469 

Federal Aviation Administration, DOT 

§ 135.211 

(1) Aircraft issued an original air-

worthiness certificate within the pre-
ceding 36 calendar months; and 

(2) Aircraft operated under a weight 

and balance system approved in the op-
erations specifications of the certifi-
cate holder. 

Subpart D—VFR/IFR Operating 

Limitations and Weather Re-
quirements 

§ 135.201 Applicability. 

This subpart prescribes the operating 

limitations for VFR/IFR flight oper-
ations and associated weather require-
ments for operations under this part. 

§ 135.203 VFR: Minimum altitudes. 

Except when necessary for takeoff 

and landing, no person may operate 
under VFR— 

(a) An airplane— 
(1) During the day, below 500 feet 

above the surface or less than 500 feet 
horizontally from any obstacle; or 

(2) At night, at an altitude less than 

1,000 feet above the highest obstacle 
within a horizontal distance of 5 miles 
from the course intended to be flown 
or, in designated mountainous terrain, 
less than 2,000 feet above the highest 
obstacle within a horizontal distance of 
5 miles from the course intended to be 
flown; or 

(b) A helicopter over a congested area 

at an altitude less than 300 feet above 
the surface. 

§ 135.205 VFR: Visibility requirements. 

(a) No person may operate an air-

plane under VFR in uncontrolled air-
space when the ceiling is less than 1,000 
feet unless flight visibility is at least 2 
miles. 

(b) No person may operate a heli-

copter under VFR in Class G airspace 
at an altitude of 1,200 feet or less above 
the surface or within the lateral bound-
aries of the surface areas of Class B, 
Class C, Class D, or Class E airspace 
designated for an airport unless the 
visibility is at least— 

(1) During the day—

1

⁄

2

mile; or 

(2) At night—1 mile. 

[Doc. No. 16097, 43 FR 46783, Oct. 10, 1978, as 
amended by Amdt. 135–41, 56 FR 65663, Dec. 
17, 1991] 

§ 135.207 VFR: Helicopter surface ref-

erence requirements. 

No person may operate a helicopter 

under VFR unless that person has vis-
ual surface reference or, at night, vis-
ual surface light reference, sufficient 
to safely control the helicopter. 

§ 135.209 VFR: Fuel supply. 

(a) No person may begin a flight op-

eration in an airplane under VFR un-
less, considering wind and forecast 
weather conditions, it has enough fuel 
to fly to the first point of intended 
landing and, assuming normal cruising 
fuel consumption— 

(1) During the day, to fly after that 

for at least 30 minutes; or 

(2) At night, to fly after that for at 

least 45 minutes. 

(b) No person may begin a flight op-

eration in a helicopter under VFR un-
less, considering wind and forecast 
weather conditions, it has enough fuel 
to fly to the first point of intended 
landing and, assuming normal cruising 
fuel consumption, to fly after that for 
at least 20 minutes. 

§ 135.211 VFR: Over-the-top carrying 

passengers: Operating limitations. 

Subject to any additional limitations 

in § 135.181, no person may operate an 
aircraft under VFR over-the-top car-
rying passengers, unless— 

(a) Weather reports or forecasts, or 

any combination of them, indicate that 
the weather at the intended point of 
termination of over-the-top flight— 

(1) Allows descent to beneath the 

ceiling under VFR and is forecast to re-
main so until at least 1 hour after the 
estimated time of arrival at that point; 
or 

(2) Allows an IFR approach and land-

ing with flight clear of the clouds until 
reaching the prescribed initial ap-
proach altitude over the final approach 
facility, unless the approach is made 
with the use of radar under § 91.175(i) of 
this chapter; or 

(b) It is operated under conditions al-

lowing— 

(1) For multiengine aircraft, descent 

or continuation of the flight under 
VFR if its critical engine fails; or