IPC Scenarios

A lot of attention has been directed at the FAAs new airman certification standards (ACS), which prescribe how practical tests are conducted. Last year, the FAA implemented ACS for the private pilot-airplane certificate and instrument-airplane rating. A chief difference between the ACS and its predecessor practical test standards (PTS) is expanded integration of risk management principles. Another involves how slow flight is performed.

Robert Wright

Thursday, February 16, 2017 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

The FAA's new Airman Certification Standards (ACS) for instrument ratings integrate risk management principles into Instrument Proficiency Checks (IPCs), requiring pilots to demonstrate specific knowledge and risk mitigation for each task.
The article argues that simply meeting FAA minimums for IFR currency does not assure real-world proficiency, as traditional IPCs often lack practical elements like pre-flight planning or actual ATC interaction in challenging environments.
Pilots are encouraged to adopt "Instrument Proficiency Scenarios (IPS)" that replicate real-world missions and integrate comprehensive Single-Pilot Resource Management (SRM) skills to develop true competency, rather than just fulfilling legal requirements.

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A lot of attention has been directed at the FAA’s new airman certification standards (ACS), which prescribe how practical tests are conducted. Last year, the FAA implemented ACS for the private pilot-airplane certificate and instrument-airplane rating. A chief difference between the ACS and its predecessor practical test standards (PTS) is expanded integration of risk management principles. Another involves how slow flight is performed (“Revising Slow Flight,” February 2017).

The new ACS for the instrument-airplane rating issued in June 2016 also prescribes the minimum content of an instrument proficiency check (IPC), as did its predecessor. Unlike the PTS, for each task pilots are required to perform during an IPC, the ACS requires the pilot to demonstrate specific knowledge and risk management proficiency. That’s a change from the ways IPCs were done before. Let’s explore how the new ACS envisions an IPC will be conducted.