Objectives

Understand the limitations of VFR flight and the equipment requirements for day and night VFR flights.

Reading

This is the required reading for this lesson. Numbers in [brackets] indicate the starting and ending page in the referenced reading material. Read all the pages and sections referenced.

• Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge
  • Chapter 15 - Airspace
    • [15-7 to 15-11] "Air Traffic Control and the National Airspace System"
• Code of Federal Regulations (FAR)
  • §91.151 - Fuel requirements for flight in VFR conditions
  • §91.205 - Powered civil aircraft with standard category U.S. airworthiness certificates: Instrument and equipment requirements.
  • §91.213 - Inoperative instruments and equipment

Summary

The notes below highlight the important parts in the referenced material. Reading the notes without having read the actual referenced material is generally not sufficient to pass the written exam!

PHAK - Chapter 15

• Visibility Requirements for VFR flight in uncontrolled (Class G) or Class E airspace up to 10,000 feet
  • Visibility
    • Day or Class G - 1 statute mile
    • Night or Class E - 3 statute miles
  • Minimum clearance from clouds
    • 1,000 feet above
    • 500 feet below
    • 2,000 feet horizontal
• Visibility Requirements for VFR flight in uncontrolled (Class G) or Class E airspace at or above 10,000 feet
  • 5 statute miles visibility
  • Minimum clearance from clouds
    • 1000 feet above
    • 1000 feet below
    • 1 statute mile horizontal
• Visibility Requirements for VFR flight in Class B airspace
  • 3 statute miles visibility
  • Clear of clouds
• Visibility Requirements for VFR flight in Class C or D airspace
  • 3 statute miles visibility
  • Minimum clearance from clouds
    • 1,000 feet above
    • 500 feet below
    • 2,000 feet horizontal

FAR §91.151

• Fuel requirements for flight in VFR conditions
  • First point of intended landing and an additional 30 minutes during the day
  • First point of intended landing and an additional 45 minutes during the night

FAR §91.205

• Required equipment - VFR flight during the day
  • Airspeed indicator
  • Altimeter
  • Compass
  • Tachometer
  • Oil pressure gauge
  • Temperature gauge for liquid-cooled engines
  • Oil temperature gauge for air-cooled engines
  • Manifold pressure gauge for altitude engines
  • Fuel gauge
  • Landing gear position indicator, if equipped
  • Red or aviation white anti-collision light system
  • If operated over water, approved flotation gear readily available to each occupant
  • An approved safety belt or shoulder harness
• Required equipment - VFR flight during the night
  • All items as per VFR flight during the day
  • Position lights
  • Landing light, if operated for-hire
  • An adequate source of electrical energy
  • One spare set of fuses

FAR §91.213

• Inoperative instruments and equipment
  • A Minimum Equipment List (MEL) is not required for:
    • Rotorcraft
    • Non-turbine powered airplane
    • Glider
    • Lighter-than-air aircraft
  • If a MEL is not required:
    • The inoperative instrument or item of equipment must not be required by certification, operational, or airworthiness regulations.
    • Any qualifying instrument or item of equipment that is inoperative must either be removed or disabled and the cockpit control for that item labeled as inoperative.
    • Pilot or a mechanic must verify that flying the aircraft with the inoperative instrument or item of equipment won't create a hazard resulting in an unsafe situation.

Sim Pilot Notes

These notes highlight the differences between simulator and real-world flying. These differences are most often due to simulator limitations or specific VATSIM rules.

PHAK - Chapter 15

• Since a pilot can control his/her own weather scenario, ATC can only make recommendations; pilots should never be refused entry to any given airspace or approach simply because of weather concerns.
• With the limited ATC coverage on VATSIM, many normally controlled airports revert to Class G airspace. It is important that the VFR pilot clearly communicates his/her intentions over Unicom and even when flying VFR, adjusts to the current traffic patterns and conditions rather than insisting on "proper" VFR procedures at uncontrolled airfields.

FAR §91.205

• Almost all aircraft in the sim have the required equipment.
  • If a model is selected that does not have one or more of the required instruments, this needs to be identified by the student prior to the flight.
  • Although a transponder is not required as per FAR §91.205, and some sim airplanes are not equipped with one, every aircraft is still considered to be equipped with a functional transponder. This can be accomplished through the VATSIM pilot client.

FAR §91.213

• Some more advanced GA aircraft do simulate equipment failures. Checking for this should be part of the pre-flight inspection, where applicable.
• If inoperative equipment is found (or indicated by the instructor), determine if it can be fixed in the sim, if the flight can take place with it inoperative or if the flight needs to be reset.

Tomas Hansson (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
Chief Flight Instructor, VATSTAR
DISCLAIMER: all information contained herein is for flight simulation purposes only.
February 2023