Navigation and Low Level Flying

Low level navigation flying from a student's point of view is a bit like Marmite. You either love it or you hate it. To some the challenge of operating safely and efficiently close to the ground is something to take pleasure in. To others it is a high workload environment that they don't enjoy; but perceptions can change over time. You can learn to love low flying as you get more experienced. It takes time to develop your skills to a point where you feel comfortable flying at heights down to 250ft, while simultaneously conducting the aims of the sortie. On 208 Squadron we have relatively few dedicated low level navigation flights, so getting to the required standard is one of the key hurdles on the course.

So why fly low? Between May 1997 and the end of 1999, our Permanent Joint Headquarters has planned and coordinated 38 operations across the world, some of which our Armed Forces are still involved in. It has become increasing clear that situations can develop with little or no warning. The ability of aircraft to deploy quickly and conduct operations immediately after arrival means that air power will, inevitably, be at the forefront in most future crises. However, responsiveness alone is not enough; it must be backed up by a military capability that is constantly practised.

Combat aircraft provide a substantial element of the firepower necessary to deny an aggressor the sanctuary of secure bases from which to plan and launch attacks. To do so, they might have to evade modern weapon systems developed specifically to pose a serious threat to combat aircraft and their crews. This can be in one of three ways: flying at medium or high level with support from specialist radar-jamming aircraft; flying fast and low, using ground contours to delay detection; or by a combination of the two.

Flying at medium or high level makes aircraft more vulnerable to an enemy's defences. Hence the necessity to fly at low level, where the ability to detect an aircraft is reduced significantly.

The weather is another factor which drives the decision to operate at high, medium or low level. Although it might appear on television to be a simple task to pick off a target using precision laser-guided weapons, laser energy has limitations, and cannot, for example, penetrate cloud or a desert dust storm. As a result, marking targets and delivering precision weapons in less that perfect weather may mean that an aircraft has to fly at low level to deliver its weapons successfully. There may be many other occasions where aircrew, if they are to execute their mission and survive, have to fly to their targets beneath the coverage of enemy air defence systems. By using terrain to evade the enemy, aircrew can achieve the surprise that contributes so much to the successful completion of any military task.

To meet these requirements, students start with being introduced to low level under instruction in the Hawk. Initial impressions are often somewhat stark. Students often find the initial feeling of ground rush a little daunting. With time, they get used to the speed at which the world moves past, and the brain adapts to keep pace with what the eyes are seeing.

Once the basics have been demonstrated, students build up a tool kit of techniques at low level. Unlike certain other flying disciplines in the Hawk, low level flights are anything but set piece exercises. Success depends on being able to deploy the techniques flexibly and responsively. The combination of integrating with other users of lower airspace, both civilian and military, weather and responding to the commands of your instructor means you cannot foresee exactly the course of action required for a successful sortie. You must respond to the situation as it develops. It can seem like everything is happening at once. You need to concentrate on where you are, where you are going, how much fuel you have remaining, where you will go if there is an emergency (simulated or real), flying the aircraft at the correct speed and height and, last but certainly not least, looking out of the cockpit. We must look away from the wealth of information in the cockpit and search for other aircraft, features on the ground while flying over the terrain correctly, using it to best advantage. As students, often the principal challenge is to tear our eyes way from the map, fuel gauge and compass to look outside. Lose track of one problem and the rest will collapse very quickly.

This skill of constantly moving your gaze requires great self-discipline; but it is the key to operating safely and efficiently at low level. As one rather sombre flight safety poster pointed out "Move your head or you'll be dead".

Safety considerations are the overriding factor in low flying. From early training onwards, the rules of low flying are instilled in us. By the time you get to 208 Squadron, low flying is almost like a religion. Some things in low level are just unthinkable. Our culture of always operating safely means that, when faced with a number of problems happening in the cockpit, a student will always think about the safety aspects first. The reflex becomes almost automatic. Whatever the problems we confront in learning how to fly at low level, we always plan to arrive back on the tarmac of RAF Valley in one piece.

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