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Distribution and Balance

The total land mass of England, Scotland and Wales is 229,961 km2 (88,788 sq mls). Since military low flying training cannot be conducted in controlled airspace and other areas listed for avoidance, 38,343 km2 (14,804 sq mls) of the total land mass is unavailable. The remaining airspace is divided into 19 Low Flying Areas, some of which have been designated as Dedicated User Areas.  Access to these areas is not generally available to units other than the dedicated user.

Excluding the Dedicated User Areas, the total usable overland area of the UK Low Flying System is 179,259 km2 (69,212 sq mls). Within that area, we endeavour to distribute low flying as equitably as we possibly can. But, however hard we try, there will never be a time when the activity can be truly evenly spread. There are a number of reasons of this, each of which will influence, to varying degrees, where low flying training will be carried out.

The factors affecting distribution include: the location of bases, Air Weapons Ranges and training areas; the prevailing weather conditions; the incidence of towns, airspace restrictions and avoidance areas; and the availability of unrestricted airspace above 2,000 ft. This final factor is important because it impacts directly on the ability of aircrew to fly their aircraft into and out of the Low Flying System.

Click on one of the LFAs below to find out more.

Salisbury Plain Training Area, RAF Odiham, RAF Benson (Dedicated User Area)

Southwest England - Devon, Dorset, Somerset, eastern Cornwall, southwest Gloucestershire and northwest Wiltshire

RNAS Culdrose (Dedicated User Area)

Southern central England - Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, southern Shropshire, southwestern Warwickshire and western Oxfordshire.

East Anglia - Norfolk, northern Suffolk and most of Cambridgeshire

Eastern central England - Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, Rutland and parts of Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire

Most of Wales

Central and northwestern England

Defence Helicopter Flying School, RAF Shawbury (Dedicated User Area)

Army Air Corps Wattisham (Dedicated User Area)

Eastern England - Humberside, north Lincolnshire, northeast Nottinghamshire and east North Yorkshire

Northeast England - north-eastern North Yorkshire, Durham, Cleveland, Northumberland

Borders - northern England and southern Scotland, including south Borders Region, west Northumberland and northeast Cumbria

Most of Scotland - areas north of the central region, the Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland

Southern Scotland - includes the Borders Region, Dumfries & Galloway and other counties up to and including those within the central belt

Northwest England - Cumbria, west North Yorkshire, and north Lancashire

Southeast England - includes Kent, East Sussex and south east West Sussex

LFA 19 - Northern Ireland (Dedicated User Area)
Figures are not maintained for LFA 19 as the majority of the activity within it is of an operational nature and not comparative with that in the other Dedicated User Areas.

The number of hours booked in the UK Low Flying System and the balance of activity is shown in the table below.

 Year

Total

Fixed-wing

Helicopter

2002/03

47,058

29,028 (61.6%)

18,030 (38.4%) 

2003/04

45,062

28,289 (62.8%)

16,773(37.2%)

2004/05

46,678

26,785(57.4%)

19,893(42.6%)

 

The increase in the level of rotary wing low level training in 2004/05 can be mostly attributed to training as a result of the introduction of the Apache Attack Helicopter and Merlin EH101 helicopter.  Additionally increased operational tempo, and the consequent requirement to train before deploying has as effect.

Last Updated: 2 Aug 05