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4 Answers

Class G special VFR at night: IFR required?

Asked by: 5086 views , , , ,
Airspace, FAA Regulations, General Aviation, Instrument Rating, Private Pilot, Weather

Here's another one of those obscure questions.  I'll say right off the bat that I'd never fly VFR in such ridiculously low minimums.   91.157 describes the regulations of special VFR in controlled airspace, including that from sunset to sunrise it requires an instrument rated pilot and IFR equipped aircraft.  91.155 (b) describes the regulations of flying at night in class G to minimums less than basic VFR (not technically special VFR since that is defined as being specifically in controlled B, C, D, and E surface based airspace on a clearance, but it's less than the minimums of marginal VFR so I'll refer to it as special VFR for simplicity), provided the airplane remains within 1/2 sm of the runway. This part of the regulation says nothing about the requirement of an IFR rated plane and pilot.   So my question is, does special VFR in class G airspace at night require an instrument rated pilot and IFR equipped aircraft just the same as it does in controlled airspace?  Or is none of that required since the IFR-ready requirements in 91.157 are specific to SVFR night flight in controlled airspace while class G is uncontrolled and such flight is not technically SVFR by strict definition?

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4 Answers

  1. Best Answer


    John D Collins on Jan 23, 2016

    There is no need to rename VFR conditions in class G at night. The limitations are in 91.155(b)(2). 91.155(a) specifies VFR conditions at night in class G airspace as 3 SM and separation of 500 feet below, 1000 feet above, and 2000 feet laterally from clouds except as provided in 91.155(b). 91.205(c) lists the requirements for VFR night flight. There is no separate requirement for the pilot needing to have an instrument rating in class G at night or the aircraft needing to meet 91.205(d) similar to the requirement found in 91.157(b)(4).

    So, no the pilot does not need to IFR certified, nor does the aircraft need to meet 91.205(d).

    Note also there is a slight difference noted in the time of 91.157(b)(4) which applies except between sunrise and sunset, whereas 91.155 specifies night. Night is not defined as sunset to sunrise, but rather the time between the end of evening civil twilight and the beginning of morning civil twilight, as published in the Air Almanac, converted to local time. In the CONUS, there is typically a one hour difference in the elapsed time in question.

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  2. Mark Kolber on Jan 23, 2016

    Sorry, but I have to chuckle at the question which seems to come down to:

    I am going to Class G minimums as “Special VFR” even though they are different, deal with different airspace and different traffic issues, and are dealt with in completely different FAR …”for simplicity.” Now that I have combined the rules into one, are they the same?

    Sounds to me like your “simplicity” is pretty complicated” 😀

    In addition to John’s explanation, consider that the purpose of airspace classification is to separate aircraft. Even more precisely, usually to protect IFR aircraft from VFR aircraft.

    Although the rules of Special VFR appear to be for VFR aircraft, they are really there to make sure VFR aircraft in very marginal conditions are under positive control to keep them away from IFR aircraft. That’s even true of the night IR requirement – it’s harder to avoid flying into a cloud you can’t see and that VFR loss of control accident can close the airport for quite a while.

    Class B, C, D and Class E surface areas (the dashed magenta where Class E extends all the way to the ground, not general Class E airspace) are all airspace where there is enough traffic that the FAA sees a need to protect IFR traffic all the way to the ground. VFR traffic is allowed in a pinch, so long as it doesn’t interfere with IFR operations, but under pretty strict conditions.

    That’s simply not the case, or at least not as much of an issue where Class E only extends to 700 AGL (even though that lower Class E ceiling is also for IFR separation) or where Class G goes all the way up to 1200 AGL or higher.

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  3. Skyfox on Jan 23, 2016

    Thanks for the answer, John. Your clarification helps a lot. Yes, I did notice the time difference between 91.155 and 91.157, but I didn’t bring it up because I didn’t feel it was relevant to the question at hand. It is interesting how when the regulations were established the FAA decided to go with the two different times rather than keeping things consistent! It’s kind of like the way 91.155 (a) specifies class G VFR minimums at or below 1200 AGL, while 91.155 (b) specifies minimums that are only below 1200.

    Mark, the simplicity I was going for was to only have to say “class G SVFR” rather than “class G at night with 1 to 3 miles visibility in an airplane, powered parachute, or weight shift control aircraft”. Since most people know what it means when someone says class G SVFR despite the regulation not actually calling it SVFR, I figured that would just be easier to write. Thanks for your added input to this question.

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  4. Mark Kolber on Jan 24, 2016

    “Since most people know what it means when someone says class G SVFR ”

    Must be some local lingo where you are. I never heard or read it before in the 20+ years I’ve been flying, reading and participating in online aviation forums. Out of curiosity, I just Googled “Class G SVFR” (with the quotes). Two hits, neither of which actually uses the phrase.

    Personally, both in an out of aviation, I have found that using regulatory and technical language in ways other than they are defined leads to a lot of confusion.

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