The rules of the air

These rules apply to all aircraft operating in French airspace, as well as to all aircraft registered in France that are operating in foreign airspace (provided there is no conflict with local regulations ). Pilots of remotely piloted aircraft must be familiar with these regulations in order to prevent any incidents or accidents.


Types of air traffic:
There are two types of air traffic:
– General Air Traffic (CAG), which includes civil aircraft and some government aircraft
– Military Air Traffic (CAM), which includes government aircraft and test flights.

Civilian unmanned aircraft are not covered by CAM, and will therefore not be discussed in this course.

The different classes of airspace:
Airspace is divided into different classes—controlled or uncontrolled—which determine the services provided within them:
– Controlled airspace: A, B, C, D, E
– Uncontrolled airspace: F (not used in France), G (the most common)

Flight rules:
– IFR: Instrument Flight Rules. This does not apply to remotely piloted aircraft, so we will not cover it in this course. This type of flight is conducted under IMC: Instrument Meteorological Conditions.
– VFR: Visual Flight Rules: rules for visual flight, conducted under VMC (Visual Meteorological Conditions).

Visual Flight Rules ( VFR) is the simplest, freest and oldest way to fly, where you simply follow the basic rules of the air: See and Avoid.

To be able to make this type of flight, VFR pilots must comply with visual meteorological conditions (VMC). These conditions are based on the visibility and distance from clouds that the pilot must respect. They are summarized in the image below.
Key points to remember about VMC:
– Flight above the clouds and within visual range of the ground
– 1,500 m visibility (at a speed below 140 kt, or 260 km/h)

(image under CC Atribution license, author: PiRK)

Collision Prevention:
The prevention of collisions (a “collision” is the aviation term for a collision between aircraft) is the responsibility of the pilot in command for a manned aircraft, and the responsibility of the remote pilot for a remotely piloted aircraft.

The rule is simple: avoid proximity to other aircraft and obstacles.

In all cases, manned aircraft always have priority over unmanned aircraft . If avoidance is necessary, it must always be to the right. In the same way, if overtaking is necessary, it will always be done from the right.

Minimum flight heights :

Under visual flight rules, the minimum flight altitudes for manned aircraft are 150 m (500 ft), which may be reduced to 50 m (150 ft) during training flights for forced landings.

The Very Low Altitude Defense Network (VLADN) :

The RTBA is a network of interconnected restricted areas designated for training flights at very low altitudes and very high speeds.
The lateral and vertical boundaries of the various restricted areas within the RTBA, also known as “sections,” are defined in the aeronautical information publications (AIP: Aeronautical Information Publication), Part ENR 5.1 on prohibited, restricted, and hazardous areas, available on the Aeronautical Information Service (SIA) website at: http://www.sia.aviation-civile.gouv.fr/
RTBA zones can be activated in all weather conditions, and must be bypassed during activation periods.
Fighter aircraft generally operate in the RTBA in automatic terrain following mode, known as “SDT Auto”.
Pilots are not responsible for collision avoidance. Fighter speeds in the RTBA can exceed 500 Kt (~900 km/h). Fighters sometimes use the RTBA for patrol flights.

The signals:

Day or night, a series of projectiles fired from the ground at ten-second intervals, which produce stars or red and green lights upon bursting, indicates to an aircraft that it is flying without authorization in a restricted, prohibited, or dangerous area, or that it is about to enter such an area, and that it must take the necessary measures.