Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

1 Answers

VFR in smoke

Asked by: 5184 views , ,
Airspace, FAA Regulations, General Aviation, Instrument Rating, Private Pilot

So here is a question about smoke...

Here in NW America, we have had no shortage of smoke recently which has led to consider the following. Our airfield has had 3SM visibility with smoke all the way to the ground. Assuming a PVT pilot without an instrument rating wants to fly how does this work? The airspace is D surrounded by E. Even though we have 3SM vis, the smoke is touching the ground so the cloud clearances do not work. Does smoke count in cloud clearances? Thanks!

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Actual FAA Questions / Free Lifetime Updates
The best explanations in the business
Fast, efficient study.
Pass Your Checkride With Confidence!
FAA Practical Test prep that reflects actual checkrides.
Any checkride: Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
Written and maintained by actual pilot examiners and master CFIs.
The World's Most Trusted eLogbook
Be Organized, Current, Professional, and Safe.
Highly customizable - for student pilots through pros.
Free Transition Service for users of other eLogs.
Our sincere thanks to pilots such as yourself who support AskACFI while helping themselves by using the awesome PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android aviation apps of our sponsors.

1 Answers



  1. John D. Collins on Sep 26, 2012

    As long as the smoke is diffuse enough to see thru it with a flight visibility of 3 SM, the conditions are VFR. Smoke close to the fire is typically going to form a cloud and you should maintain normal cloud distances any smoke in the form of a cloud. If you can’t see thru it, keep your distance. There are likely to be TFR’s and NOTAMS around smoke that will require you to remain clear for fire fighting aircraft. Also, since smoke is highly reflective, you may have 3 SM with the sun at your back but virtually no visibility with the sun in your face. If you haven’t flown in visibility of 3 SM, even though it meets the legal VFR minimum, it will be more difficult if not impossible to see familiar landmarks and other aircraft. Maintaining situational awareness is correspondingly more difficult.

    +3 Votes Thumb up 4 Votes Thumb down 1 Votes


The following terms have been auto-detected the question above and any answers or discussion provided. Click on a term to see its definition from the Dauntless Aviation JargonBuster Glossary.

Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.