Special VFR
Its Use and Abuse
Special VFR as defined in Part 1 of the Federal Air Regulations CFR14
Special VFR conditions mean meteorological conditions that are less than those required for basic VFR flight in controlled airspace and in which some aircraft are permitted flight under visual flight rules.
Special VFR operations means aircraft operating in accordance with clearances within controlled airspace in meteorological conditions less than the basic VFR weather minima. Such operations must be requested by the pilot and approved by ATC.
Sec. 91.157
Special VFR weather minimums.
(a) Except as provided in appendix D, section 3, of this part, special VFR operations may be conducted under the weather minimums and requirements of this section, instead of those contained in Sec. 91.155, below 10,000 feet MSL within the airspace contained by the upward extension of the lateral boundaries of the controlled airspace designated to the surface for an
airport.
(b) Special VFR operations may only be conducted--
(1) With an ATC clearance;
(2) Clear of clouds;
(3) Except for helicopters, when flight visibility is at least 1 statute mile; and
(4) Except for helicopters, between sunrise and sunset (or in Alaska, when the sun is 6 degrees or more below the horizon) unless--
(i) The person being granted the ATC clearance meets the applicable requirements for instrument flight under part 61 of this chapter; and
(ii) The aircraft is equipped as required in Sec. 91.205(d).
(c) No person may take off or land an aircraft (other than a helicopter) under special VFR--
(1) Unless ground visibility is at least 1 statute mile; or
(2) If ground visibility is not reported, unless flight visibility is at least 1 statute mile.
Special VFR started in the LA Basin (Santa Monica Airport) in the 1960s and has changed little over the years. The one major change is the requirement for the pilot to be instrument rated to be able to fly Special VFR at night.
Special VFR was never meant to allow a pilot to fly from the departure airport to a destination in Special VFR conditions.
If you look at the regulation it states that the clearance for a Special VFR is only valid for
airspace contained by the upward extension of the lateral boundaries of the controlled airspace designated to the surface for an airport.
What does this mean to you the pilot?
I means that if you want to get out of an airport like Santa Monica on a typical June Gloom day or on a day when the Smoke and Haze (Read SMOG) have reduced the visibility to below 3 miles you have a way of getting out of the airport and going on your way. But there are some considerations.
How far can you fly and how high can you go and still remain within the lateral boundaries of the controlled airspace designated to the surface for the airport. Well that is easy. In the case of Santa Monica airport just look and see where Class B airspace starts above the airport.
Why is that important?
Since you need a Special VFR Clearance to takeoff from a controlled airport if the ceiling is below 1000ft or the visibility is below 3 miles you must have the weather conditions appropriate for the type of airspace you will be flying into when you leave the Class D airspace.
Once you leave the Class D airspace in this case, you must have basic VFR weather minimums. Around the Los Angeles Basin Class E Airspace starts at 700ft up to the overlaying airspace. Class E requires 3 miles visibility and 1000ft above 500ft below and 2000ft horizontally from any clouds.
If you were entering Class G airspace below 700ft you would only need 1 mile visibility and clear of clouds. Above 700ft. you still only need 1 mile but you have to 1000ft above 500ft below and 2000ft horizontally from any clouds up to but not including 10,000ft.
See diagram below.
Sec. 91.155
Basic VFR weather minimums.
(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section and Sec. 91.157, no person may operate an aircraft under VFR when the flight visibility is less, or at a distance from clouds that is less, than that prescribed for the corresponding altitude and class of airspace in the following table:
clouds
Class A ------/ Not Applicable ------/ Not Applicable.
Class B ------/ 3 statute miles ------/ Clear of Clouds.
Class C ------/ 3 statute miles ------/ 500 feet below.
1,000 feet above.
2,000 feet horizontal.
Class D ------/ 3 statute miles ------/ 500 feet below.
1,000 feet above.
2,000 feet horizontal.
Class E:
Less than 10,000 feet MSL. / 3 statute miles ------/ 500 feet below.
1,000 feet above.
2,000 feet horizontal.
At or above 10,000 feet MSL. / 5 statute miles ------/ 1,000 feet below.
1,000 feet above.
1 statute mile horizontal.
