§ Mr. FoulkesTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the current weather minima for visual air-to-air training by Royal Air Force Tornado F3 aircraft at less than 5,000 feet above ground level, in terms of(a) discernibility of the horizon, (b) in-flight visibility, (c) cloud ceiling and (d) vertical and horizontal separation from cloud; and if he will list changes made to these criteria in the last five years. [17992]
§ Mr. SoamesThe current weather minima for visual air-to-air training by Royal Air Force Tornado F3 aircraft at less than 5,000 ft above ground level are that(a) there are clear visual meteorological conditions enabling pilots to orientate themselves; (b) there is a minimum in-flight visibility of 5,000 overland and 8,000 over sea; (c) any cloud base is no lower than 1,500 ft; and (d) the pilot is able to maintain 1,500 m horizontal and 1,000 ft vertical separation from cloud. There have been no changes to these criteria in the past five years.
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