Sometimes…

It pays to read the ‘fine print’…

Here’s the sector chart for that area… P-73 is in the red circle.

And the reason for the prohibited area? Well, much like the prohibited area around congress and the White House, this one is around the ROK equivalent, the Gyeongbokgung Palace. And they WILL shoot first and ask questions later, unlike the FAA.

Just sayin…

Comments

Sometimes… — 28 Comments

  1. My Dad was a WW2 Cargo/Bomber Pilot and flew for years in his Reserve unit and had flights charts a lot like this and I could never figure out how to read them and make any sense. To me it looks like a Algebra problem, which at 61 I still can’t figure…

  2. I can read ’em now.

    Cederq, you just gotta learn the symbols and what they mean. It’s all in the front of the book…

  3. Hey Old NFO;

    And considering all the crap the NORKS have pulled since 1950, of course the South is a bit “paranoid”. I remembered reading that President Rhee wanted to invade the north a few times.

  4. Heh! That’s worse than the 8-point light grey font of “Go Around improbable past MAP.”

    Why they printed “Go missed by the MAP or you’re gonna end up part of the mountain” in something impossible to read in turbulence is…

  5. Well, I’ll have to remember that the next time I fly there.
    Thanks!
    The “tracer fire first” is very polite of them, though.
    Where do those bullets land when they miss, BTW?

    • The answer is the same whether bullets, rockets, or missiles…

      Anywhere they want to land.

      Permission not asked or required.

      And Murphie’s rule applies…

      The only thing more accurate than incoming enemy fire is the friendly variety. ;^)

      MSG Grumpy

  6. Cederq/B- You learn really quickly… Especially when your ass is in the airplane. LOL

    PE- LOL, I ‘think’ Itawon is further south.

    Bob- There is that…

    Wing- Ah yes, Alaska…

    Ed- It’s Korea, a few bullets is NOT a big thing to them… Sigh…

  7. The ROKs don’t screw around. They still rake the beaches at low tide in some areas to see if there are footprints up from the surf line later in the day.

    • The unfortunate thing is, they still find footprints once in a while. Or did. No telling what is going on over there now.

  8. I followed along, understanding everything, until I got to SOUL, KOREA in the corner. After that I was reading hieroglyphics. You birdmen are a strange bunch.

  9. Made perfect sense to me. I also noted the very fine print with the maximum airspeed for holding after going missed. If you are fast, this is not for you!

  10. Spent 2 years as senior enlisted advisor to the wing commander there and traveled almost constantly. I have absolutely no doubt they WOULD fire. I’m surprised only at their courtesy of tracer fire. 🙂

  11. I’ve seen a lot of warnings on my charts, but don’t ever recall a warning about being shot down!

    WSF is alluding to Mr. Elrey Jeppesen. There’s a large statue of him in the terminal greeting all arrivals.

  12. Yeah, we were always careful to stay in “the track” around Seoul. Or pretty much everywhere in The ROK…

    Ah, I Tae Won…
    Which, contary to many a round eye’s assumptions, was NOT “there before we were”, it is a creation of 8th Imperial Army and Yongsan Garrison. Now an international shopping and clubbing destination, I’m sure it will survive the move to Camp Humphreys/Pyong Taek just fine.
    (Unlike, say, Tong Du Cheon…)

  13. Ed:
    They have one of those parked at the ROK Military Museum, just down the road from where Yong San Garrison used to be.
    Used to be one parked at one of the local municipal airports, not sure what the story was.

  14. All my charts are North Am, so yes, a chart warning that you will be shot down for violating a restricted area is definitely unique.

    That said if you are the PIC, wait I will qualify that, an instrument rated PIC, the missed is a right turn south to intercept the 311radial off of SEL which is southeast of GMP, and a return to DOKDO (northwest of GMP), for 2nd attempt or entering the hold.

    So if you end up anywhere NE of GMP then you:
    1: did absolutely zero basic flight planning, like maybe taking a look at the approach plate.
    and/or
    2: are incompetent to be PIC, especially if in IFR conditions.

    If I am the co-pilot I should save the ROK taking action and shoot you myself, for putting the aircraft and everyone else on board in danger. There are way to many knuckleheads up above ground level as it is.

    Just saying.

  15. Flying around special use airspace is not too unusual even in the states. R- or P-airspace is where the fun happens. What makes this one unusual is the shoot down warning. Sharing airspace with tracers would get the crew’s attention.

    I think it interesting the IAF is represented as a GPS waypoint (although it is also a DME fix) and the length of legs for a hold are restricted by the inbound DME fix.

    This is an interesting approach plate. Thanks.

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