Fuel Reserves and other legal things for G-Reg

[mm_flynn]

Having read some of the ping pong in another thread, I started thinking about some of the rules being thrown around and realised I couldn't find some fairly key ones.

For AOC ops, I think all of these can be found in JAR-OPS 1. However, for private G-reg I am not sure where, in the ANO or elsewhere, to find specific rules (as composed to the general rules not to be careless or reckless) on the following subjects.


What are the fuel reserve requirements for a VFR flight
Are they different at night (in the context of G-reg operating on the high seas)
What are the fuel reserve requirements for IFR (and is night IFR different)
What are the requirements around nominating an alternate (or alternates) - when must you do it and what determines if one is sufficient or two
In the case of an IFR flight in wholly in Class G, the law doesn't seem to require the carriage of any meaningful nav kit no matter what the weather, is this right?



My normal flying is regulated under the FARs and I am intimately familiar with their answers to all of these questions.

[TheOddOne]

In the case of an IFR flight in wholly in Class G, the law doesn't seem to require the carriage of any meaningful nav kit no matter what the weather, is this right?


Absolutely correct. In the UK, IFR in Class 'G' has absolutely NOTHING to do with weather conditions or flight by sole reference to instruments. The only stipulation for IFR is that you remain 1000' above any obstruction within 5NM of track and you are advised to comply with the quadrantal rule above 3000'. Thus, the only kit you need in the a/c is an altimeter to determine your height above any obstruction. You don't even need a compass, if you can determine your track by looking out of the window. If you can't see out of the window, then you'll need a compass and a timepiece of some sort to determine you position along your previously-calculated track.

Barmy? Well, I think so.

There's an awful lot of confusion between IMC and IFR (and VMC and VFR, for that matter).

TheOddOne

[bookworm]

For Domestic Ops:

What are the fuel reserve requirements for a VFR flight
Are they different at night (in the context of G-reg operating on the high seas)
What are the fuel reserve requirements for IFR (and is night IFR different)

Same answer in each case:

Art 52 The commander of an aircraft shall take all reasonable steps to satisfy himself before the aircraft takes off: ...
(e) in the case of a flying machine or airship, that sufficient fuel, oil and engine coolant (if required) are carried for the intended flight, and that a safe margin has been allowed for contingencies, ...;

What are the requirements around nominating an alternate (or alternates) - when must you do it and what determines if one is sufficient or two

Art 49 (6) If, according to the information available, an aircraft would as regards any flight be required ... to be flown [IFR] at the aerodrome of intended landing, the commander of the aircraft shall select prior to take-off an alternate aerodrome unless no aerodrome suitable for that purpose is available.
(6A) [deals with no alternate available case]
(6B) A flight shall not be continued towards the aerodrome of intended landing unless the latest available information indicates that conditions at that aerodrome, or at least one alternate aerodrome, will, at the estimated time of arrival, be at or above the specified aerodrome operating minima.

Art 155 'Alternate aerodrome' means an aerodrome to which an aircraft may proceed when it becomes either impossible or inadvisable to proceed to or to land at the aerodrome
of intended landing;

There is no requirement for two alternates, nor are the different alternate planning minima as such.

Note that these regulations apply to all aircraft in the UK, including N-reg. However the FARs are, AFAIK, in every case at least as restrictive.

For International Ops, another state would be entitled to expect G-reg aicraft to comply with Annex 6 Part II. These are similar for alternate planning and VFR fuel planning, and more explicit for IFR fuel planning, which requires a 45 minute reserve after flight to destination, then alternate.

[bookworm]

In the case of an IFR flight in wholly in Class G, the law doesn't seem to require the carriage of any meaningful nav kit no matter what the weather, is this right?

Actually, the requirement is:

Art 20 (1) An aircraft shall not fly unless it is so equipped with ... radio navigation equipment as to ... enable ... the aircraft to be navigated, in accordance with the provisions of this Order and any regulations made thereunder.

which is not a million miles away from the wording of 91.205. However, Art 20(2) specifies (by reference to Annex 5) lots of cases in which specific equipment must be carried, which don't include much for private IFR in class G.

[mm_flynn]

Thank you for the reply. Comments elsewhere had caused me to think that there were some more prescriptive regulations.

The summary regulation with regard to all my questions seems to be "The PIC must gather the available information and use good judgement in planning the flight".

In this context the FAR's are much more explicit but may or may not be more restrictive depending on ones view of good judgement ;). Although they are substantially more restrictive with regard to alternates.


Finally, with regard to 20, The ANO requirements are paper thin on Class G IFR, as there doesn't seem to be any requirement in "The Provisions of the Order" as to an aircraft's navigation capability in the open FIR (other than to stay there and not in CAS !) and as such seems to boil down to needing to carry a radio to contact ATS appropriate to the route (Scale A), which in Class G could reasonably be no one.

[corsair]

Ok So I fly a G reg aircraft on an Irish JAR CPL in Ireland. So what takes precedence?

[bookworm]

Ok So I fly a G reg aircraft on an Irish JAR CPL in Ireland. So what takes precedence?

The law of the country that you're flying in "takes precedence". However, to comply with the Chicago Convention, that law often delegates specifics to the state of registration of the aircraft. The law of the state of registration therefore usually makes extraterritorial claims ("an aircraft registered in the UK wherever it may be shall...") and the ANO makes such a claim by default in Art 149. However the claims may go beyond what other states choose to delegate, and a rule on fuel planning similar to Art 52(e) usually applies to all aircraft in the state.

Thus you would do best to comply with both the UK and Irish regulations, to the the extent that they are compatible regarding fuel planning and alternates.