Welcome to Model Flying New Zealand Airspace Rules Training!
Civil Aviation Rule 101.12 states that anyone flying everything from a kite to a Model Aircraft is required to know what airspace they operate in, or be under the supervision of someone who does, and this article is designed to help members work out what airspace that is and what you can, and can’t, do in it.
The Basic Rules
1 – Maximum altitude is 400ft, or 120m, above ground level. Unless you are flying in a Danger Area or with a NOTAM in place advertising higher than 400ft. In Controlled Airspace you fly at whatever altitude Air Traffic Control has cleared you to. Be careful around AMSL referenced altitude (Above Mean Sea Level) which is shown on all the maps including Danger Areas and in NOTAMs, as it can differ greatly from AGL (Above Ground Level)
2 – Do not fly over people or property who have not given their consent. Model Flying New Zealand has some important “grandfathered” rights in the rules, which mean property and people permissions are not required in Danger Areas, or in areas used by us prior to 2015. However, good practice is ALWAYS to ensure you have permission from the property owner (or occupier) and there are very nearly zero reasons for an MFNZ member to be flying above people who have not given their consent.
3 – Maintain Line of Sight. This isn’t as simple as “can I see my model”, you also have to stay below the cloud base (or meteorological conditions that obstruct your view) and you have to maintain observation of the airspace the model is operating in. Imagine standing in the bottom of a valley and flying a model up that’s up at the crest… you can see the aircraft but not the airspace around it. You have to use a Mk1 eyeball for meeting the line of sight rule, glasses and contact lenses are fine, but no binoculars or night vision goggles! MFNZs CAR102 certificate allow Shielded Operations Beyond Visual Line of Sight, refer to the 102 operations manual if interested.
4 – Do not operate a model more than 15kg, or exceeding the power limits set by Category 3of the Large Model Code of Practice, without getting the model approved through our Large Model Program.
5 – Do not fly in Controlled Airspace without Air Traffic Control approval, unless flying as a Shielded Operation. Consent to fly within Controlled Airspace comes through Airshare or as a standing agreement with ATC.
6 – Do not fly in Military or Restricted Airspace without approval from the controlling authority.
7 – Do not fly in Low Flying Zones
8 – Do not fly at Night unless operating under the MFNZ CAR102 Night Operations privilege or if its being carried out as a Shielded Operation
9 – If flying within 4km of an Uncontrolled Aerodrome, unless Shielded with a Barrier, you need –
- Model Flying New Zealand Wings
- An Agreement with the Aerodrome Operator
- A Trained Observer
10 – If flying withing 4km of a Controlled Aerodrome, unless Shielded with a Barrier, you need –
- Model Flying New Zealand Wings
- Approval from Air Traffic Control (the same as Controlled Airspace above)
11 – Always give way to manned aircraft, “give way” doesn’t mean land, or stop flying, it means get out of the way! (and don’t get in the way in the first place!)
12 – Do not use Model Flying New Zealand Wings, or any of our documentation or procedures, for commercial purposes
13 – You must take all practicable steps to minimize hazards to persons, property, and other aircraft.
Note – Your specific Club may require further more than the basics above, such as observers for all Club sites as they deem necessary for reducing risk, however nothing in the Club rules should contradict Civil Aviation Rule 101, or Model Flying New Zealand CAR102 operations manual.
Airspace
The primary source for knowing what airspace you are operating in is the Visual Navigation Charts (commonly referred to as the VNCs). VNCs are a legal document, unlike resources like Airshare, and they are released every 12 months. More details can be found in the AIP and NOTAMs.
All altitudes shown on aviation charts are Above Mean Sea Level (AMSL) as these charts are designed for full size pilots referring to their altimeters set to sea level pressure.
NOTAMs that MFNZ request are often specified Above Ground Level (AGL) – as that is the reference when flying from our flying sites.
The VNCs are available as paper charts and in digital form from Aeropath however they are also available for free, digitally, using FlightAdvisor.
