Figure 1-16. Pilot Operating Handbooks from manufacturers.
Figure 1-17. Example of an Advisory Circular in its fifth revision.
• Standardize implementation of a regulation or
harmonize implementation for the international
aviation community
• Resolve a general misunderstanding of a regulation
• Respond to a request from some government entity,
such as General Accounting Office, NTSB, or the
Office of the Inspector General
• Help the industry and FAA effectively implement a
regulation
• Explain requirements and limits of an FAA grant
program
• Expand on standards needed to promote aviation
safety, including the safe operation of airports
There are three parts to an AC number, as in 25-42C. The
first part of the number identifies the subject matter area
of the AC and corresponds to the appropriate 14 CFR part.
For example, an AC on “Certification: Pilots and Flight and
Ground Instructors” is numbered as AC 61-65E. Since ACs
are numbered sequentially within each subject area, the
second part of the number beginning with the dash identifies
this sequence. The third part of the number is a letter assigned
by the originating office and shows the revision sequence if
an AC is revised. The first version of an AC does not have
a revision letter. In Figure 1-17, this is the fifth revision, as
designated by the “E.”
Flight Publications
The FAA, in concert with other government agencies,
orchestrates the publication and changes to publications
that are key to safe flight. Figure 1-18 illustrates some
publications a pilot may use.
,
ALAMO LANDING FLD(L92 ) 2 W UTC 8( 7DT) N37°21.7 5 W115 °11.6 7 LAS VEGAS
3719 NOTAM FILE RNO
RWY 14–32:5000X120 (DIRT)
RWY 14:Brush. RWY 32:Berm .
RWY 15–33:2500X7 0 (DIRT)
RWY 15:Berm . RWY 33:Berm .
AIRPORT REMARKS:Unattended . Uncontrolle d vehicle access. No line of sight between rwy ends. Rwys 15–33 and Rwy
14–32 livestock in vicinity of rwys.
COMMUNICATIONS: CTAF122.9
AUSTIN (TMT) 4 SW UTC 8( 7DT) N39°28.08 W117 °11.72 LAS VEGAS
5735 B NOTAM FILE RNO H–3C, L–9B
RWY 18–36:H6000X75 (ASPH) S–30 MIRL
RWY 18:REIL. PAPI(P2L)—GA 3.0 ° TCH 40 . RWY 36:REIL. PAPI(P2L)—GA 3.0 ° TCH 40 . Fence.
AIRPORT REMARKS:Unattended . Military acft opr in vicinity of arpt. ACTIVATE MIRL Rwy 18–36, PAPI Rwys 18 and 36,
REIL Rwy 18 and 36—CTAF.
WEATHER DATA SOURCES:AWOS–3PT 132.925 (775) 964–1144.
COMMUNICATIONS: CTAF122.9
RADIO AIDS TO NAVIGATION:NOTAM FILE RNO.
MINA (H) VORTAC115.1 MVA Chan 98 N38 °33.9 2 W118 °01.97 019° 66.7 NM to fld. 7860/17E.
HIWAS.
BATTLE MOUNTAIN(BAM) 3 SE UTC 8( 7DT) N40°35.94 W116 °52.46 SALT LAKE CITY
4536BS 4 FUEL 100LL, JET A NOTAM FILE RNO H–3C, L–9B, 11B
RWY 12–30:H7302X150 (ASPH) S–30 , D–104, 2S–132 MIRL IAP
RWY 03–21:H7299X150 (ASPH) S–30 , D–125, 2S–159 MIRL
RWY 03:VASI(V2R)—GA 3.0 ° TCH 26 .
RWY 21:PAPI(P4L)—GA 3.0 ° TCH 45 .
AIRPORT REMARKS:Attende d Oct–May 1500–0100 Z ‡, Jun–Sep
1500–0200 Z‡. After hrs call 775–635–2245. ACTIVATE MIRL Rwy
03–21 and Rwy 12–30 , and perimeter lgts H1—CTAF.
WEATHER DATA SOURCES:AWOS–3 119.45 (775) 635–8419.
COMMUNICATIONS: CTAF/UNICOM122.8
MT LEWIS RCO122.65 (RENO RADIO)
SALT LAKE CENTER APP/DEP CON132.25
RADIO AIDS TO NAVIGATION:NOTAM FILE RNO.
(H) VORTACW112.2 BAM Chan 59 N40 °34.15
W116 °55.34 033° 2.8 NM to fld. 4536/18E.
VORTAC unusable:
050°–060° byd 30 NM blo 12,000
115°–165° byd 15 NM blo 12,000
255°–290° byd 15 NM blo 12,000
DME unusable 246 °–255° byd 34 NM blo 14,000
••••••••••••••••
HELIPAD H1:H60X60 (CONC)
HELIPAD H2:H60X60 (CONC)
HELIPORT REMARKS:Rwy H1 perimeter lights. ACTIVATE MIRL Rwy 03–2 1 and Rwy 12–30 , and perimeter lgts
H1—CTAF.
