Questions tagged [regulations]
Use in conjunction with a country tag, if a [regulations-country] tag does not yet exist
82 questions
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Can civilians buy military aircraft?
Say one wanted to buy a retired F-14, or F-5, or a BAE Hawk. Could I do it?
Obviously this would mean stripping out radars, weapons, rwr, and any other sensitive equipment, but after this, would it ...
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Do lights on aircraft flash in a specific pattern?
On a clear night, everyone can spot planes quite easily: they have flashing lights. I have noticed that the pattern seems different for different planes, and tried to find a meaning.
What I saw so ...
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Where to download NATs (North Atlantic Tracks) information?
I am reading about NATs (North Atlantic Tracks) and I found out they are created and regulated by the following entities:
westbound flow: Shanwick Oceanic Control
eastbound flow: Gander Oceanic ...
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Is there a height limit to national airspace?
Given the following facts:
satellites can operate at an altitude of 200km without triggering frontier violation incident
aircraft can trigger diplomatic protestations if they cross a frontier at an ...
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How do pilots use stopway, EMAS, clearway and displaced threshold?
I noticed in Why is “clearway minus stopway” used in V1 adjustments? that a stopway and an EMAS are both indicated by yellow chevrons:
Same Opa-Locka stopway on the left, and San Diego EMAS on the ...
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What is the main difference between an ETOPS certified and non-ETOPS certified plane?
ETOPS stands for Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards, a rule which permits twin engine aircraft to fly routes which, at some point, are more than 60 minutes flying time away ...
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What happens to an airborne plane when its type is grounded by an authority?
Many countries have (temporarily I think) banned 737 Max 8s from taking off or landing. What happened to the ones in the air? Do they get special permissions or are they forced to divert to a ...
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How flat does a runway need to be?
I always assumed that big runways are flat (or more specifically straight: they might have a slight slope in either direction), but while watching some crosswind landing footage shot at Birmingham ...
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What is the difference between aviation "accident" and "incident"?
When I hear speaking about aviation crashes, sometimes I hear about "accidents" and other times about "incidents".
What distinguishes them? Is there an international standard that determines how ...
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Why are speed restrictions imposed for flights flying below 10,000 ft?
I know that restrictions do not always apply and ATC can cancel them or pilots can request for speed restriction being canceled. But why is there such a speed restriction in first place? Are there any ...
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Under what conditions would a helicopter be allowed to fly at low altitude over populated areas?
Yesterday, the Department of Energy was flying a military helicopter at low altitudes over Boston and the surrounding area as part of an experiment of some type to measure radiation.
I saw one of ...
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When does a flight require a copilot?
I was wondering if there are regulations for when a flight requires both a pilot and copilot.
I always assumed a copilot is required once civilian passengers are aboard, but when I recently was a ...
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What is the minimum distance allowed between two parallel runways?
Is there an international regulation for this matter or does it differ from one country to another?
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Can a pilot take off at his own discretion?
[I'm referring to an ATC conversation during the military coup in Turkey with an MD83 EP-TAS (ATA TBZ5402).
Can a pilot take off at his own discretion?
To summarize the link: a pilot is begging the ...
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Why is the sound quality of onboard public address so bad?
While not a frequent flyer, I did fly common airliners quite a lot, and each time the (very) low sound quality of onboard public adress system has always struck me.
We all know technology makes it ...
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Where can I find regulations in different countries for flight level rules based on direction of flight?
I'm from Brazil, and here we use the West/East rule, so we use an odd flight level when we fly between 0/360 - 179, and when we fly between ...
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Do Federal Regulations really require compliance with all crewmember instructions?
On commercial flights, we're frequently told that all passengers are
"required to comply with lighted signs and placards, and all crew member instructions".
But when it comes to the CFRs, the ...
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How are aviation regulations treated on a global stage?
I know that the two large aviation regulatory authorities are the FAA and EASA, but every country also has its own civil aviation authority.
Focusing on airliners that need to operate all over the ...
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What is the maximum legal flight time for single pilots under Part 91/135 operations?
I'm referring to FAA Part 91 and 135 operations (or similar, EASA) and the maximum duration of one single flight (not the maximum duty time per day / week / month). If any, what are the legal flight ...
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How close can planes fly to each other over the ocean?
While on a recent Air Transat flight from Toronto Pearson to London Gatwick, several hours into the flight and over the Atlantic Ocean, my daughter and I noticed a plane behind ours to the left, ...
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Is there any way to relieve the Pilot in Command?
Is there any way to relieve the Pilot in Command besides hijacking and incapacitation?
This question comes from a comment by rackandboneman, who says:
And whose authority is sufficient to make an ...
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Can a passenger request to visit the cockpit during a flight?
As a kid, I remember going to the cockpit of a plane with my mom (I believe the airline was AOM French Airlines).
Is this still possible now?
I understand the answer might differ with different ...
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Does Daylight Saving Time affect local airspace?
Only some countries use Daylight Saving Time. In Canada, some provinces use and don't use DST (such as Saskatchewan). However, in remote and local regions where this is not observed, what would happen?...
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What is the relation between number of crew members (pilots and attendants) and fleet size in airlines?
Taking into account relevant elements like the fleet size or the type of flights (short or long haul, passengers or cargo, ...), do airlines use typical ratios between the number of aircraft and the ...
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Is it legal for an SEP airplane to fly above its service ceiling?
Let's take a Cessna 172R for example. According to the POH this airplane has a service ceiling of 13,500 ft.
I know that the service ceiling is the maximum altitude where a 100 foot per minute climb ...
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Are some countries' civil aviation authorities safer than others?
Okay, put down the pitchforks, I'm not pointing fingers at anyone!
