Air Law
Air Law essentials
Air law questions test precise recall of definitions, privileges and rules rather than reasoning. Start with the regulatory hierarchy: ICAO Annexes set standards, while national rules (in Europe, EASA regulations; elsewhere the local CAA) set the binding requirements. Know the definitions of aircraft categories, the privileges and limitations of the licence you are training for, and the conditions for carrying passengers, night flying and instrument flight.
Rules of the air repay close study: right-of-way (the less manoeuvrable aircraft has priority; head-on both turn right; converging, the aircraft with the other on its right gives way), minimum heights over congested and open areas, VFR visibility and cloud-distance minima in controlled and uncontrolled airspace, and cruising level rules (semicircular or quadrantal depending on track).
Traps: questions that hinge on a single word - "shall" versus "should", "congested area" versus "open air", or the difference between flight visibility and ground visibility. Units matter: heights in feet, distances in metres or nautical miles depending on the rule. Also watch for the difference between a controlled aerodrome and controlled airspace, and between mandatory and advisory frequencies.
Worked example
A VFR flight at 3,000 ft AMSL in Class G airspace. A candidate must recall the applicable visibility and cloud-clearance minima for that class and altitude band, then check the minimum-height rule for the terrain below. If the track is 090° magnetic and the rule is quadrantal, the correct cruising level is an odd thousand plus 500 ft - 3,500 ft - not 3,000 ft. Read the stem for airspace class and altitude band before answering.