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Instrument rating · ACS IR.II.C · lesson pack

Instrument Flight Deck Check

Why this one matters

Instruments that fail on the ground are easy to catch and cost nothing but a delay. The same failures found in cloud cost much more. A deliberate instrument check before every IFR departure is how a pilot makes sure the airplane can do what the flight will ask.

1 · Know these cold

  • •Inspections: the annual (and 100-hour if used for hire); the ELT within 12 calendar months, with its battery date; the altimeter, static system and altitude reporting within 24 calendar months for IFR in controlled airspace; the transponder within 24 calendar months to use it at all; and a VOR check within 30 days if you'll use the VOR under IFR.(14 CFR 91.171, 91.207, 91.409, 91.411, 91.413)
  • •IFR equipment adds to the VFR list: a two-way radio and navigation equipment for the route, a gyro rate-of-turn indicator, a slip-skid indicator, a sensitive altimeter, a clock with hours, minutes and seconds, a generator or alternator, an attitude indicator and a heading indicator.(14 CFR 91.205(d))
  • •Inoperative equipment without an MEL: it must not be required by the VFR-day type certificate, the equipment list or KOEL, 91.205 or another rule for the flight, or an AD; then it is removed (with a maintenance record) or deactivated and placarded "Inoperative", and a pilot or mechanic judges it no hazard. Equipment 91.205(d) requires for IFR can't be deferred and still flown IFR.(14 CFR 91.213(d))
  • •Taxi checks: turn coordinator shows the turn and the ball moves the other way; heading indicator and compass agree; attitude indicator stable and level.(Instrument Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-15B))
  • •Altimeter set to the local setting should read within 75 feet of field elevation. If not, have it checked before IFR.(Instrument Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-15B))
  • •Charts and the navigator database must be current for the flight.(AIM, Chapter 1 (navigation aids, GPS and WAAS))

2 · The lesson

Is it legal for IFR?
  • Check the logbooks: annual, 100-hour if applicable, the ELT (12 calendar months, battery replaced after more than 1 cumulative hour of use or at 50% of its life), the altimeter, static system and altitude reporting (24 calendar months), the transponder (24 calendar months), ADs, and the VOR check (30 days) if you'll use the VOR.(14 CFR 91.171, 91.207, 91.409, 91.411, 91.413)
  • Check the IFR equipment list in 91.205(d), plus anything the POH or the flight needs (for example, approved GPS for an RNAV approach).(14 CFR 91.205)
  • If something is inoperative, follow the MEL if the airplane has one; otherwise 91.213(d). Placard it and decide whether the flight is still safe.(14 CFR 91.213)
  • Legal isn’t the same as safe: a working but flaky radio may be legal and still a bad idea in IMC.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))
Does it work today?
  • Before taxi: suction or electrical sources normal; the attitude indicator erect within about 5 minutes and stable; altimeter set and within 75 feet of field elevation; heading indicator set to the compass; airspeed at zero; VSI at zero (or note the error).(Instrument Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-15B))
  • Taxi: turn left and right and check the turn coordinator shows the turn, the ball moves to the outside, the heading indicator and compass turn correctly, and the attitude indicator tips no more than 5°.(Instrument Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-15B))
  • VOR check (only if you'll use the VOR under IFR and the last one is more than 30 days old): VOT ±4°, ground checkpoint ±4°, two receivers within 4°; log the date, place, bearing error and signature.(14 CFR 91.171)
  • Before takeoff: tune, identify and check navaids; load and check the flight plan in the navigator; set the transponder; check the autopilot per the POH.(Instrument Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-15B))
  • Confirm charts and the database are current. Out-of-date data can put you on a changed procedure.(AIM, Chapter 1 (navigation aids, GPS and WAAS))

Want it all on one page, with scenarios? Read the full lesson.

On the flight

ACS standards

  • Perform the preflight inspection by following the checklist for the aircraft and determine whether it is in a condition for safe instrument flight.(Instrument Rating ACS (FAA-S-ACS-8C), IR.II.C.S1)

What your instructor is watching for

Your instructor watches for a full logbook check, a deliberate instrument check during taxi, and a clear go or no-go call when something is inoperative.

3 · Say it out loud

Answer each one out loud, then check yourself and mark how it went.

  1. Remember Recall it

    “Which inspections are required for IFR beyond the annual?”

  2. Understand Explain why

    “Why check the instruments during taxi?”

  3. Apply Use it on a flight

    “During taxi the heading indicator doesn’t move in a turn. What do you do?”

4 · Common mistakes

  • Checking only the annual.

    IFR has extra inspections.

    Instead: Check all the IFR items in the logbooks.

  • Rushing the taxi check.

    Instrument failures slip through.

    Instead: Turn both ways and watch every instrument.

  • Flying with an unplacarded inoperative item.

    It isn’t legal under 91.213.

    Instead: Placard and decide properly.

5 · Quick check

Answer, then reveal. Flag anything you want to see again.

  1. 1. How often for the altimeter and static system test?

  2. 2. Name the IFR additions in 91.205(d).

  3. 3. Altimeter error limit at the ramp?

  4. 4. In a left taxi turn, what should the turn coordinator and ball do?

  5. 5. Inoperative item, no MEL: what must you do?

  6. Scenario6. The attitude indicator is still tilted 5 minutes after start. What do you do?

Trained it? Now prove it: practice instrument flight deck check out loud with our examiner.

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Connect it

One situation that runs across this lesson and its neighbors in the same ACS area. Decide first, then check.

Connect it · Preflight Procedures

In cloud near freezing, airspeed starts falling toward zero while attitude, power and altitude are unchanged. Later the attitude indicator slowly tilts while the turn coordinator shows wings level.

Diagnose both and connect them to the checks before flight. Decide, then see the worked answer

Airspeed falling toward zero with nothing else changing points to a blocked pitot inlet, likely ice, with the drain hole still open: the pressure in the line bleeds away, so the reading falls. (If the inlet and the drain are both blocked, the indicator acts like an altimeter instead, rising in a climb and falling in a descent.) Pitot heat should already be on in visible moisture near freezing. Turn it on, but don't count on the reading coming back: fly a known attitude and power setting, treat the airspeed as unreliable, tell ATC, and get out of the icing. Diagnose the attitude indicator by its power source. Check the suction gauge: low suction means a vacuum failure, so distrust both vacuum gyros, the attitude and heading indicators in a typical trainer, and cover them. Fly partial panel on the turn coordinator, the magnetic compass, and the altimeter, VSI and airspeed. Which instruments run on vacuum and which on electric power is airplane-specific, so know yours. Tell ATC and request a clearance that gets you out: vectors or a route to VFR conditions or the nearest suitable airport. Declare an emergency under 91.3 only if you need to deviate from a clearance. Both trace back to the instrument flight deck check, done in phases. Before start: instruments set and checked. After start: give the gyros about 5 minutes to spin up, check suction in the normal range (typically 4.5 to 5.5 inches of mercury), and check the pitot heat. While taxiing: set the heading indicator to the compass, and check the turn coordinator deflects in turns and the attitude indicator stays steady.

IFH (FAA-H-8083-15B), Flight Instruments; 14 CFR 91.3

Brings together: Aircraft Systems Related to Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) Operations · Aircraft Flight Instruments and Navigation Equipment · Instrument Flight Deck Check

Teaching this? The instructor lesson plan →

Study aid, not FAA guidance. Sources: Instrument Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-15B); Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25C); Advanced Avionics Handbook (FAA-H-8083-6); Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM); 14 CFR; Instrument Rating ACS (FAA-S-ACS-8C). Checked against current sources 2026-11-13.