542ADAVEN
Figure 1-18. From left to right, a sectional VFR chart, IFR chart, and chart supplement U.S. (formerly Airport/Facility Directory) with
a sample of a page from the supplement.
Pilot and Aeronautical Information
Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs)
Notices to Airmen, or NOTAMs, are time-critical aeronautical
information either temporary in nature or not sufficiently
known in advance to permit publication on aeronautical
charts or in other operational publications. The information
receives immediate dissemination via the National Notice to
Airmen (NOTAM) System. NOTAMs contain current notices
to airmen that are considered essential to the safety of flight,
as well as supplemental data affecting other operational
publications. There are many different reasons that NOTAMs
are issued. Following are some of those reasons:
• Hazards, such as air shows, parachute jumps, kite
flying, and rocket launches
• Flights by important people such as heads of state
• Closed runways
• Inoperable radio navigational aids
• Military exercises with resulting airspace restrictions
• Inoperable lights on tall obstructions
• Temporary erection of obstacles near airfields
• Passage of flocks of birds through airspace (a NOTAM
in this category is known as a BIRDTAM)
• Notifications of runway/taxiway/apron status with
respect to snow, ice, and standing water (a SNOWTAM)
• Notification of an operationally significant change in
volcanic ash or other dust contamination (an ASHTAM)
• Software code risk announcements with associated
patches to reduce specific vulnerabilities
NOTAM information is generally classified into four
categories: NOTAM (D) or NOTAMs that receive distant
dissemination, distant and Flight Data Center (FDC)
NOTAMs, Pointer NOTAMs, and Military NOTAMs
pertaining to military airports or NAVAIDs that are part of the
NAS. NOTAMs are available through Flight Service Station
(FSS), Direct User Access Terminal Service (DUATS),
private vendors, and many online websites.
NOTAM (D) Information
NOTAM (D) information is disseminated for all navigational
facilities that are part of the NAS, and all public use airports,
seaplane bases, and heliports listed in the Chart Supplement
U.S. (formerly Airport/Facility Directory). NOTAM (D)
information now includes such data as taxiway closures,
personnel and equipment near or crossing runways, and
airport lighting aids that do not affect instrument approach
criteria, such as visual approach slope indicator (VASI).
All D NOTAMs are required to have one of the following
keywords as the first part of the text: RWY, TWY, RAMP,
APRON, AD, OBST, NAV, COM, SVC, AIRSPACE, (U),
or (O). [Figure 1-19]
Keyword Example Meaning
RWY RWY 3/21 CLSD
TWY TWY F LGTS OTS
RAMP RAMP TERMINAL EAST SIDE
CONSTRUCTION
APRON APRON SW TWY C NEAR
HANGARS CLSD
AD AD ABN OTS
OBST OBST TOWER 283 (245 AGL) 2.2
S LGTS OTS (ASR 1065881) TIL
0707272300
NAV NAV VOR OTS
COM COM ATIS OTS
SVC SVC TWR 1215-0330
MON -FRI/1430-2300 SAT/1600-0100
SUN TIL 0707300100
SVC FUEL UNAVBL TIL 0707291600
SVC CUSTOMS UNAVBL TIL 0708150800
AIRSPACE AIRSPACE AIRSHOW ACFT
5000/BLW 5 NMR AIRPORT
AVOIDANCE ADZD WEF
0707152000-0707152200
U ORT 6K8 (U) RWY ABANDONED VEHICLE
O LOZ LOZ (O) CONTROLLED BURN OF
HOUSE 8 NE APCH END RWY 23 WEF
0710211300-0710211700
Runways 3 and 21 are closed to aircraft.
Taxiway F lights are out of service.
The ramp in front of the east side of the terminal has ongoing
construction.
The apron near the southwest taxiway C in front of the hangars
is closed.
Aerodromes: The airport beacon is out of service.
Obstruction: The lights are out of service on a tower that is 283 feet
above mean sea level (MSL) or 245 feet above ground level (AGL)
2.2 statute miles south of the field. The FCC antenna structure
registration (ASR) number is 1065881. The lights will be returned to
service 2300 UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) on July 27, 2007.
Navigation: The VOR located on this airport is out of service.
Communications: The Automatic Terminal information Service
(ATIS) is out of service.
Service: The control tower has new operating hours, 1215-0330
UTC Monday Thru Friday. 1430-2300 UTC on Saturday and
1600-0100 UTC on Sunday until 0100 on July 30, 2007.
Service: All fuel for this airport is unavailable until July 29, 2007,
at 1600 UTC.
