Written question asked by Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Labour), in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 3 March 1997. It was answered by Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative) on Monday, 3 March 1997 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence

Question: What are the current weather minima for visual air-to-air training by Royal Air Force Tornado F3 aircraft at less than 5000 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.

Answer: Mr. Foulkes: To 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. Soames: The 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.

Secondary information