Five horizontal bands of blue (top), white, red (double width), white, and blue, with the coat of arms in a white elliptical disk placed toward the hoist side of the red band. Costa Rica retained the earlier blue-white-blue flag of Central America until 1848 when, in response to revolutionary activity in Europe, it was decided to incorporate the French colors into the national flag and a central red stripe was added. Today the blue color is said to stand for the sky, opportunity, and perseverance, white denotes peace, happiness, and wisdom, while red represents the blood shed for freedom, as well as the generosity and vibrancy of the people.

Flag courtesy of the CIA World Factbook

Map courtesy of Wikipedia

Google Earth

Volcano Arenal, seen here from the town of La Fortuna, was dormant for hundreds of years until it suddenly erupted in 1968. It remained active, off and on, for decades, but has been relatively quiescent since 2010, with only occasional rumbles.

Photo courtesy of the CIA World Factbook

Government

According to Britannica, Costa Rica is governed by its constitution of November 1949, the 10th in its history. A president, two vice presidents, and a unicameral Legislative Assembly are elected at the same time for a term of four years, the assembly by proportional representation. Presidents may not run for immediate reelection, though they are eligible to serve again after sitting out two successive presidential terms. Since the adoption of the constitution of 1949, Costa Rica has given an unusual degree of power to autonomous agencies, including state-financed universities and regional development institutes such as the National Insurance Institute, the Social Security Institute, and the Costa Rica Tourist Institute. These agencies provide additional opportunity for participation in government, but because of powers independent of the central administration they have made central planning more challenging.

The country’s seven provinces are administered by governors appointed by the president. The provinces represent judicial and electoral jurisdictions; most government agencies with their own administrative branches may not account for provincial boundaries. Each province is divided into cantones (cantons), and each canton is divided into distritos (districts). Councilmen for the cantons are elected locally, but budgets for all political units are approved by the national government, which controls nearly all the funds available to local governments.

In the Costa Rican system of justice, cases may be decided by a single judge or by a panel of judges; the jury system is not used, but the courts are generally noted for their fairness. Capital punishment is banned, and sentences to the penitentiary must be for a stated number of years. The highest court is the Supreme Court of Justice. Magistrates of the Supreme Court are chosen by the assembly for eight-year terms and automatically continue for a second eight-year term unless removed by a two-thirds vote. An independent Supreme Electoral Tribunal, which has extraordinary powers during elections, oversees the election process.

General Directorate of Civil Aviation

The General Directorate of Civil Aviation is dedicated to the planning, regulation, provision, and promotion of civil aviation activity in Costa Rica. Through their Quality Management System, they are committed to:

– Guarantee the operational safety and sustainable development of the civil aeronautical activity of Costa Rica.

– Comply with national and international regulations applicable to their operations.

– Satisfy the requirements of the users and the processes incorporated into the Management System.

– Seek efficiency through the continuous improvement of their Management System.

Airspace

SkyVector – Google Maps – ADS-B Exchange

ICAO countries publish an Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP). This document is divided into three parts: General (GEN), En Route (ENR) and Aerodromes (AD). ENR 1.4 details the types of airspace classes they chose to adopt from classes A through G.

Costa Rica Airspace (eAIP)

COCESNA

The Central American Corporation for Air Navigation Services (COCESNA) is an International Organization for Central American Integration, non-profit and public service, with legal status and financial autonomy, created on February 26, 1960 and governed by a Board of Directors, which it is constituted in its highest collegiate body, which is made up of the representatives of the signatory States of its Constitutive Agreement; established with well-defined objectives and purposes to respond and jointly comply with civil aviation international commitments contracted as signatory countries of the Convention on International Civil Aviation of 1944, known as the Chicago Convention. In that order, COCESNA enjoys the exclusive rights to provide Air Traffic, Aeronautical Telecommunications and Radio Assistance services in the territories of the Member States and other services established in the regional plans that have been entrusted to it by the Contracting Parties. under an international agreement. Its operations are fundamentally based on the Standards and Methods recommended by the ICAO. The adherence to the established norms and the search for excellence constitute COCESNA’s fundamental objectives.

As a result of the notable progress in aviation at the end of the 1950s, especially with the entry into service of jet aircraft, the need to modernize and strengthen the region’s air navigation services was valued, for which, in the month November 1959, a meeting with the Directors was held in Guatemala. Generals of Civil Aeronautics of Central America at that time, within which it was agreed to convene a Diplomatic Conference aimed at establishing a specialized regional organization, with the necessary human and financial resources to meet these modern requirements, as well as to unify and coordinate regional intergovernmental efforts and actions that would benefit the users of these services. Therefore, from February 22 to 26, 1960, the V Conference of Directors of Civil Aeronautics was held in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, signing the guidelines of the Central American Corporation of Air Navigation Services -COCESNA, thus marking the beginning of its existence and operation. Consequently and by virtue of its nature, on February 1, 1961, its Constitutive Agreement was registered with the International Civil Aviation Organization – ICAO and on January 2, 1962 with the United Nations (UN). During the year 1963, COCESNA acquires the official recognition of the States of the Central American isthmus, through decrees and laws that ratified its Constitutive Agreement issued by the Legislative Assemblies of each Member State. Costa Rica is a member state of COCESNA.

Drone Regulations

UAS Regulations can be seen on the General Directorate of Civil Aviation website.

You can find restrictions near airports and information on drone registration via an online portal.

Available documents include:

Appendix A1 DO RPAS Formal Application Commercial Operations

Appendix A2 DO RPAS Formal Application Non-Commercial Operations

Appendix B1 DO RPAS CO Operating Qualifications and Specifications

Appendix B2 DO RPAS Operating Conditions and Limitations

Appendix C DO RPAS Limitations on Operation

Appendix D of RPAS System Technical Characteristics

Appendix E DO UAS Operations Manual

Appendix F DO RPAS Operational Safety in the Operation of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems

Appendix G DO RPAS Test Flights

Appendix H of the RPAS Maintenance Program

Appendix I DO RPAS Theoretical and Practical Course

Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) Regulations & Policies

None found by the author.

However, should you, the reader, happen to stumble across something to the contrary, please email the author at FISHE5CA@erau.edu and you may be mentioned in the ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS section of this book by way of thanks for contributing to this free eBook!

Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) News

2025

Video courtesy of Advanced Air Mobility Institute from the January 2025 Global AAM Forum. Complete session for Day 3 of this Forum is available on the Advanced Air Mobility Institute YouTube Channel

2024 – EHang´s EH216-S Pilotless eVTOL Successfully Completed Its Debut Flight in Latin America

Short Essay Questions