A Waypoint called Rotax

Every Microlight pilot will be familiar with the name Rotax and almost no General Aviation pilot nor military pilot will have heard of it.  What is so special about the name you may well ask… 

Microlight pilots might not be aware there are Airways Reporting Points, which are precise geographic locations marked on the aviation maps used by airliners flying high over the surface, above the clouds with no visual reference to identify places. 


These points also known as IFR way points. They have a GPS or latitude/longitude position and are labelled with a 5 letter code with is easily and distinctly pronounceable by pilots and air traffic controllers who may speak various languages and English might not be their ‘mother tongue’.


Imagine a globe (our planet) stuck with very long pins at these geographic locations reaching into the topmost layer of our atmosphere. The airliners use these geo located waypoints to fly towards and then turn towards the next waypoint on their flight plan, without the need to see any references on the ground.