Virginia Administrative Code › Title 24 - TRANSPORTATION AND MOTOR VEHICLES › Agency 5 - VIRGINIA AVIATION BOARD › Chapter 20 - REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE LICENSING AND OPERATION OF AIRPORTS AND AIRCRAFT AND OBSTRUCTIONS TO AIRSPACE IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA › Part I - Definitions › Section 24VAC5-20-10 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
Words or terms defined in §
										5.1-1 of the Code of Virginia are
					 incorporated by reference. The following words and terms when used in this
					 chapter shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates
					 otherwise:
"Aircraft" means any contrivance now known or hereafter
					 invented that is controlled, used, and usually occupied by a person for the
					 purpose of navigation and transportation through the air, excepting "hang
					 glider" as defined in §
										5.1-1 of the Code of Virginia.
					 Commonly recognized names for aircraft include, planes, helicopters, seaplanes,
					 ultralights, and hot air balloons.
"Airline" means an air carrier operation under Federal
					 Aviation Regulations 14 CFR Part 119, 14 CFR Part 121, 14 CFR Part 129, or 14
					 CFR Part 135 providing scheduled passenger service.
"Airport sponsor" means an entity that is legally,
					 financially, and otherwise able to assume and carry out the certifications,
					 representations, warranties, assurances, covenants, and other obligations
					 required for an airport.
"Antique aircraft" means any aircraft constructed by the
					 original manufacturer, or the manufacturer's licensee, on or before December
					 31, 1945.
"Approach surface" means a surface longitudinally centered
					 on the extended runway centerline and extending outward and upward. An approach
					 surface is applied to each end of each runway.
"Aviation" means activities and infrastructure related to
					 transportation by air, including (i) the operation, construction, repair, or
					 maintenance of aircraft, aircraft power plants, and accessories; (ii) the
					 establishment, design, construction, extension, operation, improvement, repair,
					 or maintenance of airports or landing areas; and (iii) navigable airspace,
					 other air navigation facilities, and air instruction.
"Commercial operator" means a person, except an airline,
					 who operates any aircraft for the purpose of rental or charter or for other
					 purposes from which revenue is derived.
"Contract carrier permit" means a permit issued by the
					 department to contract carriers operating under Federal Aviation Regulations 14
					 CFR Part 61, 14 CFR Part 135, or 14 CFR Part 141 for transport of passengers or
					 freight on demand by air. Owners of aircraft who contract to provide flight
					 instruction in their aircraft for profit are required to have a contract
					 carrier permit.
"Day/VFR Use Only License" means a conditional airport
					 license issued with the restriction that operations at the airport can only
					 occur between sunrise and sunset and only under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) for
					 the purpose of allowing continuing operations at an airport that is not in
					 compliance with the minimum requirement for approach surfaces.
"Department" means the Virginia Department of
					 Aviation.
"Effective runway length" means the distance from the
					 point at which the obstruction clearance plane associated with the approach end
					 of the runway intersects the centerline of the runway and the far end
					 thereof.
"Hazard" means a fixed or mobile structure or object,
					 natural growth, or use of land that obstructs the airspace required for the
					 flight of aircraft in landing or taking off at an airport or is otherwise
					 hazardous to the landing or taking off of aircraft.
"Helipad" means a small designated area, usually with a
					 prepared surface, on an airport, heliport, landing/takeoff area, apron/ramp, or
					 movement area used for the takeoff, landing, or parking of helicopters.
"Heliport" means (i) an identifiable area on land, water,
					 or structure, including a building or facilities thereon, used or intended to
					 be used for the landing and takeoff of helicopters or other rotorcraft or (ii)
					 appurtenant areas that are used, or intended for use, for heliport buildings or
					 other heliport facilities including rights-of-way, easements, and all heliport
					 buildings and facilities located thereon.
"Noncommercial dealer" means a person who owns and offers
					 for sale a minimum of three aircraft during any consecutive 12-month period,
					 which aircraft are not used for personal use, rental, charter, or for a purpose
					 from which revenue is derived.
"Obstacle" means a fixed or mobile object that interferes
					 with the situating or operation of navigational aids or that may control the
					 establishment of instrument procedures. An obstacle could be located on an area
					 intended for the ground movement of aircraft or would extend above the approach
					 surfaces intended to protect aircraft in flight or the runway object free
					 area.
"Obstruction" means an object, obstacle, or structure that
					 penetrates the approach surfaces or runway object free area at an aircraft
					 landing area. The obstruction may be man-made or of natural growth, including
					 trees.
"Obstruction clearance plane" means a plane sloping upward
					 from the runway at a slope meeting the appropriate requirements to clear all
					 obstructions within a specified area as shown in a profile view of that
					 area.
"Private-Use Landing Area License" means a license issued
					 for a facility not open for public use, including airports, heliports,
					 helipads, and seaplane bases, that is within five nautical miles of a licensed
					 public-use airport, in accordance with §
										5.1-7 of the Code of
					 Virginia.
"Runway" means a rectangular surface area that may be
					 turf, paved, or water course that is designed specifically for the purpose of
					 approaching and landing and taking-off and departing of aircraft.
"Runway object free area" means an imaginary area centered
					 on the runway centerline that is clear of aboveground objects protruding above
					 the runway centerline, except for allowable objects necessary for air
					 navigation or aircraft ground maneuvering purposes.
"Runway safety area" means a rectangular area symmetrical
					 about the runway centerline, which includes the runway, runway shoulders, and
					 safety overruns, if present. The portion abutting the edge of the runway
					 shoulders, runway ends, and safety overruns is cleared, drained, graded, and
					 usually turfed. Under normal conditions, the runway safety area is capable of
					 supporting snow removal, firefighting, and rescue equipment and of
					 accommodating the occasional passage of aircraft without causing major damage
					 to the aircraft.
"Safety overrun'' or "stopway" means an area beyond the
					 takeoff runway, no less wide than the runway and centered upon the extended
					 centerline of the runway, able to support an aircraft during an aborted takeoff
					 without causing structural damage to the aircraft and designated by the airport
					 authorities for use in decelerating the aircraft during an aborted
					 takeoff.
"Seaplane base" means an area of water used or intended to
					 be used for the landing and takeoff of aircraft, together with appurtenant
					 shoreside buildings and facilities.
"Structure" means (i) a man-made object, including a
					 mobile object, constructed or erected by man, including buildings, towers,
					 cranes, smokestacks, earth formations, overhead transmission lines, flag poles,
					 and ship masts or (ii) natural objects, including trees.
"Threshold" means the beginning of that portion of the
					 runway identified for the landing of aircraft. A threshold may be displaced, or
					 moved down the runway, to provide for adequate safety provisions.
"UAS" means unmanned aircraft system.
"Ultralight" means an aircraft that (i) is used or
					 intended to be used for manned operation in the air by a single occupant; (ii)
					 is used or intended to be used for recreation and sport purposes only; (iii)
					 does not have a United States or foreign air worthiness certificate; (iv)
					 weighs less than 254 pounds empty weight, excluding floats and safety devices
					 that are intended for deployment in a potentially catastrophic situation; (v)
					 has a fuel capacity not exceeding five United States gallons; and (vi) is not
					 capable of more than 55 knots calibrated airspeed at full power in level flight
					 and has a power-off stall speed that does not exceed 24 knots calibrated
					 airspeed.
"Unmanned aircraft" means an aircraft that is operated
					 without the possibility of human intervention from within or on the
					 aircraft.
Statutory Authority: §§
												5.1-2.2 and
						5.1-2.15 of the Code of
						Virginia.