REFRESHERS · RULES · 5 MINUTES · AUSTRALIA
VMC criteria moved to the Part 91 MOS.
The visibility and cloud distances you must keep under the VFR now come from one table in the Part 91 MOS. Learn them from that table.
Step 1 of 4
What changed, and when
Under regulation 91.280, a VFR flight must be flown in accordance with the VMC criteria for the aircraft and the airspace. This does not apply if ATC has authorised special VFR and you comply with it. Sources: CASR 91.280, CASR 91.280 (2)
Section 2.07 of the Part 91 MOS sets those criteria as a flight visibility and a distance from cloud, horizontal and vertical. Sources: MOS 2.07 (2)
Step 2 of 4
What it means in practice
PREDICT FIRST
You cruise VFR in Class E airspace at 11,500 ft AMSL. What flight visibility does Table 2.07 (3) give?
PREDICT FIRST
Section 26.18 of the Part 91 MOS lets a day VFR flight in Class G at or below 5,000 ft AMSL go without a radio, with exceptions. Which of these takes that exemption away?
Skip the questions and read on
Items 1 and 2 of the table cover Classes A, B, C, E and G. Below 10,000 ft AMSL they give 5,000 m flight visibility, and 1,500 m horizontally and 1,000 ft vertically from cloud. At or above 10,000 ft AMSL, the visibility rises to 8,000 m. Sources: MOS 2.07, items 1 and 2
Class D has its own row, at all heights: 5,000 m visibility, 600 m horizontally from cloud, 1,000 ft above it and 500 ft below it. Sources: MOS 2.07, item 3
Item 4 is a second row for Class G. At or below the higher of 3,000 ft AMSL and 1,000 ft AGL, it gives 5,000 m visibility and clear of cloud. It also requires the aircraft to be flown in sight of ground or water. Sources: MOS 2.07, item 4
Section 26.18 lets a day VFR flight in Class G at or below 5,000 ft AMSL go without the radios it otherwise requires. The exemption does not apply while you fly under the item 4 criteria. It also does not apply while you are in a mandatory broadcast area (MBA) or intend to enter one. Sources: MOS 26.18 (2) to (4)
Each chip after a paragraph jumps to the words it rests on.
Step 3 of 4
The source, word for word
Quoted from the Australian sources we hold, with the date we checked them.
(1) The pilot in command of an aircraft for a VFR flight contravenes this subregulation if, during the flight, the aircraft is not flown in accordance with a requirement of the VMC criteria for the aircraft and the airspace in which the flight is conducted.
(2) Subregulation (1) does not apply to a flight of an aircraft if: (a) air traffic control has authorised the pilot in command of the aircraft to conduct the flight under the special VFR; and (b) the pilot in command complies with the special VFR.
(2) VMC criteria means meteorological conditions expressed in terms of the flight visibility and distance from cloud (horizontal and vertical) prescribed in this section.
Item | Type of aircraft | Class of airspace | Height | Flight visibility | Distance from cloud | Operational requirements Item 1 | Aircraft | A, B, C, E or G | At or above 10 000 ft AMSL | 8 000 m | 1 500 m horizontal 1 000 ft vertical | Item 2 | Aircraft | A, B, C, E or G | Below 10 000 ft AMSL | 5 000 m | 1 500 m horizontal 1 000 ft vertical |
Item 3 | Aircraft | D | All heights | 5 000 m | 600 m horizontal 1 000 ft vertical above cloud 500 ft vertical below cloud |
Item 4 | Aircraft | G | At or below whichever is the higher of: (a) 3 000 ft AMSL; (b) 1 000 ft AGL | 5 000 m | Clear of cloud | Aircraft must be operated in sight of ground or water
(2) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), an aircraft for a flight under the VFR by day in Class G airspace at or below 5 000 ft AMSL (a relevant aircraft) is not required to comply with subsection (1). (3) Subsection (2) does not apply if a relevant aircraft is operating in accordance with the VMC criteria at item 4, 5 or 6 of Table 2.07 (3). (4) Subsection (2) does not apply if a relevant aircraft is operating within, or intending to enter, an MBA.
Step 4 of 4
Practise this
4 questions from our bank test this change. Each one quotes the rule it rests on, and the ones you miss come back sooner.
That is all we ask on this change so far. New questions are added only after they pass a source check and an independent review.
SOURCES FOR THIS REFRESHER
- Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998, Part 91 (Compilation No. 103), Regulation 91.280, subregulation (1)
- Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998, Part 91 (Compilation No. 103), Regulation 91.280, subregulation (2)
- Part 91 (General Operating and Flight Rules) Manual of Standards 2020, Compilation No. 8, Subsection 2.07 (2)
- Part 91 (General Operating and Flight Rules) Manual of Standards 2020, Compilation No. 8, Section 2.07, Table 2.07 (3), items 1 and 2
- Part 91 (General Operating and Flight Rules) Manual of Standards 2020, Compilation No. 8, Section 2.07, Table 2.07 (3), item 3
- Part 91 (General Operating and Flight Rules) Manual of Standards 2020, Compilation No. 8, Section 2.07, Table 2.07 (3), item 4
- Part 91 (General Operating and Flight Rules) Manual of Standards 2020, Compilation No. 8, Section 26.18 Radiocommunication systems, subsections (2) to (4)
Practice questions: Source-checked, awaiting pilot review. Learning only. Your instructor and the current rules come first. Sources and licences