HIRTAs
 

Will I damage anything by flying through a High Intensity Radio Transmission Area (such as Croughton or Oakhanger)?

I know that radio and navigation equipment may not perform at its best, but I can find no reference to microwaved body parts or less successful reproduction. Is this urban myth? Can anyone point me in the right direction?

What do you care, you are Dan Dare. Go for it man!

Depends on what you are flying really. All mil aircraft have a Hirta category that determines how far they must be away from the source. It also lists why you must do it. Autopilots are one favourite but I imagine weapons or fuel tanks might jettison as well. I remember just before I left the RAF the categories went right up which meant, on paper, the Puma couldn't fly the london helilanes or land at any of the main helicopter bases!! If you fly a 152, try and get the CAA to give you some advice!!!
PS. The last I heard, Oakhanger was cancelled???

Oakhanger still appears large on the maps.

I don't have any instruments to protect, but do have sensitive bits I don't want to damage. Are we talking mobile phone or microwave oven levels of radiation?

:) Dan Dare.
The answer to your query really rests upon whether or not The Mighty Mekon is in control on the ground as you waft through his airspace in your puny earth machine.:E

Dan

Do you already have kids ? ;)

I flew through one a while back, and the radio stopped working for about 15-20 minutes afterwards. It may have sent me a bit mad, but no-one has noticed so far.

Ive avoided them since, because of the radio failure it caused

Depends what they're doing there. When I was an apprentice with the MOD the radar opps used to cook seagulls in flight when the were bored.
I suppose you have to be in really close to do any serious damage but having seen some of what was at that time the BBC transmission departments black museum of RF damaged rigging, both direct and induced damage, including a melted section of an aluminium ladder which had been left out on the ground in the middle of a mast farm!
Also the riggers saying that even with the RF power turned down you'd have to climb past the transmitters rather briskly to avoid having your fillings melt.

I'd tend to err on the side of caution.

Your little pink body would be in no danger whatsoever. The danger zone around the transmitter would be measured in metres and you would be nothing like that close in an aircraft, and if you were it wouldn't be for long enough to matter. The risk is that electronic equipment on board might malfunction. Autopilot or autostabiliser runaway is a distinct possibility. Nav equipment might give false and misleading indications. If you have electronic engine controls they can malfunction. A Phantom crew had a double engine wind-down flying past a big mast once - fortunately the RPM came back up as they went past but it must have grabbed their attention.

Civil aircraft don't get half the attention that military ones do in respect of electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), probably because electromagnetically incompatible bombs are not a good idea. Basically airliners are made of boxes which have demonstrated some hardness on the bench but that is about all. The military jets get put into a specially constructed zone and zapped with great bolts of wiggly amps of all frequencies known to man.

If dan dare is who I think he is and flies what i think he does, I don't think malfuction of autopilot or autostabiliser will be a major issue!

I'd treat Northwing's advice with extreme caution.

Although the main reason for avoiding HIRTAs within the published parameters is to avoid damage to electrical components within the aircraft, as a pilot, you can never be sure exactly what level of electrical or other radiation is being transmitted from the installation.
The height and radius of which the area should be avoided, indicates the maximum envelope to which harmful transmissions may extend, fly through it today and nothing may happen, do it tommorrow and you may get your radios and your nuts fried.

Why other taking the risk? would you take the same gamble with traffic lights?

Hhhmmmmmm, Dan Dare, are you tight for space up there that you need to encroach on these zones? I went past Croughton last Saturday, it stands out like a sore thumb I had no trouble missing it .

No trouble missing them. Navigation at 60 kt isn't rocket sience. Only electronics on board is a mobile phone (switched off of course), so not an issue either. No little Dares planned, but would like my not so little, pink body to enjoy a healthy future, so I'll continue to give them a wide berth just in case.

UNLESS anyone can point me to reference to alay my fears...

AFAIK the aircraft I fly (with a fairly flash nav kit, but representative of your average piston single) has no restrictions as far as flying through HIRTAs as low as 500'MSD. I'd imagine the risks tend to be more imagined than real.

-D