Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

7 Answers

IFR

Asked by: 5421 views FAA Regulations, Helicopter, Instrument Rating, Student Pilot

I am going through IFR training now in helicopters. I have noticed that pretty much all IFR helicopters have redundant instrument. Is that an actual requirement or just for safety of flight. If asked I want to give the right answer. I understand why they would want it but is it required? Thanks!

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Actual FAA Questions / Free Lifetime Updates
The best explanations in the business
Fast, efficient study.
Pass Your Checkride With Confidence!
FAA Practical Test prep that reflects actual checkrides.
Any checkride: Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
Written and maintained by actual pilot examiners and master CFIs.
The World's Most Trusted eLogbook
Be Organized, Current, Professional, and Safe.
Highly customizable - for student pilots through pros.
Free Transition Service for users of other eLogs.
Our sincere thanks to pilots such as yourself who support AskACFI while helping themselves by using the awesome PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android aviation apps of our sponsors.

7 Answers



  1. Kris Kortokrax on Feb 02, 2014

    It would help in answering your question to know in what type of helicopter you are training and the instruments installed. If there is a glass panel installed, there are requirements for standby instruments.

    Most helicopters used for Instrument training have limited panel space and useful load, so there is seldom anything extra installed which is not required.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  2. Robert on Feb 02, 2014

    I am training in Robinsons. The IFR trainer I am in only has one set of instruments. I was just curious because all the Bells and bigger helis I have seen had two of almost everything.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  3. Sam Dawson on Feb 02, 2014

    Appendix B, Airworthiness Criteria for Helicopter Instrument Flight to FAR 27 (Airworthiness Standards: Normal Category Rotorcraft) is your reference.
    http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=7457afaa752d16f4d647c73d38319992&node=14:1.0.1.3.13.7.281.28.32&rgn=div9

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  4. Kris Kortokrax on Feb 02, 2014

    Robert,

    There doesn’t appear to be a requirement for redundant instrumentation. The certification requirements for instruments appear to closely mirror the requirements in 91.205.

    Not all Bells have dual instruments. I have flown Bell 206s, which don’t have dual instruments. Even the 206L1 which was certified for IMC. The Bell 222, however, does have dual instruments.

    It appears to be a case where if a helicopter is likely to be flown by a crew, rather than a single pilot, it will have two sets of instruments.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  5. Sam Dawson on Feb 02, 2014

    http://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/instrument_procedures_handbook/media/CH-07.pdf

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  6. Robert on Feb 02, 2014

    Thanks Sam and Kris. I will read up on the reference you gave me. And your explanation makes a lot of sense Kris. Appreciate the assistance.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  7. Sam Dawson on Feb 05, 2014

    As you can see from the regulations the IFR certification of helicopters is a little more complex than airplanes. I have flown helicopters that required operational SAS/FPS to be flown IFR. I have flown others such as the Bell 205 that did not have SAS/FPS but were IFR certified due to their stability.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes


The following terms have been auto-detected the question above and any answers or discussion provided. Click on a term to see its definition from the Dauntless Aviation JargonBuster Glossary.

Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.