We recently had a thought-provoking exchange of e-mails with Henry, a reader who asked a multipart question: What equipment does he need in his airplane for an instrument checkride? Afterward, what equipment does he reasonably need to fly it daily in the system?
What you really need
Key Takeaways:
- The article distinguishes between the minimum equipment required for an IFR practical test (checkride) and the more comprehensive avionics recommended for practical, safe daily IFR flight.
- While a checkride can be passed with specific navigation capabilities (e.g., VOR, LOC, ILS/LPV), modern IFR flying, especially single-pilot, increasingly relies on GPS and autopilots, with dual NAV/COMs being the standard for redundancy and efficiency.
- Henry's aircraft, despite having an IFR GPS, lacked essential VOR/LOC/glideslope receivers, rendering it non-compliant for a checkride and highlighting the need for an integrated NAV/COM upgrade to meet requirements and enhance practical IFR capability.
Key takeaways sponsored by Aviator Pro | Start Your Training ->
See a mistake? Contact us.
