Aviation encompasses all the activities relating to airborne devices created by human ingenuity, generally known as aircraft. These activities include the organizations and regulatory bodies as well as the personnel related with the operation of aircraft and the industries involved in airplane manufacture, development, and design.

Civil Aviation

Civil aviation includes all non-military flying, both general aviation and scheduled air transport.

Air Transport

An airline provides air transport services for passengers or freight, generally with a recognized operating certificate or license. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit.

Airlines vary from those with a single airplane carrying mail or cargo, through full-service international airlines operating many hundreds of airplanes. Airline services can be categorized as being intercontinental, intracontinental, or domestic and may be operated as scheduled services or charters.

General Aviation

General aviation includes all non-scheduled civil flying, both private and commercial. General aviation may include business flights, air charter, private aviation, flight training, ballooning, parachuting, gliding, hang gliding, aerial photography, foot-launched powered hang gliders, air ambulance, crop dusting, charter flights, traffic reporting, police air patrols and forest fire fighting.

Each country regulates aviation differently, but general aviation usually falls under different regulations depending on whether it is private or commercial and on the type of equipment involved.

Most countries have authorities that oversee all civil aviation, including general aviation, adhering to the standardized codes of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Examples include the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in Great Britain, the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (LBA) in Germany, Transport Canada in Canada, Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in India and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the United States. Since it includes both non-scheduled commercial operations and private operations, with aircraft of many different types and sizes, and pilots with a variety of different training and experience levels, it is not possible to make blanket statements about the regulation or safety record of general aviation. At one extreme, in most countries business jets and large cargo jets face most of the same regulations as scheduled air transport and fly mostly to the same airports. Commercial bush flying and air ambulance operations normally do not operate under as heavy a regulatory burden, and often only use small airports or off-airport strips, where there is less governmental oversight. Nonetheless they must obey the same regulations as any other type of flying.

Aviation accident rate statistics are necessarily estimates. According to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, in 2005 general aviation in the United States (excluding charter) suffered 1.31 fatal accidents for every 100,000 hours of flying in that country, compared to 0.016 for scheduled airline flights. In Canada, recreational flying accounted for 0.7 fatal accidents for every 100,000 hours, while air taxi accounted for 1.0 fatal accident for every 100,000 hours.

Military Aviation

The Canadian Forces (CF) (French: Forces canadiennes [FC]) are the unified armed forces of Canada, governed by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."

More about Canadian and other Military communications will be under a seperate page. Please click Military on the top menu.

Canadian Domestic Airspace

Canadian airspace is the region of navigable airspace above the surface of the Earth that falls within a region roughly defined by the Canadian land mass, the Canadian arctic, the Canadian archipelago, and areas of the high seas. Airspace is managed by Transport Canada and detailed information regarding exact dimensions and classification is available in the Designated Airspace Handbook which is published every fifty-six days by NAV CANADA.

Canadian Domestic Airspace

Canadian Domestic Airspace includes all of Canada and extends out over the Pacific, Arctic, and Atlantic Oceans. It is broadly divided into the Northern Domestic Airspace (NDA) and the Southern Domestic Airspace (SDA).

There are three main differences between the two areas. Most importantly, the NDA is designated as a "standard pressure" region while the SDA is an "altimeter setting" region. This means that pilots operating in the SDA will calibrate their altimeter to atmospheric pressure according to information available at airports and through weather services. Conversely, in the NDA, pilots calibrate their altimeters to 29.92 inches of mercury (1013 hPa) regardless of the actual atmospheric pressure. This is done because weather information is not available for all areas of the far north, so it is better that all pilots use a standard setting in order to avoid collisions.

Another major difference between the NDA and SDA is that magnetic declination is not used in the NDA. Because the magnetic north pole is in the NDA, magnetic declinations are very large; sometimes even 180°! This is further complicated by the fact that magnetic north moves approximately 200 miles (320 km) in an elliptical path every day. For these reasons, "true" headings are always used in the NDA while magnetic headings are frequently used in the SDA for convenience.

The final difference between the NDA and the SDA has to do with the location of Class A airspace in each region

Airspace Classes

There are seven classes of airspace in Canada, and each is designated by a letter (A through G).

• Class A airspace exists exclusively between FL180 and FL600. In the SDA, it begins at 18,000. However, in the NDA it does not. The NDA is divided into two Control Areas: the Arctic Control Area (ACA) and the Northern Control Area (NCA). In the NCA, Class A airspace extends upwards from FL230, and FL 270 (formerly 280) in the ACA. The airspace between FL180 and the beginning Class A airspace is designated Class G airspace.
  • For entry into Class A airspace, an aircraft needs a functional Mode C transponder and an IFR clearance.

• Class B airspace is any controlled airspace between 12,500 ft. and 18,000 ft. Occasionally, Class B airspace exists in other locations, though this is unusual.
  • For entry into Class B airspace, an aircraft needs a functional Mode C transponder and either an IFR or a CVFR (Controlled VFR) clearance.

• Class C airspace is usually a control zone (CZ) for a large airport. These areas usually have a 10 nautical mile radius and a height of 3,000 ft. AAE.
  • For entry into a Class C control zone, an aircraft needs a functional Mode C transponder and an ATC clearance.

• Class D airspace is usually a control zone for smaller airports or aerodromes that has a 5 nautical mile radius and a height of 3,000 ft. AAE. Airports in extremely busy airspace may have only a 3 nautical mile radius control zone.
  • For entry into a Class D control zone, an aircraft needs to contact ATC. Some Class D control zones require transponders, and NORDO flight is not permitted at night in a Class D zone.

• Class E airspace is used for low-level flight routes and for aerodromes with very little traffic. ATC is available, but is not required. Some Class D control zones change to Class E at night if the control tower shuts down.
  • Any aircraft may fly in Class E airspace.

• Class F airspace is restricted. Any Class F zone will be designated either CYR, CYD, or CYA. CYR stands for restricted, CYD means danger (usually used for CYR areas over international waters), and CYA stands for advisory. CYA zones will also have a letter identifying the type of activity in the zone: A - aerobatics, F - aircraft testing, H - hang gliding, M - military, P - parachuting, S - soaring, T - training.
  • For entry into a CYR or CYD zone, an aircraft needs the permission of the operating authority. Pilots may enter CYA zones at their discretion, but are encouraged to avoid them unless taking part in the activity.

• Any airspace that is not designated is Class G airspace. This airspace is uncontrolled, and ATC is not usually available (though exceptions are made).
  • Any aircraft may fly in Class G airspace.