Cette unité n'est pas encore traduite — la version anglaise est affichée ci-dessous.
VFR Weather Minima in Uncontrolled Airspace
Above or below 1,000 feet AGL, day or night: four combinations, four sets of numbers, one logic.
Dans cette unité, vous apprendrez à
- State the day and night VFR minima in uncontrolled airspace at or above 1,000 ft AGL.
- State the day and night VFR minima for an aeroplane below 1,000 ft AGL.
- Explain why the cloud-clearance requirement changes to 'clear of cloud' below 1,000 ft AGL.
Why it matters
Most of Canada, by area, is uncontrolled airspace — Class G, where no ATC clearance exists and nobody separates anyone. The regulator's bargain there is different: you may fly in weather that would be illegal in controlled airspace, but the entire burden of seeing and avoiding rests on you. The minima drop, and below 1,000 feet AGL they change character completely.
If chapter questions had a frequency chart, CAR 602.115 would be at the top. Its four combinations — above/below 1,000 feet AGL, day/night — supply endless exam material because each combination changes one number.
At or above 1,000 feet AGL
With visual reference to the surface always required, an aircraft at or above 1,000 feet AGL in uncontrolled airspace needs:
- Day: 1 mile flight visibility;
- Night: 3 miles flight visibility;
- in both cases, at least 500 feet vertically and 2,000 feet horizontally from cloud.
Compare this with controlled airspace: visibility relaxes from 3 miles to 1 by day, and the lateral cloud distance shrinks from 1 mile to 2,000 feet. The vertical 500 feet never changes. At night the visibility requirement returns to 3 miles everywhere — at night, distant terrain and unlit obstacles need a bigger cushion.
Below 1,000 feet AGL
Down low, an aeroplane (the helicopter figures differ) needs:
- Day: 2 miles flight visibility;
- Night: 3 miles flight visibility;
- in both cases, operation clear of cloud.
Two things reversed here, and both make physical sense. The visibility increases from 1 to 2 miles by day: at low level you have almost no time to out-climb or out-turn what appears ahead, so you need to see further. And the fixed cloud distances become simply "clear of cloud": in the last thousand feet above ground there may not be 500 feet of room below the cloud base, so the law demands only that you stay out of it.
The four combinations at a glance
| Where | Day visibility | Night visibility | Distance from cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| ≥ 1,000 ft AGL | 1 mile | 3 miles | 500 ft vertical, 2,000 ft horizontal |
| < 1,000 ft AGL (aeroplane) | 2 miles | 3 miles | clear of cloud |
Helicopters below 1,000 feet AGL may operate down to 1 mile by day — that difference is itself a favourite distractor when the stem says "aeroplane".
Vérifiez vos connaissances
By day in uncontrolled airspace, at or above 1,000 feet AGL, the minimum flight visibility for VFR is:
- 1 mile.
- 2 miles.
- 3 miles.
- one-half mile.
An aeroplane flying VFR by day at 800 feet AGL in uncontrolled airspace requires:
- 2 miles flight visibility and operation clear of cloud.
- 1 mile flight visibility and operation clear of cloud.
- 1 mile flight visibility, 500 feet vertically from cloud.
- 3 miles flight visibility, 500 feet vertically from cloud.
Références réglementaires vérifiées avec la codification du RAC au 2026-06-17 et l'AIM de TC 2026-1. Vérifiez toujours le texte officiel en vigueur.
Les références réglementaires proviennent du Règlement de l'aviation canadien et des publications de Transports Canada, reproduites à des fins non commerciales. Ce site n'est ni affilié à Transports Canada ni approuvé par lui.