ACS Might Be Regulatory

Even if you got your instrument rating 30 years ago, this still affects you since the requirements for an IPC are in the ACS.

Mark Kolber

Tuesday, February 13, 2024 at 04:22 PM ET

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Key Takeaways:

The FAA proposes to incorporate the Airman Certification Standards (ACS) into Part 61 of the regulations, giving them full legal force and resolving past ambiguities about their regulatory status.
The draft Instrument ACS includes significant, welcome changes for instrument checkrides and Instrument Proficiency Checks (IPCs).
A key revision in the draft Instrument ACS simplifies the definitions of precision and nonprecision approaches, moving away from complex classifications and the difficult requirement for ground-based nonprecision navaids.
These amendments aim to better reflect modern avionics and the evolving air traffic system, making training and currency requirements more practical for instrument pilots.

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Back in December 2022, the FAA published a Notice of Proposed Rule Making to incorporate the Airman Certification Standards (ACS) into Part 61 of the FAA regulations appearing in Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Related documents include the various Airman Certification and Practical Test Standards. Some of the test standards are identical to what we have now. Others are in draft form with revisions, mostly minor.

One group with a more significant change for instrument trainees and rated pilots alike is the draft Instrument ACS. It brings an important change affecting both the instrument checkride and the IPC. We will focus on the draft Instrument-Airplane ACS but there are similar changes in the new draft Instrument-Helicopter ACS.