Class G:
1,200 feet or less above the
surface (regardless of MSL
altitude). / /
Day, except as provided in
Sec. 91.155(b). / 1 statute mile ------/ Clear of clouds.
Night, except as provided in
Sec. 91.155(b). / 3 statute miles ------/ 500 feet below.
1,000 feet above.
2,000 feet horizontal.
More than 1,200 feet above the
surface but less than 10,000
feet MSL / /
Day ------/ 1 statute mile ------/ 500 feet below.
1,000 feet above.
2,000 feet horizontal.
Night ------/ 3 statute miles ------/ 500 feet below.
1,000 feet above.
2,000 feet horizontal.
More than 1,200 feet above the
surface and at or above
10,000 feet MSL. / 5 statute miles ------/ 1,000 feet below.
1,000 feet above.
1 statute mile horizontal.
(b) Class G Airspace. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of this section, the following operations may be conducted in Class G airspace below 1,200 feet above the surface:
(1) Helicopter. A helicopter may be operated clear of clouds if operated at a speed that allows the pilot adequate opportunity to see any air traffic or obstruction in time to avoid a collision.
[(2) Airplane, powered parachute, or weight-shift-control aircraft. If the visibility is less than 3 statute miles but not less than 1 statute mile during night hours and you are operating in an airport traffic pattern within one-half mile of the runway, you may operate an airplane, powered parachute, or weight-shift-control aircraft clear of clouds.]
(c) Except as provided in Sec. 91.157, no person may operate an aircraft beneath the ceiling under VFR within the lateral boundaries of controlled airspace designated to the surface for an airport when the ceiling is less than 1,000 feet.
(d) Except as provided in Sec. 91.157 of this part, no person may take off or land an aircraft, or enter the traffic pattern of an airport, under VFR, within the lateral boundaries of the surface areas of Class B, Class C, Class D, or Class E airspace designated for an airport--
(1) Unless ground visibility at that airport is at least 3 statute miles; or
(2) If ground visibility is not reported at that airport, unless flight visibility during landing or takeoff, or while operating in the traffic pattern is at least 3 statute miles.
(e) For the purpose of this section, an aircraft operating at the base altitude of a Class E airspace area is considered to be within the airspace directly below that area.
Now here is the situation
Santa Monica is reporting 1000ft overcast and 3 miles visibility.
Can you go VFR? Sure but where to? Once you leave the airport and climb out you have to maintain 1000ft above 500ft below and 2000ft horizontally from clouds.
You also have to maintain 1000ft above the highest obstacle with in a 2000ft horizontal radius. How can you do that under a 1000ft ceiling? You can’t so you probably should not go. If you were in Kansas out in the country you might be able to get away with it but not in the LA Basin.
Can you fly the pattern? Yes, but you must maintain 500ft below the clouds and that puts you at 500ft above the surface. That is arguably legal since you are in the process of taking off or landing and the altitudes above the surface do not apply. It is little shaky but arguably legal unless you consider the downwind to be cruising flight.
Can you get a Special VFR Clearance to depart?
No. The airport has to be below VFR minimums to do that. What do you do? You go study some more for your instrument rating.
Now what happens if there are scattered clouds at 500ft and visibility is 1 mile in haze? It is daytime so you get a Special VFR from the tower that says, “Cleared out of the Santa Monica Class D airspace to the West. Maintain Special VFR Condition while in Class D Airspace. Report VFR or Clear of Class D.” You do all that and after takeoff you realize that the haze goes up to outer space. Also you get to 4.8 miles away and you still have only 1 mile visibility. You must call, confess and comply. Tell the controller you can’t maintain basic VFR and request a return from you present location. He will give it to you. Remember your Special VFR Clearance is only good inside the Class D (in this case) up to the overlaying airspace.
Do you have to worry about other traffic? No. The controller has given you an exclusive lease on the airspace he controls and can’t allow another Special VFR or IFR operation while you are in it. Be very, very sure you can get to VFR or you will tie up the airspace until you are back on the ground or clear of it.