If you want to look up details about an aerodrome, or airspace, the place to do that is in the Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP)
- GEN 2.7 – Daylight Tables
- ENR 5.1-5.3 – Airspace Details (including contacts)
- Aerodrome Charts – Contact details and plates
Flight Advisor is a low level airspace tool for aviation safety, its provided by the New Zealand Defence Force, and allows users to log flights in uncontrolled airspace and inform each other of their operations. RNZAF uses Flight Advisor to inform other airspace users of their low level flights.
We encourage members to make use of the Flight Advisor, if even for simply checking airspace, if an MFNZ event is being planned.
In uncontrolled airspace, logging it on Flight Advisor is a great option for checking VNCs, NOTAMs and Flight Advisories (it does not display AIP Supplements)
Flight Advisor – Training Video
To fly in controlled airspace without being shielded we need Air Traffic Control (ATC) approval, this approval is normally applied for by using Airshare. Airshare sends an email to ATC showing your planned flight, and sends you an email with instructions to call ATC before and after your flight. ATC will line the flight plan submitted up with your request. Depending on ATC workload, you may require filing the approval request up to 24 hours ahead of time.
Unlike Flight Advisor, Airshare does provide some contact details for Aerodromes etc, but it does not contact them for you.
Airshare – Training Video
In uncontrolled airspace, there is no one for Airshare to contact, so logging your flight on Airshare does very little.
In uncontrolled airspace – Use Flight Advisor
In controlled airspace – Use Airshare
Visual Navigation Chart (VNC) key
Information Boxes
Information boxes on the VNCs are all organised in the same way, stick to this and you’ll figure it out!
What it is
M for Military, R for Restricted etc
Its name
South Head in this example
Its upper level
Set by NOTAM in this example, height is referenced Above Mean Sea Level (AMSL)
Its lower level
Surface (SFC) in this example
When its active
NOTAM – its activated by NOTAM in this example
Common Abbreviations
AIP – Aeronautical Information Publication www.aip.net.nz
AGL – Above Ground Level
AMSL – Above Mean Sea Level
ATC – Air Traffic Control
DAY – During the hours between Morning Civil Twilight (MCT) and Evening Civil Twilight (ECT) (see AIP GEN 2.7 and Time in Aviation)
FL – Flight Level. Its not quite as simple as this, but for our purposes FL200 = 20,000ft FL999 = 99,900ft
H24 – 24 Hours a day, 7 days a week
LLCA – Lower Level of Controlled Airspace (often used to describe the upper level of an airspace, in that it extends up until it hits the Lower Level of the Controlled Airspace above)
MOU – Memorandum of Understanding
NOTAM – NOTice to AirMan – The temporary change notification system, could be activating airspace, or setting altitudes etc.
OTHER – Go look it up in the AIP, normally a date range
SFC – Surface
VNC – Visual Navigation Chart
Changes to Airspace
Airspace isn’t static, it changes depending on whats going on, which means as well the VNCs we also need to check two other sources of information – The AIP Supplements and NOTAMs
The Supps
AIP Supplements (Supps) are part of the Aeronautical Information Publication, are available at www.aip.net.nz, in the lower right of the home page. AIP Supps are released approximately every month in a rolling change. Select the one that’s currently effective based on the date.
The Supps are used to inform pilots of longer term changes to airspace, things like activation of Restricted Airspace for planned gliding competitions etc.
Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) – Training Video
NOTAMs
NOTice to AirMen, or NOTAMs is a short term information system. It can be used to do things like activating various types of airspace or notification of hazards etc. NOTAMs are checked using IFIS, or the Internet Flight Information System, (www.ifis.airways.co.nz) under the briefing menu, Flight Advisor also displays NOTAMs visually and is easier to use
Internet Flight Information System (IFIS) – Training Video
Types of Airspace
So you checked the VNCs, Supps and NOTAMs, but what does it all mean?!
Uncontrolled Airspace
Uncontrolled airspace is the majority of New Zealand! There is no one in charge, nobody approves flying, and the onus to ensure everyone does what they are supposed to do is on the Pilot. That includes us.
Danger Areas – Dxxx
Shown on the VNC as a red line, and on Airshare in yellow
Danger Areas (DAs) are a type of airspace that warns of a danger happening within them, it can be anything from a quarry doing blasting to model aircraft flying. Anyone can fly in them, but they do warn of a danger.
All altitudes depicted are AMSL.
