← Train

Private pilot · ACS PA.VIII.F · lesson pack

Radio Communications, Navigation Systems/Facilities, and Radar Services

Why this one matters

A VFR pilot in cloud needs help, and the radio is the way to get it. But fiddling with radios and navigators while on instruments is when control is lost. This task trains doing both: keeping the airplane steady while talking to ATC and setting up navigation.

1 · Know these cold

  • •Fly the airplane first: keep the attitude steady while changing frequencies or setting a course, in short steps with scans in between.(Instrument Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-15B), Airplane Attitude Instrument Flying)
  • •Find frequencies on the chart or in the Chart Supplement, and identify navaids by Morse code before using them.(AIM, Chapter 4 (air traffic control services for VFR aircraft))
  • •ATC radar can help a VFR aircraft in difficulty only with two-way radio and within radar coverage; the help is advisory and doesn't authorize breaking any rule. Tell them you're a VFR pilot in IMC and choose a course to a landing in VFR conditions.(AIM 6-2-1)
  • •Read back headings and altitudes and comply, unless you get an amended clearance, there's an emergency, or a TCAS resolution advisory. If you can't, say "unable" with the reason and request an alternative; if you're not sure, ask right away. Deviating in an emergency is under 91.3(b), and only as far as needed.(14 CFR 91.123; 91.3(b))
  • •Use the GPS or VOR to track a course or go direct to an airport. The heading indicator shows heading, not track, and precesses (reset it to the compass in steady flight); the difference between your heading and the VOR or GPS track is wind drift, corrected with a wind correction angle.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Flight Instruments)
  • •Declare an emergency early if you’re in IMC without an instrument rating: it gets you priority and help.(AIM, Chapter 6, Emergency Procedures)
  • •Use automation (autopilot, GPS direct-to) to reduce workload only in a mode you understand, engaged with the airplane in trim and a normal attitude; watch for mode confusion.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))

2 · The lesson

Radios and ATC
  • Pick frequencies from the sectional, the Chart Supplement or the navigator. Facilities: the tower, approach control (TRACON) and center (ARTCC), which can give traffic advisories and vectors, workload permitting and within radar coverage (it isn't separation for VFR, and doesn't relieve you of your responsibilities); and Flight Service, which isn't ATC: briefings, weather, flight plans and emergency help, and it can relay clearances but can't issue them or give vectors.(AIM, Chapter 4 (air traffic control services for VFR aircraft); AIM 4-1)
  • In distress: declare it, squawk 7700 with altitude reporting, and stay on your current frequency if you're in contact (121.5 if not). Give your call sign and type, the nature of the emergency, your position and altitude if known, your intentions, fuel remaining in time, and persons on board.(AIM 6-1-2; 6-2-2)
  • Follow ATC instructions and read back headings and altitudes. If you can't comply, say "unable", give the reason and ask for an amended clearance; if you're unsure, ask at once.(14 CFR 91.123)
Navigation equipment
  • VOR: tune, identify, set the course with the OBS, check the TO/FROM and OFF or NAV flag, then intercept and track the needle with a bracketing wind correction. GPS: select and verify the correct waypoint, confirm the active leg and that the CDI is set to the GPS source and sensitivity, and fly the track error rather than chasing the heading or the moving map.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Flight Instruments; AIM 1-1-3, 1-1-17)
  • The scan while you do it: set the attitude and power, trim so the airplane flies hands-off before you go heads-down, then work in short steps, coming back to the attitude indicator between each one and rechecking altitude, heading and airspeed.(Instrument Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-15B), Airplane Attitude Instrument Flying)
  • Identify the VOR positively, by its Morse code or its recorded voice identification (the facility name and "VOR"); a voice from Flight Service or approach isn't identification. No ident means out of service; a TEST ident means maintenance: don't use a station you can't positively identify.(AIM 1-1-3)
  • GPS "nearest" knows position and distance, not weather, runway suitability, terrain or fuel: check the weather with ATC, Flight Service or the AWOS/ASOS, and check the runway, terrain and fuel before you commit.(AIM, Chapter 6, Emergency Procedures)
Asking for help and using resources
  • Ask for help early and declare an emergency if needed: VFR into IMC is an emergency for a VFR pilot.(AIM, Chapter 6, Emergency Procedures)
  • Use resources: ATC, the autopilot, GPS direct-to, and passengers to hold a chart or watch for traffic.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))