Transitions Through Class C and D Airspace
Ok you are going from Van Nuys (VNY) to Torrance (TOA) and Santa Monica is reporting 500ft overcast and 1 mile visibility. Tops of the overcast are at 1200ft. Can you go through Santa Monica airspace and do you need a Special VFR Clearance. Sure you can and no you don’t need an SVFR to do it. If you are below 2500ft above the surface you need an approval from the tower to transition Class D Airspace, just like you normally would but if you are at 3500ft you don’t need to call at all. You are in VFR conditions above the clouds. Even if LAX was solid overcast, if you are above the tops by at least 1000ft you are VFR and you may transit the Special Flight Rules Area (SFRA). No clearance or contact required. If Torrance were VFR than you would just call 5 miles out for a normal VFR approach to the field.
Tips for the Pilot
If the weather is below basic VFR weather minimums and the conditions are local or you can reach VFR conditions on your departure while maintaining one mile visibility and clear of clouds, there is an option that is open to you. If you have a solid overcast below 1000ft that extends out some distance beyond 5 Statute Miles, you might want to consider some other way of spending the day.
The controller MAY NOT suggest a special VFR clearance and the pilot has to request it. As mentioned by Jeff Clark, a real world BUR controller. The controllers may fudge a bit and ask if you have something special in mind. You have to come up with it.
At some airports in Class C or D Airspace, the tower closes at a certain hour in the evening. Well what do you do then?
It may or may not become Class E Surface Airspace.
To be a Class E Surface Airspace area you have to have basic VFR weather minimums just like any control-towered airport. Class E does not have a tower so what now. Remember that anywhere on the surface that requires a basic VFR weather condition has to have some way of measuring the conditions and reporting it. Usually the tower is the weather reporting agency but when the tower is closed what then.
If the field is served by a scheduled Air Carrier (Airline), the regulation for them requires that there be a weather observer on duty for all their operations. Usually it will be an airline employee that has received training and certification as a weather observer. If that person(s) is not on duty and the tower is closed and you don’t have any other weather observer on the field you cannot have Class E Airspace to the surface. Then the weather minimums go down to 1 mile and clear of clouds for Class G Airspace. You have to have someone observe the weather to report the weather and they have to be certified.
When there is weather observing and reporting at the field and it is below VFR minimums you can call the Radar Approach Control for that airport and request a Special VFR from them. If there is no Radar Approach Control, you should call the appropriate Flight Service Station for the airport and they can coordinate it with the controlling agency. On Vatsim you would call center.
The big thing is you must know the conditions surrounding the airport and what to expect when you leave the Class D/C/E Airspace. Don’t get caught running out of ideas, airspace and weather all at once.
What Does Special VFR Mean to the Controller
Special VFR means that you are operating in a different environment than you would normally on a nice sunny day.
You cannot just clear traffic for takeoff and landing and let them go on their way. You must issue a clearance that is similar to an IFR Clearance but by no means is it an IFR Clearance. You must get a release from the controlling agency for you departures. In real life this would be SOCAL Approach but if they were not on line on Vatsim it would be LA Center. You WILL NOT release a Special VFR (SVFR) without a Release Request if there is a Radar Service on above you when you are working a Class D Tower. Some Class C Towers have different procedures and we will cover those also.
Class D Tower SVFR Operations
Lets use Santa Monica as an example. This would also be the same for most Class D Towers in SOCAL.
The reason you must get a release from Approach Control is that you can only have one reduced weather operation within your airspace at one time. You may not have and IFR arrival or departure while an SVFR operation is in the air. You are not capable, at most Class D towers of providing radar separation. You must coordinate with approach.
Can you let someone work the pattern SVFR? Since you can only have one operation at a time the answer is “not likely”. You would have to coordinate with approach control for every takeoff and landing and that would be a real headache.
So the answer is NO. Only departures and arrivals should be allowed.
If you have a pilot calling inbound and wants a SVFR what do you do? You must again coordinate with the controlling radar facility to make sure you have the airspace. You must tell him to hold in VFR Conditions but in the case of reduced visibility you could have him hold directly over the airport in VFR conditions and when you get the airspace release form approach control you could have him descend in Special VFR Conditions and clear him to land from there. You don’t have to have him report runway insight. You just clear him to land. He won’t be following anybody since only one operation is allowed at a time under SVFR.
1