Regulations and Procedures: Flight Rules, Clearances and Documentation
Core concepts
This domain covers operational regulations: flight plan requirements, position reporting, fuel and alternate rules, and the distinction between VFR and IFR operations. Understand controlled vs uncontrolled airspace, clearance readback requirements, and the conditions under which a pilot may deviate from a clearance (emergency authority). Know the rules for carriage of passengers, dangerous goods, endurance/fuel planning, and records (journey log, technical log).
Traps
- Clearance is not a guarantee of separation in all cases; pilots retain responsibility for terrain and traffic see-and-avoid under VFR.
- Fuel questions: distinguish taxi fuel, trip fuel, reserve, contingency, alternate and final reserve; a common error is omitting the final reserve.
- Procedures for radio failure differ by airspace and meteorological conditions; know the standard actions.
- Emergency authority: the pilot-in-command may deviate to the extent necessary, but must report.
Worked example
Fuel planning: trip 90 min, contingency 5% of trip, alternate 20 min, final reserve 30 min, taxi 10 min. Total = 10 + 90 + 4.5 + 20 + 30 = 154.5 min. Rule of thumb: always add the final reserve last and never count it as usable for planning the trip.
Study tip
Write out the fuel ladder every practice question; it prevents the most common arithmetic trap.