March 31, 2009 Funny intersection names (inadvertently repeated)

The Liberty Gazette
March 31, 2009

The View From Up Here
By Mike Ely and Linda Street Ely

(This week's article was inadvertently repeated from the previous week)

ITAWT ITAWA PUDYE TTATT. IDEED! These are actual names of intersections in the sky, used for air navigation. GPS is one of type of instrument we use in flying, but unless the GPS is installed in the airplane and certified by the FAA for Instrument flying, inspected and updated by the prescribed schedule, it may not be relied upon legally for instrument flight. It may be used as an assistant, but if an airplane is not equipped with an IFR-certified GPS, then no GPS approach can be flown. Likewise, an airplane flying any other type of approach must be equipped and certified for that type. Ground-based navigation aids such as the VOR, the NDB, and the ILS help pilots en route or on approach to land. The VOR (Very high frequency Omni Range) looks like a witch’s hat. You may have seen the one that sits in a field in Daisetta. VORs send out a radio signal for each degree of the compass. In an airplane equipped with a VOR receiver, the pilot tunes in the frequency for that VOR, and centers the needle, which will point to the correct heading needed to fly to that VOR. Picture a compass. Start at zero and move clockwise. 00 degrees is North (and the end of the circle, 360 degrees is the same as 00), 090 is East, 180 is South, and 270 is West. Every single degree between these fills up the compass. No doubt you’ve noticed the air traffic arriving into Houston as you drive FM 1960. Those flights are on the Daisetta Seven Arrival, traveling 244 degrees, a west-southwesterly direction. The Rokit Nine and the Stros Four Arrivals also come in from the east. Wait’ll you read their intersection names.

All intersection names contain five letters, which often leads to creative spelling by the FAA folks who make these up. For instance, in New Hampshire, somehow associated with Mel Blanc, an approach in to Portsmouth International uses ITAWT, ITAWA, PUDYE, TTATT, intersections created from GPS coordinates to identify the route. If the pilot can’t make the landing, he flies to the missed approach point, which is appropriately named, IDEED. Imagine yourself the air traffic controller, or the pilot reading back instructions for the Tweety Bird approach.

The Daisetta Seven Arrival uses waypoints named Cidor, Surve, Reptl (thanks to Anahuac, no doubt), Daetn (wonder what city this is over).

The Rokit Nine intersections include Tmacc, Sslam, Duunk, Murphy, Akeem, Innis, Drxlr and Ruddi.

The Aggee One Arrival comes down to Houston from College Station. Waypoint names along that route include Corps, Rvvle, Mroon, Twelf, Maaan, Advll, and Ninfa.

Waypoints along the Bluebell Two Arrival include Blubl, Cowzz, and Snday.

Then there’s the Riice Two Arrival. On this route you’ll fly over the Cowboy VOR, and intersections named Chmpz, Lukiy, Homrn, Bazbl, Baats, Riice, Brkmn, Jerzi.

The Stros Four Arrival will bring a smile as you cross Allou, then angle and cross Dirkr, Stros, Toyoh, and Feeld. Bagwl and Bigio intersections are on this Arrival also.

The Texnn Three Arrival comes from up North, from either the Cowboy or Maverick VOR just north of Waco, crossing the intersections of Goall, Ppunt, Drppd, Ftbal, Carrr, Texnn, Coach, Qtrbk, Takkl, Recvr, Fmble, and Tchdn.As of last week there is a new arrival route named after the Columbia astronauts, whose ship broke apart over Houston six years ago.