The Airfield: Structure, Traffic Rules and Procedures

1.4. Airspace

Applicable in Germany, landowners have not only the right to their land but also the right to the airspace above it and so every owner can prohibit the overflight. So rules are necessary, otherwise flying as we know it today would not be possible at all. The first rule is that the owner of the property can only decide about his airspace up to a height of 100m above the ground if nothing else has been determined. For everything that is higher, the landowner is deprived of his say by the state. (100m value applies to Germany, other states have similar rules)

The sky over Germany and everywhere else in the world is divided into zones and it requires permission to fly in these zones. A zone is clearly defined both in the area height and can also overlap with other zones. The definition is made by air traffic control and depends on things worthy of protection, such as industrial buildings or nature reserves as well as purpose.

There are certain requirements and traffic rules for the use of each individual airspace. Some can only be used under the Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) and for each airspace there is also a responsible airspace control (usually air traffic control e.g. by the controllers in the tower or radar room) which coordinates all aircraft movements within the zone. Each pilot must therefore make contact with the competent authority before entering an airspace. This alone means that a pilot cannot simply take off as he pleases.

Wide parts of the lower airspace are Class G and thus uncontrolled airspace, here roughly speaking everybody can fly "as he wants". However, an airfield is usually directly surrounded by a Class D airspace from the ground up and can therefore no longer be flown, taken off or landed without air traffic control permission. The controller in the tower is responsible for controlling this. He coordinates who takes off when and from where, so that there are no accidents.

This topic is very important for civil aviation, while military aviation usually takes place in a closed off airspace anyway. More about this later in theory for advanced users and especially X-Plane pilots.