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

On the flight

ACS standards

  • Maintain airplane control while selecting frequencies, identifying facilities and managing navigation equipment, and comply with ATC instructions.(Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.VIII.F.S1-S2)
  • Maintain altitude within 200 feet, heading within 20°, and airspeed within 10 knots.(Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.VIII.F.S3)

What your instructor is watching for

Your instructor watches whether you keep control and altitude while working radios and navigation, set things up in short steps, and use ATC well.

3 · Say it out loud

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

  1. Remember Recall it

    “What do you tell ATC if you’ve flown into a cloud as a VFR pilot?”

  2. Understand Explain why

    “Why set up navigation in short steps?”

  3. Apply Use it on a flight

    “ATC gives a heading you’d need to climb into cloud to fly. What do you say?”

4 · Common mistakes

  • Heads-down too long.

    Loss of control.

    Instead: Short steps, back to the attitude indicator between them.

  • Waiting to ask for help.

    Options shrink.

    Instead: Call early, declare if needed.

  • Not identifying the navaid.

    Wrong or out-of-service station.

    Instead: Listen to the Morse code ident.

5 · Quick check

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

  1. 1. How do you verify a VOR?

  2. 2. What can ATC do for a VFR pilot in IMC?

  3. 3. What do you say if you can’t follow an instruction safely?

  4. 4. Why use automation when overloaded?

  5. 5. What’s the first priority when changing frequencies on instruments?

  6. Scenario6. You’re VFR on top and the gaps are closing. What do you do?

Trained it? Now prove it: practice radio communications, navigation systems/facilities, and radar services out loud with our examiner.

Start a practice oral on this task

Your progress is saved in this browser. Create a free account to keep it on every device, with your shaky spots and mock oral results in one place.

Connect it

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

Connect it · Basic Instrument Maneuvers

Haze thickens into cloud and you lose the horizon. A minute later the airplane is in a descending, steepening turn.

How do you recover and get back to visual conditions? Decide, then see the worked answer

Trust the instruments, not your body, and diagnose before you act. Airspeed increasing and altitude decreasing means nose low; airspeed decreasing and altitude increasing means nose high. This is nose low and steepening, the start of a spiral dive. Power to idle, unload to about 1 G by relaxing back pressure, then level the wings with coordinated aileron and rudder, then raise the nose gently to level flight. Do not pull first: pulling while banked tightens the spiral and can overstress the airplane. (Nose high is different: power in, nose down, then level the wings.) Then finish the recovery: set power for level flight, re-trim, and confirm attitude, heading, altitude and airspeed are stable before you turn. Once stable, tell ATC you're a VFR pilot in cloud, declare an emergency if you need to, give your position and altitude, and ask for a safe altitude and vectors. Turn back to the reciprocal of the heading you had when you entered the cloud, not the heading you happen to have after the recovery, with a shallow bank of about 10° or less, protecting your altitude above the terrain. If you don't know your entry heading, ask ATC for help.

AFH (FAA-H-8083-3C), Chapter 17, Emergency Procedures; IFH (FAA-H-8083-15B)

Brings together: Straight-and-Level Flight · Turns to Headings · Recovery from Unusual Flight Attitudes · Radio Communications, Navigation Systems/Facilities, and Radar Services

Teaching this? The instructor lesson plan →

Study aid, not FAA guidance. Sources: Instrument Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-15B); Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C); Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25C); Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM); Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C). Checked against current sources 2026-11-12.