IP.IV.A — Instrument Flight
IP.IV.A for the Instrument Rating Powered Lift ACS: official objective, references, and 8 exact knowledge, risk-management, and skill descriptions.
FAA-S-ACS-3, November 2023. This study page does not replace the current FAA publication or an examiner's plan of action.
Official task context
| Certificate or rating | Instrument Rating |
|---|---|
| Aircraft category | Powered Lift |
| Area of operation | Area of Operation IV. Flight by Reference to Instruments |
| Task | Task A. Instrument Flight |
| Task code prefix | IP.IV.A |
| Official references | FAA-H-8083-2, FAA-H-8083-15, FAA-H-8083-16, FAA-H-8083-25 |
| FAA document | FAA-S-ACS-3 — Instrument Rating – Powered-Lift Airman Certification Standards |
| FAA source library | Open the official ACS library |
Official task objective
To determine the applicant exhibits satisfactory knowledge, risk management, and skills associated with performing basic flight maneuvers solely by reference to instruments.
What the ACS code means
- IP identifies the ACS standard family used for this Instrument Rating Powered Lift document.
- IV identifies Flight by Reference to Instruments, the Area of Operation.
- A identifies Instrument Flight, the Task within that Area.
- K, R, and S identify knowledge, risk-management, and skill elements. The number selects the item; a trailing lowercase letter identifies a listed sub-element.
Knowledge elements
| ACS code | Official description | How a mock oral can probe it |
|---|---|---|
| IP.IV.A.K1 | Elements related to attitude instrument flying during straight-and-level flight, climbs, turns, and descents while conducting various instrument flight procedures. | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| IP.IV.A.K2 | Interpretation, operation, and limitations of pitch, bank, and power instruments. | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| IP.IV.A.K3 | Normal and abnormal instrument indications and operations. | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
Risk management elements
| ACS code | Official description | How a mock oral can probe it |
|---|---|---|
| IP.IV.A.R1 | Situations that can affect physiology and degrade instrument cross-check. | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| IP.IV.A.R2 | Spatial disorientation and optical illusions. | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| IP.IV.A.R3 | Flying unfamiliar aircraft or operating with unfamiliar flight display systems and avionics. | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
Skills elements
| ACS code | Official description | How a mock oral can probe it |
|---|---|---|
| IP.IV.A.S1 | Maintain altitude ±100 feet during level flight, selected headings ±10°, airspeed ±10 knots, and bank angles ±5° during turns. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| IP.IV.A.S2 | Use proper instrument cross-check and interpretation, and apply the appropriate pitch, bank, power, configuration, and trim corrections when applicable. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
Difficulty data
Difficulty calibration is ongoing for this Task. A difficulty estimate is published only with a sufficiently large, privacy-preserving first directly recorded assessment sample. Any observed difficulty comes from Checkride AI mock-oral practice assessments and is a practice-data proxy, not an FAA practical-test pass or fail rate.
Difficulty calibration remains ongoing until an item clears the private reporting threshold. Percentages, when available, describe the share who needed review on their first directly recorded assessment. Underlying sample sizes are never published, and historical final states are not backfilled into this measure.
How to use this in a mock oral
A mock examiner can ask you to explain the published elements, apply them to the configured aircraft and airport scenario, identify risks, and defend a decision. The prompts are practice scenarios; they are not claimed to be actual FAA examiner scripts or a prediction of the questions you will receive.
Related ACS tasks
- All Instrument Rating Powered Lift ACS tasks
22 task-level resources from FAA-S-ACS-3.
- IP.III.B — Holding Procedures
Area of Operation III. Air Traffic Control (ATC) Clearances and Procedures
- IP.IV.B — Recovery from Unusual Flight Attitudes
Area of Operation IV. Flight by Reference to Instruments