More GPS Routes

The FAA has opened the door another crack to better integration of GPS navigation. A new proposed rule will allow GPS-equipped pilots to fly charted GPS routes through Class B airspace and to fly at lower altitudes along airways where ground-based radar coverage limits minimum altitudes. Once it becomes a final rule, the FAA can begin publishing these routes. The routes would accommodate IFR and VFR traffic equipped with GPS, with appropriate ATC clearances as necessary. AOPA offered their encouragement, “We’re glad to see the FAA has proposed a change to the archaic rules that limit charted routes to only VOR and NDB,” said AOPA spokesman Andy Cebula.