The practice question gives you five miles of visibility, and you are ready to mark the flight as VFR. Pause before choosing an answer. How close is the aircraft to the clouds, and which airspace contains it? A visibility number by itself cannot settle both questions.
Use the following invented airplane scenario to practice a complete explanation. Keep aircraft altitude, cloud position and visibility on separate lines so that a comfortable-looking number does not hide a failed check elsewhere.
Choose the applicable row first
Assume the aircraft is in Class E below 10,000 feet MSL. For basic VFR, that row requires at least three statute miles flight visibility and cloud distances of 500 feet below, 1,000 feet above and 2,000 feet horizontally. The source is 14 CFR § 91.155, also presented in the FAA AIM weather table.
Write the airspace and altitude band before the numbers. That habit makes it easier to catch an answer copied from the wrong row. Our VFR weather minimums guide compares the other classes and altitude bands.
Test a passing visibility number against a failing distance
In this hypothetical example, flight visibility is five statute miles, the aircraft is at 3,200 feet MSL, and a uniform cloud base is at 3,600 feet MSL. Assume no other clouds are closer horizontally or above the aircraft.
The aircraft has 3,600 − 3,200 = 400 feet below the cloud. Visibility passes the selected row, but the distance below clouds fails. In your notes, give each check its own result rather than combining them into a single impression of “good weather.”
Now put the aircraft at 3,000 feet MSL while keeping every other assumption fixed. It is 600 feet below the cloud, so that one distance check passes. This arithmetic does not establish terrain clearance, a suitable cruising altitude or a safe route. It shows only what changed in the invented weather comparison.
Check the side of the cloud too
Replace the uniform layer with an isolated cloud. Suppose the aircraft is 700 feet below its base but only 1,500 feet horizontally from its side. Under our Class E assumptions, the horizontal distance fails even though the below-cloud distance passes.
Sketch the aircraft beside the cloud rather than underneath a straight line. Add arrows for below, above and horizontal separation. The drawing helps expose a common study mistake: answering every cloud question with the distance to the base.
Add the student pilot check
Student pilots acting as pilot in command must also meet 14 CFR § 61.89: at least three statute miles flight and surface visibility by day and five at night, visual reference to the surface, and the instructor's logbook limitations. A lower visibility figure in a basic Class G weather row does not override those student limitations.
Keep a separate line for your instructor's limits and personal margins. Ask your instructor to review how these checks apply to your stage of training rather than turning a table minimum into a target for a flight.
Try it in AirspaceLab
Use free flight with a weather preset to practice identifying the aircraft's position relative to clouds. State your assumptions, choose the airspace row, and explain each check before changing the scenario. Then try weather questions in ground school.
Sources checked: November 14, 2026. The worked scenarios are hypothetical basic-VFR airplane exercises; they do not cover special VFR or every surface-area restriction and exception.