Airway (aviation)

In the United States, airways or air routes are defined by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in two ways: "VOR Federal airways and Low/Medium Frequency (L/MF) (Colored) Federal airways" These are designated routes which aeroplanes fly to aid in navigation and help with separation to avoid accidents. Airways are defined with segments within a specific altitude block, corridor width, and between fixed geographic coordinates for satellites navigation system, or between ground-based radio transmitter navigational aids (navaids; such as VORs or NDBs) or the intersection of specific radials of two navaids. To guide airmail pilots on their delivery routes, the United States Postal Service constructed the first airways in the United States, the Contract Air Mail routes. These airways were between major cities and identified at night by a series of flashing lights and beacons which pilots flew over in sequence to get from one city to the next. Intermediate fields were located every in case of emergencies, with at least 2 landing strips a minimum of in length, and in width. Rotating airways beacons were erected every . However, these visual airways required the pilots to be in visual contact with the ground which precluded flying in fog or clouds. Subsequently, the Department of Commerce funded the development of other means of airway navigation. The first airways to be delineated by radiofrequency were based on the old Low-frequency radio range also called the "Four Course Radio Range" or "A/N" system. The pilot listened for the stronger of the Morse codes transmitters ("· –" for "A" and "– ·" for "N", indicating left or right of the course); the objective was to be centered on course hearing a steady tone (the A and N Morse codes merge to form a steady tone when the receiver is equidistant from both transmitters). Later airways were based on low/medium frequency ground stations, like the beat frequency oscillator (BFO) and the non-directional beacon (NDB). These L/M frequency airways were the colored airways.