
 
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