CH.I.F — Performance and Limitations
CH.I.F for the Commercial Pilot Rotorcraft ACS: official objective, references, and 19 exact knowledge, risk-management, and skill descriptions.
FAA-S-ACS-16, 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 | Commercial Pilot |
|---|---|
| Aircraft category | Rotorcraft |
| Area of operation | Area of Operation I. Preflight Preparation |
| Task | Task F. Performance and Limitations |
| Task code prefix | CH.I.F |
| Official references | FAA-H-8083-1, FAA-H-8083-2, FAA-H-8083-21, FAA-H-8083-25; POH/RFM |
| FAA document | FAA-S-ACS-16 — Commercial Pilot for Rotorcraft Category Helicopter Rating 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 operating a helicopter safely within the parameters of its performance capabilities and limitations.
What the ACS code means
- CH identifies the ACS standard family used for this Commercial Pilot Rotorcraft document.
- I identifies Preflight Preparation, the Area of Operation.
- F identifies Performance and Limitations, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| CH.I.F.K1 | Elements related to performance and limitations by explaining the use of charts, tables, and data to determine performance. | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| CH.I.F.K2 | Factors affecting performance, including: | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| CH.I.F.K2a | Atmospheric conditions | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| CH.I.F.K2b | Pilot technique | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| CH.I.F.K2c | Helicopter configuration | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| CH.I.F.K2d | Airport, heliport, helipad, or unprepared surface environment | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| CH.I.F.K2e | Loading and weight and balance | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| CH.I.F.K3 | Aerodynamics. | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| CH.I.F.K4 | Height/Velocity (H/V) diagram according to the Rotorcraft Flight Manual (RFM). | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| CH.I.F.R1 | Use of performance charts, tables, and data. | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| CH.I.F.R2 | Helicopter limitations. | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| CH.I.F.R3 | Possible differences between calculated performance and actual performance. | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| CH.I.F.R4 | Exceeding weight limits. | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| CH.I.F.R5 | Operating outside of CG limits. | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| CH.I.F.R6 | Shifting, adding, and removing weight. | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| CH.I.F.R7 | Retreating blade stall. | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| CH.I.F.R8 | Situations that lead to loss of tail rotor/antitorque effectiveness (LTE). | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| CH.I.F.S1 | Compute the weight and balance, correct out-of-center of gravity loading errors and determine if the weight and balance remains within limits during all phases of flight. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| CH.I.F.S2 | Use appropriate helicopter performance charts, tables, and data. | 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 Commercial Pilot Rotorcraft ACS tasks
51 task-level resources from FAA-S-ACS-16.
- CH.I.E — National Airspace System
Area of Operation I. Preflight Preparation
- CH.I.G — Operation of Systems
Area of Operation I. Preflight Preparation
- CH.I.A — Pilot Qualifications
Area of Operation I. Preflight Preparation
- CH.I.B — Airworthiness Requirements
Area of Operation I. Preflight Preparation
- CH.I.C — Weather Information
Area of Operation I. Preflight Preparation
- CH.I.D — Cross-Country Flight Planning
Area of Operation I. Preflight Preparation