In the example given D224 is from the ground to 1000’AMSL… so if the ground at Aka Aka is 200’ AMSL – a model can fly up to 800’ AGL
DAs setup for model aircraft give modellers some useful advantages
- Increased Altitude of operations
- No requirement for people or property permissions (with caution)
Military Operating Areas – Mxxx
Shown on the VNC as a red line, and on Airshare in green
To fly in a MOA, you need permission from the military
Restricted Airspace – Rxxx
Shown on the VNC as a red line, and on Airshare in purple
To fly in Restricted airspace, you need permission from whomever is responsible for it.
Low Flying Zones – Lxxx
Shown on the VNC as a light blue line, and on Airshare in orange
Do not fly in LFZs, they are all setup exactly the same (which is why they dont have the usual information boxes), they all go from the Surface to 500ft and are all active during the Day.
Mandatory Broadcast Zones – Bxxx
Common Frequency Zones
Mandatory Broadcast Zones (MBZ) are shown on the VNC as dark blue dots, and not on Airshare
MBZ are setup where there is a high level of air traffic, buts its still uncontrolled, best practice is listen to a VHF airband radio on the MBZ frequency, however you are not required to.
Common Frequency Zones (CFZ) are shown on the VNC as dark blue diamonds and are not shown on Airshare
Similar to MBZs, but all they do is put all the air traffic in the area on the same frequency. Its still uncontrolled, treat it in the same manner as an MBZ
Controlled Airspace
Controlled Airspace (Known Controlled Zones (CTR) and Controlled Area (CTA))
Shown on the VNC as a dark blue line (CTR) and purple line (CTA), on Airshare CTRs are shown coloured purple and CTAs are not shown at all.
Controlled Zones are setup around Controlled Aerodromes, Controlled Areas are up above Controlled Zones and extend out wider and higher at each step. It is rare to find CTAs that are at surface level, but is possible around mountainous areas.
Controlled Airspace is looked after by Air Traffic Controller (ATC), their job is to make sure that all aircraft, including ours, are separated from each other.
To fly in Controlled Airspace, CTR or CTA, we can do it Shielded or with approval from ATC. That approval is normally gained by using Airshare (www.airshare.co.nz) or with a standing agreement a club may have with ATC.
Shields and Barriers
Shields are physical structures, natural or man made, for example a light pole or a tree, that manned aircraft are not expected to be within 100m of or below the height of. If flying within 100m, in any direction, of a Shield and Below the height of it you can fly in Controlled Airspace without ATC clearance or at Night
Barriers are physical structures that are capable of arresting the flight of a fly away model, an example would be a hill or a line of buildings. Barriers must be between the model and an aerodrome, and allow operations within 4km of an Aerodrome without Wings/Agreement/Approval/Observer if used in conjunction with a Shield.
Within 4km of an Aerodrome the Shield and Barrier can be the same, or separate, things. For example you could be 3.9km away from an Aerodromes boundary, within 100m of a tree, but 3 km closer towards the Aerodrome is a hill.
Time in Aviation
Aviation uses a standardised clock, called Universal Coordinated Time (UTC), which is the same refence point as GMT. This means that as planes fly around the world, they are all on the same clock, and it doesn’t change as the pass through time zones. All aviation documentation, unless it states otherwise, uses UTC as the clock.
If you see anytime referenced in an aviation document, that doesn’t specifically say NZST or NZFDT, it is un UTC. Resources such as NOTAMs are in UTC time.
In New Zealand we are either using –
- New Zealand Standard Time (NZST) UTC+1200, or
- New Zealand Daylight Time (NZDT) UTC+1300
So, if we see a time in UTC that is 1000 Hrs and we are in NZST (winter)
1000+1200 = 2200 or 10.00pm local
If it was Daylight Savings
1000+1300 = 2300 or 11.00pm local
If you come across a number thats bigger than 1200 its gets slightly more complex
1400+1200 = 2600 … which obviously makes little sense.
What’s happened is, we have gone past midnight and into the next day. New Zealand is 12 hours into the future, so the date has changed, take 2400 away to make it make sense.
2600-2400=0200 or 2.00am local
If it was 1/6/2023 1400UTC it becomes 2/6/2023 0200NZST
