When can you fly at the VFR minima?

[Gazeem]

The VFR minima for class F & G airspace below 3000 amsl, 140 knots IAS is clear of cloud, in sight of the surface and 3000m visibility for a holder of a PPL.

When does this VFR restriction drop to the ICAO minimum of 1500m, is it when the pilot is a CPL holder?

Or is it only when the pilot has an IR or IMC?

Cheers

Gaz

[Moneyshot]

Slight mix up
Flight visibility limit drops to 1500m at speeds of 140kt ias or less.
Normal limit above this speed is : At or below 3000ft amsl Vis 5km, clear of cloud and in sight of the surface. Nothing to do with licence or adquals. Admit I had to check my Pooleys.
Hope this helps. MS

[BlueLine]

Gazeem

You are subject to two minima,
the national VFR minima which has nothing to do with your licence and;

Your licence privileges (ANO Schedule 8)

You must apply the most restrictive to be legal which in the case of a PPL with no instrument qualification is 3Km.

[Gazeem]

I realise it is less than 140 knots!

The real question I have, in short, is:

If you have a CPL without IMC or IR are you bound by 3km minimum or 1500m?

[Fokker-Jock]

The ICAO minima is a recommandation for all member states. However, all nations have authority to create rules strickter than these recommandations however not less restirctive.

Your question as to when you can follow the ICAO regulations is really not relevant because it is always the national regulations that apply, unless these are the same as ICAO. The reason that ICAO regulation is just a bottom line is generally because of geography and other considerations in the respective countries.
VFR minima of 1500 m visibility would cause no problems in Denmark for instance, but in Norway, Austria, Switzerland and other coutries where weather can change rapidly and you have clouds of rock this limitation is rather ....., well, you get my point.

[Irv]

Just some very mnor points - assuming we are talking UK F/G airspace, pre-JAR CAA CPL (which therefore would have IMC privileges) or a UK issued JAA CPL with an IMC test passed, then a pilot could be legally obeying VFR with visibility down as far as 1500m providing 140kts or less IAS, 3000' or less altitude.

The points being:
1- VFR rules are the international 'base' to start from for VFR flights even in the UK... BUT..
2- UK A.N.O. bans flight out of sight of surface or less than 3km vis. for ANY rules (VFR or IFR) for UK issued licences
3- UK ANO then gives pilots with IMC privileges the right to ignore (2).

When asked why? - I usually give this one example, but remember it's just my GUESS as to why I think the rules are what they are- pure speculation:
There is a TV mast 8 miles north of my airfield and it reaches up to about 1300' on the QNH. Anyone without IMC privileges is trusted to go near it VFR (at the same sort of alititude) when it can be seen from at least 3km away. Anyone with IMC privileges (and the very big assumption being that they might know exactly where they are at all times :rolleyes: ) is allowed to fly past it VFR at the same sort of level when it can be seen from 1.5km away. Alternatively, IFR could be used to fly past it, in which case the separation from it is guaranteed by the need to be 1000' above it when within 5 miles of it.

So then the follow-on assumption is presumably that either we don't mind quite as much about foreign licence holders hitting the mast (they probably paid less for training so perhaps it's seen as a punishment :( ) OR that they are better trained to know where they are! :rolleyes: OR that our CAA won't mind quite as much as they will have less post accident admin as it is not their licence ;)

[bookworm]

I don't think it's a question of separation from terrain or obstacles but rather of controlling the aircraft. 3 km is taken as a somewhat arbitrary value of visibility below which a pilot cannot control the aircraft safely with only external visual reference (i.e. a visual horizon).

I'm sure many of us can find examples of conditions with a visibility much greater than 3 km where controlling the aircraft safely with only external visual reference is just as impossible. But you've got to draw the line somewhere.