The Rules of the Air
These rules apply to all aircraft operating in French airspace, as well as to French-registered aircraft operating in foreign airspace (provided there is no conflict with local regulations). Pilots of remotely piloted aircraft must be aware of these regulations in order to prevent any incident or accident.
Types of air traffic:
There are two types of air traffic:
– GAC: General Air Traffic, covering civil aircraft and some government aircraft
– CAM: Circulation Aérienne Militaire (military air traffic), 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—depending on the services provided:
– Controlled airspace: A, B, C, D, E
– Uncontrolled airspace: F (not used in France), G (most common)
Flight rules:
– IFR: Instrument Flight Rules. It does not apply to remotely piloted aircraft, so it will not be covered in this course. This type of flight complies with IMC: Instrument Meteorological Conditions.
– VFR: Visual Flight Rules, in accordance with VMC: Visual Meteorological Conditions.
Visual Flight Rules ( VFR) is the simplest, most unrestricted, and oldest way to fly, where you simply follow the basic rules of the air: See and Avoid.
To be able to fly under these conditions, VFR pilots must comply with visual meteorological conditions (VMC). These conditions are based on visibility and the distance from clouds that the pilot must maintain. They are summarized in the image below.
What we need to remember about CMVs:
– Out of the clouds and within sight of the surface
– 1,500-meter visibility (at speeds under 140 kt or 260 km/h)
(Image under the CC Attribution license, author: PiRK)
Collision avoidance:
Collision avoidance (where “collision” is the aeronautical term for a collision between aircraft) is the responsibility of the pilot-in-command for manned aircraft and of the remote pilot for remotely piloted aircraft.
The rule is simple: avoid flying too close to other aircraft and obstacles.
In all cases, manned aircraft always have the right of way over unmanned aircraft. If avoidance is necessary, it must always be to the right. Similarly, if overtaking is necessary, it must always be done from the right.
Minimum flight altitudes:
Under visual flight rules, the minimum flying altitude for manned aircraft is 150 meters (500 feet), which may be reduced to 50 meters (150 feet) for forced-landing training flights.
The Very Low Altitude Defense Network (VLADN):
The RTBA is a set of interconnected restricted areas designed for training flights at very low altitude and very high speed.
The lateral and vertical limits of the RTBA’s various restricted areas, also known as “sections,” are defined in the Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP), Part ENR 5.1, which covers prohibited, restricted, and hazardous areas, available on the Service de l’Information Aéronautique (SIA) website at the following address: 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 avoiding collisions. Fighter speeds in the RTBA can exceed 500 Kt (~900 km/h). Fighters sometimes use the RTBA for patrol flights.
Signals:
Day and night, a series of projectiles fired from the ground at ten-second intervals—producing bursts of stars or red and green lights—signalsto an aircraft that it is flying without authorization in a restricted, prohibited, or hazardous area, or that it is about to enter such an area, and that it must take the necessary measures.
