You may be required to disregard the 1500ft rule

[gerardflyagain]

Can anyone explain the 1500ft rule please? From everything I've googled, this is now the 1000 ft rule?

Question: When you are flying under a Special VFR clearance:

✓ You may be required to disregard the 1500ft rule

[chevvron]

No, it is up to the pilot to ensure that their SVFR clearance allows them to obey the 'not below 1000ft or sufficient to land clear' rule; they are not absolved from obeying it.

[Whopity]

Sounds like an old question!

You may find these useful:
ORS4 No 1125
ORS4 No 1124
The 1500 ft rule was part of Rule 5 which disappeared when the UK Rules of the Air were withdrawn following introduction of SERA

SERA.3105 Minimum heights
Except when necessary for take-off or landing, or except by permission from the competent authority, aircraft shall not be flown over the congested areas of cities, towns or settlements or over an open-air assembly of persons, unless at such a height as will permit, in the event of an emergency arising, a landing to be made without undue hazard to persons or property on the surface. The minimum heights for VFR flights shall be those specified in SERA.5005(f) and minimum levels for IFR flights shall be those specified in SERA.5015(b).

[phiggsbroadband]

Looking at ORS4 No 1124, Paragraph 3b suggests we are allowed to fly a practice landing down to 'zero' ft. into a country field, as long as the farmer or his tractor are not in it....


b) practising approaches to forced landings other than at an aerodrome if it is not flown closer than 150 metres (500 feet) to any person, vessel, vehicle or structure; or


Just remembering my miles of low flying training at 30ft (altimeter) above the Dee Estuary.

[Pegasus912]

The wording is a bit confusing but it looks like CAA have already made an exception to the 150m (500ft) SERA rule in paragraph 2a for daylight VFR flying, so you can still legally fly at 30ft along the Dee Estury :-)

[gerardflyagain]

Thanks all. So it looks like the question is just out of date then.

Pegasus, where is that exemption for daylight flying? I can't find it in Whopity's links.

[Pegasus912]

Probably the clearest description I've found on the SERA exceptions is from the Spring 2015 Clued Up article on pages 18-19 (PDF)

[gerardflyagain]

That was a really useful pdf Pegasus, thanks!

[Pegasus912]

No I think you've summed it up pretty well. In general the CAA seemed to have added exceptions where we may have felt unnecessary regulation was being introduced under SERA. What with this and the dropping of the PPL medicals I'm wondering if the CAA are going soft on us? ;-)

[gerardflyagain]

I thought CAA rules are not allowed to be more lax than EU (SERA) rules. So how are they allowed to make exemptions to the 500ft rule?

[Flyingmac]

Originally Posted by gerardflyagain

I thought CAA rules are not allowed to be more lax than EU (SERA) rules. So how are they allowed to make exemptions to the 500ft rule?

They just took out ABOVE and replaced it with FROM. Suits me down to the ground.

[bookworm]

I thought CAA rules are not allowed to be more lax than EU (SERA) rules. So how are they allowed to make exemptions to the 500ft rule?

Because the SERA rules explicitly permit them to do so:

(f) Except when necessary for take-off or landing, or except by permission from the competent authority, a VFR flight
shall not be flown:
(1) over the congested areas of cities, towns or settlements or over an open-air assembly of persons at a height less
than 300 m (1 000 ft) above the highest obstacle within a radius of 600 m from the aircraft;
(2) elsewhere than as specified in (1), at a height less than 150 m (500 ft) above the ground or water, or 150 m
(500 ft) above the highest obstacle within a radius of 150 m (500 ft) from the aircraft.

[gerardflyagain]

Ah ok, thanks.