FLYING IN THE UK

Pre-Flight     [back].[top]

●Royal Flights and other navigation warnings and NOTAMs on-line at  www.ais.org.uk
●Today's Nav Warning London FIR
●For airfield information and NOTAMs see Online AIP
●London Information frequency 124.6 (East) or 124.75 (West) can supply information on a wide range of subjects in flight.
●Prevention of Terrorism Act.  For all flights to or from the Channel Islands, Isle of Man and Ireland from non-designated airports, special branch clearance must be obtained 24 hours prior to departure.
●Customs & Excise.  For non customs airfields, advance warning by faxed form, is required for all non-EU flights and all flights arriving from the EU. Departures to the EU need not be notified.
●PPR.  Many UK airfields are Prior Permission Required and should be telephoned prior to take-off to ensure availability on arrival. In addition some large airfields (Eg Dublin) require a handling agent to be arranged in advance.

 VMC Minima      [back].[top]

* For PPL holders - 3000m, PPL with IMC Rating 1800m, UK National CPL/ATPL - 1800m without IR, 1500m with IR.

SPECIAL VFR (SVFR)     [back].[top]

●Only available in CONTROL ZONES.
●Clearance must be obtained and followed
●The pilot must remain clear of cloud and in sight of the surface and with a minimum flight visibility of 10km (3km with IMC rating). Will not be issued when visibility is less than 1800m or ceiling less than 600'.
●Pilot absolved from remaining 1500' above the highest fixed obstacle within 600m, but must still be able to glide clear following an engine failure. 

Night Flying

Flight at night must be in accordance with IFR (or special VFR if in a control zone). 

The IMC Rating     [back].[top]

An IMC rating extends the privileges of a PPL (A) holder to allow flight as PIC:  

• Out of sight of the surface.  
• In a control zone on SVFR clearance with a flight visibility not less than 3 km.  
• Outside controlled airspace in a flight visibility not less than 1.5 nm.  
• Carrying passengers above 3000 ft amsl in IMC or in flight visibility less than 5km at or below that height, when outside controlled airspace.
• During take-off or landing with a flight visibility below cloud of not less than 1800m
• It is recommended that AOM be increased with an IMC rating to not less than 500' for precision and 600' for non-precision approaches.
• The IMC rating is only valid in UK territorial airspace, Channel Islands airspace and Isle of Man airspace

Rules of the Air     [back].[top]

LOW-FLYING

●Not closer than 500' to any person, vehicle, vessel or structure, except for T/O and landing
●Over built-up or congested areas: not lower than 1500' above the highest fixed object within 600m (except under SVFR) OR at a height from which a landing can be made without danger to people or property on the surface if an engine fails.  Whichever is higher.
●Not over or closer than 1000m to an assembly of more than 1000 persons in the open air.  

Airspace      [back].[top]

        

●UIR   (Upper FIR) FL245-FL660 Class B
●ATZ  (Aerodrome traffic Zone):  sfc-2000'agl with radius 2 or 2.5Nm on ARP. Same class as surrounding airspace. Aircraft must not enter an ATZ without permission.

          

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For more detailed information on UK airspace,  click here

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Airfields     [back].[top]

May be controlled by:

●ATCU (Air traffic control Unit): Identified by callsign such as Tower, ground or approach.  Full ATC service provided.
●AFIS (Aerodrome Flight Information service): Callsign 'information'. Information only, provided by licensed AFISO. Use within maximum 10Nm/3000' of airfield.  AFISOs may issue instructions to a/c on the ground only.
●A/g (air to ground): Callsign 'radio'. Information only given by unqualified person.  Instructions never given.

Airfields can be licensed or unlicensed.  Generally a licensed airfield has fire services and an unlicensed one does not.  Certain rules apply at unlicensed airfields:

No circuit training or touch & go landings
No training, other than aerobatics or IMC rating.
Some insurance policies exclude their use.

For airfield information and NOTAMs see Online AIP

En-Route     [back].[top]

London Information frequency 124.6 (East) or 124.75 (West) can supply information on a wide range of subjects.

Cruising Levels

For flight outside controlled airspace above 3000' and below FL245 it is recommended that the following quadrantal cruising levels be adopted:

For IFR flight within controlled airspace, semicircular levels will be assigned.

Radar Services      [back].[top]

Radar units in the UK usually provide the following services, and you should specify which service you require on initial contact.

●Radar Advisory Service (RAS): Only available to IFR traffic. Information on conflicting traffic and advice for avoidance will be passed. Pilots not required to follow advice. Pilots responsible for terrain avoidance, and must advise any change of heading or level.
●Radar Information Service (RIS): Available to any flight. Information on conflicting traffic will be passed without avoiding action. Pilots responsible for terrain avoidance, and must advise any change of heading or level.
●Flight Information Service (FIS): Non-radar Information given of known traffic.

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Altimeter Setting     [back].[top]

●The usual transition altitude is 3000' although in some areas, (eg London) it may be higher (6000').
●Regional QNH may be used en-route.  Available from many ATC centres and from London Information in flight.
●Most light aircraft in the UK use QFE for landing and circuit (pattern) work.  With QFE set, the altimeter reads zero on the airfield.  Once leaving the circuit area it is normal ton set QNH (Altitude above MSL) or regional QNH.  Once in sight of the landing airfield, QFE may be set.  However pilots may use QNH for take off and landing if they so wish.

Transponders     [back].[top]

    Conspicuity code (normal VFR operations) is A7000       Aerobatics code is A7004

Recency

• SEP (Single engine Piston) Class Rating:  Valid for 2 years.  For revalidation, pilot must have flown 12 hours in the second year, of which 6 must be P1, and 12 take-offs and landings, and complete a minimum 1 hour training flight with an instructor. Alternatively, a proficiency check with an examiner may be flown in the last 3 months of rating validity.  Should the rating lapse, a skills test must be flown with an examiner.
• MEP (Multi engine Piston) Class Rating:  Valid for 12 months. For revalidation, pilot must have flown 10 sectors of minimum 15 min cruise, and fly a proficiency check with an examiner.  Should the rating lapse, a skills test must be flown with an examiner.

• Day/Night VFR solo - none.

• Day VFR with passengers -  3 T/O & landings within 90 days.

• Night VFR with passengers - 3 T/O & landings within 90 days, of which one must be at night.  Touch and go landings are acceptable.

IFR Rules     [back].[top]

• Aircraft shall not be flown lower than 1000' above the highest obstacle within 5 NM of the aircraft except for take-off and landing or if not exceeding 3000' MSL, clear of cloud and in sight of the surface.
• Flight plans mandatory for flights in controlled airspace in IMC, as is adherence to semi-circular rule for cruising levels.
• Flight plans not necessary for flight outside controlled airspace in IMC.
• All flight at night is to be in accordance with the IFR (or SVFR if in a control zone)
• It is recommended that single-engined aircraft do not depart IFR with a ceiling below 1000' and RVR 1800m   (AD 4.1.1.2)

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