Skip to main content
HomeColorado Front Range Practice Areas

Colorado Front Range Practice Areas and Noise Abatement Guidance

The Colorado Front Range is a hub of aviation training, with numerous flight schools operating in the region. To manage this traffic safely and efficiently, these schools have established dedicated practice areas, each with its own designated frequencies for communication. These frequencies are highly recommended for all pilots operating in the area, as they improve situational awareness and reduce the risk of mid-air conflicts. However, it remains every pilot’s responsibility to maintain a vigilant lookout and avoid other aircraft.

 

In addition to these practice areas, pilots should be aware of noise abatement procedures that overlap with instrument approach paths. These are noise-sensitive areas, and minimizing impact on the surrounding communities is essential to maintaining a positive relationship with local residents. The updated map includes this practice area and approach information to help pilots navigate these complex airspaces responsibly.

 

To support this, the Colorado Pilots Association (CPA) is providing this consolidated resource for adding known practice and noise abatement areas to your Electronic Flight Bag (EFB). We have streamlined what was previously a collection of separate files into a single, more convenient download.

 

Available Downloads:

  1. Practice Areas: As defined by the flight schools across the Colorado Front Range.

  2. Noise Abatement Areas: Established by local airports to minimize community impact.

Fly safe, fly aware, and help us keep Colorado a welcoming place for general aviation.

Click here to download the CO Practice Overlay

  Updated 4/19/2025 - COPA_v6_04-19-2025

Click here to download the Noise Abatement overlay
DenverMetro_v6_April-2025 - May 9, 2025

Please be mindful when flying through these areas, monitor the respective frequency and it is strongly encouraged to reach out to ATC for flight following to add those extra set of eyes when flying anywhere - not just through the congested areas.

Student Pilots: If you are looking for scholarships to pursue or continue your flight training, please head over to our Scholarships page for updates on CPA and other scholarships!

Please note - The Colorado Pilots Association does not create or define these practice areas.  The flight schools in the respective areas come together to form these agreed upon areas.  If you have questions about the areas it is best to reach out to the flight schools at the airport nearest to the respective practice area for questions. 

How to install:

The download link is a downloadable/installable map overlay for use in ForeFlight or any other navigation map supporting KML files. Currently this has only been tested with ForeFlight. The file name is "CO Practice Area KML" and when installed will be found under the icon in the upper left hand corner when in Foreflight (looks like three stacked items).

Please note - if you are running an older version of the file, you will need to delete the previous file to install the updated version.  Please check the date/time stamp (the first version didn't have one) to make sure you have the current copy.

To install the KML file onto your iPad/ForeFlight you can reference the YouTube Video at https://youtu.be/BoRWeueCMC4

For Foreflight written installation instructions, please see ForeFlights documentation at https://support.foreflight.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000219488-User-Content-Importation-Guide

If you run into problems or have questions, please drop us a note at webmaster@coloradopilots.org

You will have successfully installed the update when you see this option in ForeFlight:



Denver Metro and North Areas

North of KFNL / KGXY

     

 East of KGXY

 
Frequency Area Rec. Alt Frequency Area  
123.3   A1/B1/C1/D1/B2/C2  7,000’ MSL to 8,000’ MSL     122.8   North Aerobatics  
    A2/B3/C3/D3  7,000 MSL’ to 9,000’ MSL         South Aerobatics  
    B4/C4/D4  7,000’ MSL to 10,000’ MSL         Briggsdale  
              Riverside  


If you practice in these areas, please download the Aims Community College and KFNL Practice area PDF for maximum situational awareness:

Aims Community College and KFNL Practice Areas

 Between KBJC & KFNL

     

 East of KCFO

Frequency   Area       Frequency Area
123.175   Boedecker       122.85   Shobo
    Berthoud           Echo
    Terry Lake           Smithers
    Aerobatics           Homer
    Johnstown             
    Jackrabbit            
    Cattle_Sheds            
    Platteville            
    Vollmar            

South West Metro

      South East Metro
Frequency   Area       Frequency   Area
 122.75   Louviers       122.75   3 Towers
    N. Perry (ME)           Fairgrounds
    S. Perry (ME)           Aspen
                Elizabeth
                Kiowa
                USAF
                Happy
                Woodis
                Chaparral

IMG_0002.jpg

Colorado Springs / Pueblo training area

The USAF has a number of training areas throughout the Colorado Springs and Pueblo area.  At this time there are no agreed upon common frequencies.  If we do learn of them we will update this site to include this information.  If you are traveling through this area VMC/VFR it is encouraged to use flight following for safe separation.
IMG_0003.jpg

Removing Old Map Overlays

Practicing good file hygiene it is good to remove outdated map overlays.  This makes it easier to properly select the correct layer.  It's pretty easy to remove the old versions.  These steps are for ForeFlight only.  Other EFB's will have different steps and you'll need to consult with your particular vendor.  We are providing ForeFlight to help our membership with the common platform.

The first steps are to access the "Custom Content".  This is done by selecting the "More" (1) option in the lower right hand corner of ForeFlight.  Then look for the "Custom Content" (2) and select that option.




The next step is to make sure you're on the "Custom Content" (1) page.  Then we want the "Custom Map Layers" (2) option.  Then in the section 3 in the image below you can either edit this section and delete the older items by tapping the red button to the left of the older options, or slide your finger to the right on each of the items you need to remove.





That's all you need to do and you should be good to go!