I'm just aware that every country has its own civil aviation authority, and I wonder if there's any reason to believe that some ...
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How did ICAO SARPS come to include the 250 knots speed limit for aircraft below 10,000 feet?
In certain airspace classes, a speed limit of 250 knots IAS is imposed for aircraft flying below FL100/10.000FT, according to the airspace classes defined by ICAO. How did this limit find its way into ...
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How do the FAR's define a cloud?
If you're talking about a big puffy cumulus cloud it's pretty obvious. But from where I am right now, looking up I see grey sky from horizon to horizon. But visibility at the surface is good. All ...
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Can an instrument procedure be intercepted from the middle and how?
While I was reading FAA-H-8083-6 I was wondering if a pilot can be instructed to intercept a procedure from a point somewhere in the middle of it.
Specifically:
A pilot departs from an airport ...
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Is it practical to use ground effect to extend range in an emergency?
Imagine a piston engine airplane (let's say a DC-3) flying at cruise speed and altitude over a calm sea, trying to reach an unreachable airstrip straight ahead, just above sea level. Fuel is very low ...
user21228
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Are ham radio contacts allowed from inside an airplane?
This question probably lies in the middle ground between Amateur Radio.SE and Aviation.SE.
I have seen a couple of videos where ham radio contacts are made with people on board a commercial aircraft ...
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What, exactly is "on the MEL"?
The MEL, minimum equipment list, defines whether fault of some equipment on the aircraft prevents it from being dispatched for flight or not.
However, sometimes (e.g. in comments to this question) ...
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Is it illegal to fly a Cessna 172S under day VFR with an inoperative vacuum gauge?
Let's say my vacuum gauge is not working on my C172S and I want to go day VFR flying. There is no MEL. 14 CFR 91.213 details procedures for inoperative instruments, and I think the following ...
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Are those devices allowed on a flight which create their own WiFi signals?
I am going from Canada to Mexico but I don't want to be dependent on in-flight entertainment. Thus I got seagate wireless plus so I can stream to my iPad. I couldn't find any policies I can use this ...
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What is the regulation related to weather radar use?
I think most commercial aircraft have a weather radar located in the nose cone, like this:
(Source: PhotoBucket, by intelmani5)
It's well known that radar emissions can be harmful, e.g. one could ...
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What regulatory bodies are there?
Since planes traverse the Earth, and a country may deem another country's airline unsafe, yet that unsafe airline is deemed safe in its country, what is the hierarchy of the aviation regulatory bodies ...
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Do airports have their own incident/accident investigation departments?
Do airports have their own incident/accident investigation departments? or they are restricted to the NCAA/Safety department only?
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Are 100 hour inspections required to rent out a plane?
According to 14 CFR § 91.409 - Inspections:
(b) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, no person may operate an aircraft carrying any person (other than a crewmember) for hire, and no ...
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Can a private jet take off without notifying anybody and land on private land in another country? [duplicate]
If you have a friend in the USA who owns a lot of land that is suitable for landing a plane, and you own a private jet with 2 pilots in Norway, can you take off in private property without notifying ...
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Are there regulations for the field of view from cockpits?
Are there any design or ergonomic regulations with regard to the pilot's vertical and horizontal vision angles from the cockpit?
For example, pilot should see space 30 deg. above and 20 deg. below ...
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What is the maximal acceptable delay between pilot's input and flight control surface actuation?
While I was watching a cockpit video of an A330 landing in which the pilot was frenetically moving its sidestick, I wander what was the reaction time of this flight by wire system. Indeed, the time ...
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Are seaplanes allowed to taxi in residential areas?
There's a small pond/lake behind my house. A sea plane was just going around it. It was very loud and got like 10 feet from the shore. It's just going in circles and won't take off and leave.
This is ...
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Has anyone ever been penalised for buzzing a control tower?
Has there ever been a pilot who was caught and penalised for performing a "circus stunt fly-by" next to a control tower?
To clarify the question:
I mean legal actions took place; for example ...
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Are missiles aircraft?
So, at work we have had an ongoing debate for several months now about whether missiles are aircraft or not. We all agree that they're not airplanes of course, but... are they to be considered ...
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Is it legal to make a non-military stealth plane?
Just as military camouflage can be legally worn by civilians on most jurisdictions (e.g., in the U.S.), can I create a stealth aircraft for non-military use? More precisely, can I register and fly the ...
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Who decided that the Boeing 737 MAX planes that were airborne when the grounding was issued cannot enter and land in EU air space?
On March 12th, 2019, EASA grounded the Boeing 737 MAX series by publishing their Emergency Airworthiness Directive 2019-0051-E (AD):
Effective Date: 12 March 2019, 19:00 UTC
[...]
...
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Is it legal to fly under the Golden Gate Bridge? [duplicate]
I recently had the opportunity to rent a plane and fly in the San Francisco Bay Area. While flying in the HWD/OAK/SFO area is challenging enough, when I spoke of my adventures of flying above ...
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What regulations exist for ATC real time RADAR simulator software?
Does professional ATC RADAR simulator software need to comply to some regulations or requirements in order to be used for real life controller training?
Have ICAO, Eurocontrol, EASA or FAA published ...
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What are the consequences of falsely and/or unnecessarily declaring an emergency?
I'm curious as to what would happen to a pilot should they falsely declare an emergency to expedite their landing.
By 'falsely' or 'unnecessarily' I mean that the hypothetical pilot is not ...
user25931
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Are life jackets mandatory on planes that will never fly over water bodies?
Supposing I'm a regional carrier and my routes never pass over water bodies (sea or lakes which are over a certain size). Am I obliged to carry life jackets on my plane?
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