Service: United States Customs service for this airport will not be
available until August 15, 2007, at 0800 UTC.
Airspace. There is an airshow being held at this airport with aircraft
flying 5,000 feet and below within a 5 nautical mile radius.
Avoidance is advised from 2000 UTC on July 15, 2007, until 2200
on July 15, 2007.
Unverified aeronautical information.
Other aeronautical information received from any authorized source
that may be beneficial to aircraft operations and does not meet
defined NOTAM criteria.
Figure 1-19. NOTAM (D) Information.
FDC NOTAMs
FDC NOTAMs are issued by the National Flight Data
Center and contain information that is regulatory in nature
pertaining to flight including, but not limited to, changes
to charts, procedures, and airspace usage. FDC NOTAMs
refer to information that is regulatory in nature and includes
the following:
• Interim IFR flight procedures:
1. Airway structure changes
2. Instrument approach procedure changes (excludes
Departure Procedures (DPs) and Standard
Terminal Arrivals (STARs)
3. Airspace changes in general
4. Special instrument approach procedure changes
• Temporary flight restrictions (discussed in Chapter 15):
1. Disaster areas
2. Special events generating a high degree of interest
3. Hijacking
• Flight restrictions in the proximity of the President
and other parties
• 14 CFR part 139 certificated airport condition changes
• Snow conditions affecting glide slope operation
• Air defense emergencies
• Emergency flight rules
• Substitute airway routes
• Special data
• U.S. Government charting corrections
• Laser activity
NOTAM Composition
NOTAMs contain the elements below from left to right in
the following order:
• An exclamation point (!)
• Accountability Location (the identifier of the
accountability location)
• Affected Location (the identifier of the affected facility
or location)
• KEYWORD (one of the following: RWY, TWY,
RAMP, APRON, AD, COM, NAV, SVC, OBST,
AIRSPACE, (U) and (O))
• Surface Identification (optional—this shall be the
runway identification for runway related NOTAMs,
the taxiway identification for taxiway-related
NOTAMs, or the ramp/apron identification for ramp/
apron-related NOTAMs)
• Condition (the condition being reported)
• Time (identifies the effective time(s) of the NOTAM
condition)
Altitude and height are in feet mean sea level (MSL) up to
17,999; e.g., 275, 1225 (feet and MSL is not written), and in
flight levels (FL) for 18,000 and above; e.g., FL180, FL550.
When MSL is not known, above ground level (AGL) will be
written (304 AGL).
When time is expressed in a NOTAM, the day begins at 0000
and ends at 2359. Times used in the NOTAM system are
universal time coordinated (UTC) and shall be stated in 10
digits (year, month, day, hour, and minute). The following
are two examples of how the time would be presented:
!DCA LDN NAV VOR OTS WEF
0708051600-0708052359
!DCA LDN NAV VOR OTS WEF
0709050000-0709050400
NOTAM Dissemination and Availability
The system for disseminating aeronautical information is
made up of two subsystems: the Airmen's Information System
(AIS) and the NOTAM System. The AIS consists of charts and
publications and is disseminated by the following methods:
Aeronautical charts depicting permanent baseline data:
• IFR Charts—Enroute High Altitude Conterminous U.S.,
Enroute Low Altitude Conterminous U.S., Alaska
Charts, and Pacific Charts
• U.S. Terminal Procedures—Departure Procedures
(DPs), Standard Terminal Arrivals (STARs) and
Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs)
• VFR Charts—Sectional Aeronautical Charts, Terminal
Area Charts (TAC), and World Aeronautical Charts
(WAC)
Flight information publications outlining baseline data:
• Notices to Airmen (NTAP)—Published by System
Operations Services, System Operations and Safety,
Publications, every 28 days)
• Chart Supplement U.S. (formerly Airport/Facility
Directory)
• Pacific Chart Supplement
• Alaska Supplement
• Alaska Terminal
• Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM)
NOTAMs are available in printed form through subscription
from the Superintendent of Documents, from an FSS, or
online at PilotWeb (www.pilotweb.nas.faa.gov), which
provides access to current NOTAM information. Local
airport NOTAMs can be obtained online from various
websites. Some examples are www.fltplan.com and www.
aopa.org/whatsnew/notams.html. Most sites require a free
registration and acceptance of terms but offer pilots updated
NOTAMs and TFRs.
Safety Program Airmen Notification System (SPANS)
In 2004, the FAA launched the Safety Program Airmen
Notification System (SPANS), an online event notification
system that provides timely and easy-to-assess seminar
and event information notification for airmen. The SPANS
system is taking the place of the current paper-based mail
system. This provides better service to airmen while reducing
costs for the FAA. Anyone can search the SPANS system
and register for events. To read more about SPANS, visit
www.faasafety.gov/spans.
