HIRTA's ??
 

Hi There,

I am a student pilot and I have just collected my new edition 39 south east 1:500,000 chart.
I have noticed that there are some areas that are highlighted in red, but aren't danger areas. The seem to be called HIRTA. Can anyone explain as to what these are? Can we fly through them?

Many Thanks,

AviatorEGHH.

High Intensity Radio Transmission Areas or something like that.

If you don't want yourself or your avionics to be fried, it's probably prudent to keep your distance. Although the actual detrimental effect of electromagnetic radiation on the human body is to a very large extent unproven, and electronics should be shielded so that they don't get damaged.

High Intensity Radio Transmission Areas

Can "frazzle" sensitive electronics. If aircraft is so fitted avoid completely.

Human body less sensitive - could overfly but don't dawdle!
Probably best avoided.

Not sure how you can avoid a HIRTA if your flying into or from Croft Farm Airstrip, which is situated within the HIRTA near Malvern. .

I've been there several times, and thus far both my avionics and body have survived unscathed!

Having said that I wouldn't deliberately fly through a HIRTA unless I had good reason to.

If you fly through the one at Oakhanger (north west of Midhurst VOR), your balls will drop off.

As I said on the other forum last year:

Temperatures being wot they are, your balls will have dropped off at the threshold, anyway...:(

As stated above High Intensity Radio Transmission Areas.

Avoidance was mandatory for military aircraft with the radius of avoidance depending on the bands in which it transmits and the susceptibility of the specific aircraft type to each band. Electronics are affected to varying degrees and the effect on the body is 'experimental'. Would you put your gonads in the microwave?

For civvy aircraft I think it's your call rather than mandatory, but I refer you to my previous comment.

The transmitting equipment at Defford was removed years ago. It appears there is a requirement to notify those it might affect when the equipment is installed however; no requirement to tell anyone when its removed. When asked for confirmation by the CAA, the new site owner had no knowledge of any such equipment and after 3 years they finally removed the Defford HIRTA from the chart.

What a lot of bad advice.

Sunlight is a more hazardous (and higher power per unit area) source of radiation than HIRTAs.

The risks are to navigation and radio equipment and for military the accidental discharge of munitions etc as well.

Avoiding HIRTAs is good advice though as is sunscreen and sunglasses.

Thanks.
 

Thanks 2hotwot!

And thanks to the rest of you for your comical but good comments. I think I'll opt not to fly through them!!

Thanks Again.

~~~