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VFR cruising altitude rules in the US and Canada [ edit ] In the US, there are specific VFR cruising altitudes, based on the aircraft's course, to assist pilots in separating their aircraft while operating under visual flight above 3,000 ft above the surface (AGL) but below 18,000 ft Mean Sea Level (MSL).
The Canadian rules specify that an aircraft may be operated in VFR OTT flight during the cruise portion of the flight during the day, at a vertical distance from clouds of at least 1000 feet. When the aircraft is operated between two cloud layers, the vertical distance between the layers must be at least 5000 feet.
The rules governing airway routing cover altitude, airspeed, and requirements for entering and leaving the airway (see SIDs and STARs). Most airways are eight nautical miles (14 kilometers) wide, and the airway flight levels keep aircraft separated by at least 1000 vertical feet from aircraft on the flight level above and below.
Separation at cruising altitude (aircraft passing below). Air traffic controllers apply rules, known as separation minima, to do this. Pairs of aircraft to which these rules have been successfully applied are said to be separated: the risk of these aircraft colliding is therefore remote.
VFR over-the-top is different from VFR-on-top, in that VFR-on-top is an IFR clearance that allows the pilot to fly VFR altitudes, while VFR over-the-top is strictly a VFR operation in which the pilot maintains VFR cloud clearance requirements while operating on top of an undercast layer. [2]
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Flight levels [3] are described by a number, which is the nominal altitude, or pressure altitude, in hundreds of feet, and a multiple of 500 ft. Therefore, a pressure altitude of 32,000 ft (9,800 m) is referred to as "flight level 320". In metre altitudes the format is Flight Level xx000 metres.
A minimum off-route altitude (MORA) provides a quick way for an aircraft pilot to read the minimum altitude required for terrain and obstacle clearance. MORAs give at least 1,000 feet altitude clearance above terrain and obstacles such as radio masts , and 2,000 feet where the terrain and obstacles exceed 5,000 feet. [ 1 ]