VFR
Transportation & Travel abbreviation · Aviation
| Stands for | Visual flight rules |
|---|---|
| Categories | Transportation & Travel |
VFR stands for Visual flight rules, an aviation abbreviation.
Regulations allowing a pilot to fly by looking outside, navigating by landmarks and avoiding other aircraft by sight. In most US controlled airspace below 10,000 feet, VFR flight requires at least 3 statute miles of visibility and set distances from clouds, typically 500 feet below and 1,000 feet above.
Example: The flight school canceled the VFR cross-country lesson after the ceiling dropped to 800 feet overcast.
Usage notes
The governing principle is "see and avoid": the pilot, not ATC, is responsible for separation. Weather minimums vary by airspace class. Inadvertent VFR flight into clouds is one of the deadliest scenarios in general aviation because untrained pilots quickly become spatially disoriented. In travel-industry jargon VFR also means "visiting friends and relatives," an unrelated usage.
Related abbreviations
More aviation abbreviations
- UAV – Unmanned aerial vehicle
- ULCC – Ultra-low-cost carrier
- UNICOM – Universal communications
- V1 – Takeoff decision speed
- V2 – Takeoff safety speed
- VASI – Visual approach slope indicator
- VMC – Visual meteorological conditions
- Vne – Never-exceed speed
- VOR – VHF omnidirectional range
- VORTAC – VOR combined with TACAN (tactical air navigation)
- VR – Rotation speed
- Vref – Reference landing speed