Aircraft Classifications and Ultralight
Vehicles
The FAA uses various ways to classify or group machines
operated or flown in the air. The most general grouping uses
the term aircraft. This term is in 14 CFR 1.1 and means a
device that is used or intended to be used for flight in the air.
Ultralight vehicle is another general term the FAA uses.
This term is defined in 14 CFR 103. As the term implies,
powered ultralight vehicles must weigh less than 254 pounds
empty weight and unpowered ultralight vehicles must
weigh less than 155 pounds. Rules for ultralight vehicles
are significantly different from rules for aircraft; ultralight
vehicle certification, registration, and operation rules are also
contained in 14 CFR 103.
The FAA differentiates aircraft by their characteristics and
physical properties. Key groupings defined in 14 CFR 1.1
include:
• Airplane—an engine-driven fixed-wing aircraft
heavier than air, that is supported in flight by the
dynamic reaction of the air against its wings.
• Glider—a heavier-than-air aircraft, that is supported
in flight by the dynamic reaction of the air against its
lifting surfaces and whose free flight does not depend
principally on an engine.
• Lighter-than-air aircraft—an aircraft that can rise and
remain suspended by using contained gas weighing
less than the air that is displaced by the gas.
- Airship—an engine-driven lighter-than-air
aircraft that can be steered.
- Balloon—a lighter-than-air aircraft that is not
engine driven, and that sustains flight through the
use of either gas buoyancy or an airborne heater.
• Powered-lift—a heavier-than-air aircraft capable of
vertical takeoff, vertical landing, and low speed flight
that depends principally on engine-driven lift devices
or engine thrust for lift during these flight regimes and
on nonrotating airfoil(s) for lift during horizontal flight.
• Powered parachute—a powered aircraft comprised of
a flexible or semi-rigid wing connected to a fuselage
so that the wing is not in position for flight until
the aircraft is in motion. The fuselage of a powered
parachute contains the aircraft engine, a seat for each
occupant and Is attached to the aircraft's landing gear.
• Rocket—an aircraft propelled by ejected expanding
gases generated in the engine from self-contained
propellants and not dependent on the intake of outside
substances. It includes any part which becomes
separated during the operation.
• Rotorcraft—a heavier-than-air aircraft that depends
principally for its support in flight on the lift generated
by one or more rotors.
- Gyroplane—a rotorcraft whose rotors are not
engine-driven, except for Initial starting, but
are made to rotate by action of the air when
the rotorcraft Is moving; and whose means of
propulsion, consisting usually of conventional
propellers, is Independent of the rotor system.
- Helicopter—a rotorcraft that, for its horizontal
motion, depends principally on its engine-driven
rotors.
• Weight-shift-control—a powered aircraft with a framed
pivoting wing and a fuselage controllable only in pitch
and roll by the pilot's ability to change the aircraft’s
center of gravity with respect to the wing. Flight control
of the aircraft depends on the wing's ability to flexibly
deform rather than the use of control surfaces.
Size and weight are other methods used in 14 CFR 1.1 to
group aircraft:
• Large aircraft—an aircraft of more than 12,500
pounds, maximum certificated takeoff weight.
• Light-sport aircraft (LSA)—an aircraft, other than
a helicopter or powered-lift that, since its original
certification, has continued to meet the definition in
14 CFR 1.1. (LSA can include airplanes, airships,
balloons, gliders, gyro planes, powered parachutes,
and weight-shift-control.)
• Small Aircraft—aircraft of 12,500 pounds or less,
maximum certificated takeoff weight.
We also use broad classifications of aircraft with respect to
the certification of airmen or with respect to the certification
of the aircraft themselves. See the next section, Pilot
Certifications, and Chapter 3, for further discussion of
certification. These definitions are in 14 CFR 1.1:
• Category
1. As used with respect to the certification, ratings,
privileges, and limitations of airmen, means a
broad classification of aircraft. Examples include:
airplane; rotorcraft; glider; and lighter-than-air;
and
2. As used with respect to the certification of
aircraft, means a grouping of aircraft based upon
intended use or operating limitations. Examples
include: transport, normal, utility, acrobatic,
limited, restricted, and provisional.
• Class
1. As used with respect to the certification, ratings,
privileges, and limitations of airmen, means a
classification of aircraft within a category having
similar operating characteristics. Examples
Include: single engine; multiengine; land; water;
gyroplane, helicopter, airship, and free balloon;
and
2. As used with respect to the certification of
aircraft, means a broad grouping of aircraft having
similar characteristics of propulsion, flight, or
landing. Examples include: airplane, rotorcraft,
gilder, balloon, landplane, and seaplane.
• Type
1. As used with respect to the certification, ratings,
privileges, and limitations of airmen, means