VFR - Methods for Choosing the Lowest Cruising Altitude

[CaptainMD]

Hi all,

Disregarding any tail wind advantage, I wanted to get a sense of what parameter people use on the VFR sectional charts only to determine their lowest and legal VFR cruising altitude. I find myself using the MEF (max elevation figure) +500 by quadrant as my method.

Thanks!
Massimo

[Ray Salmon]

Hi Massimo,

The technique you're using is a good one. Another one I was taught was to find the highest terrain/obstacle with 5nm either side of my planned track and then add 500 ft and round up to the nearest appropriate VFR cruising altitude.

Ray

[CaptainMD]

Thanks Ray,

I like how that method is calculated based on your route of flight.

Its interesting to see what was “taught”. You can’t always find taught experience gems in a text book or blog.