PLT079: Airways
What code PLT079 covers, why the FAA tests it, and how to study Airways before your checkride.
Interpret information on an Airways Chart
What this means for your checkride
Airways are the charted highways of the airspace system. Victor airways are defined by VOR radials below 18,000 feet; T-routes use GPS; jet routes serve the high-altitude structure. The chart shows each airway's course, the navaids and fixes that define it, and its minimum altitudes.
Airway navigation is fundamental IFR routing, so the FAA tests how airways are defined and how to read their courses and altitudes.
Pilots picture an airway as a thin line. A Victor airway is 4 NM either side of centerline, wider past 51 NM from the navaid, which is the protected area that guarantees obstacle clearance at the MEA.
Where to study it
A code on your test report is an area of deficiency. An authorized instructor must review it with you and endorse that review before you take the practical test, and the examiner may revisit it during the oral. Study it until you can explain it out loud, not just recognize the answer.