# CH.IV.E — Slope Operations — Commercial Pilot Rotorcraft ACS

> CH.IV.E from FAA-S-ACS-16, including the official objective, references, notes, and 24 exact knowledge, risk-management, and skill descriptions.

Canonical HTML: [https://www.check-ride.ai/acs/rotorcraft/commercial-pilot/ch-iv-e](https://www.check-ride.ai/acs/rotorcraft/commercial-pilot/ch-iv-e)

Site reference: [https://www.check-ride.ai/llms.txt](https://www.check-ride.ai/llms.txt)

## Official Task context

- FAA document: Commercial Pilot for Rotorcraft Category Helicopter Rating Airman Certification Standards
- Identifier: FAA-S-ACS-16
- Published source date: November 2023
- Aircraft category: Rotorcraft
- Certificate or rating: Commercial Pilot
- Area of Operation: Area of Operation IV. Hovering Maneuvers
- Task: Task E. Slope Operations
- Task code prefix: CH.IV.E
- Official references: FAA-H-8083-2, FAA-H-8083-21, FAA-H-8083-25; POH/RFM
- FAA source library: https://www.faa.gov/training_testing/testing/acs

## Official Task objective

To determine the applicant exhibits satisfactory knowledge, risk management, and skills associated with slope operations.

## Knowledge elements

- **CH.IV.E.K1** — Elements related to slope operations.
- **CH.IV.E.K2** — Factors used for selecting an appropriate slope.
- **CH.IV.E.K3** — Effect of wind on slope operations.
- **CH.IV.E.K4** — Dynamic rollover considerations during slope operations and preventive/recovery techniques.
- **CH.IV.E.K5** — Helicopter slope limitations.

## Risk management elements

- **CH.IV.E.R1** — Operations on a slope.
- **CH.IV.E.R2** — Conditions leading to loss of tail rotor/antitorque effectiveness.
- **CH.IV.E.R3** — Embarking or disembarking passengers and rotor blade hazards.
- **CH.IV.E.R4** — Conditions leading to dynamic rollover.
- **CH.IV.E.R5** — Surface conditions.
- **CH.IV.E.R6** — Collision hazards.
- **CH.IV.E.R7** — Exceeding the manufacturer's slope limitations.

## Skills elements

- **CH.IV.E.S1** — Select a suitable slope.
- **CH.IV.E.S2** — Complete the appropriate checklist(s).
- **CH.IV.E.S3** — Properly approach the slope considering wind effect and obstacles.
- **CH.IV.E.S4** — Maintain powerplant and main rotor (Nr) speed within normal limits.
- **CH.IV.E.S5** — Maintain heading and ground position and prevent movement of aircraft on slope.
- **CH.IV.E.S6** — Make a smooth positive descent to touch the upslope skid or wheel(s) on the sloping surface.
- **CH.IV.E.S7** — Recognize if slope is too steep and abandon the operation prior to reaching cyclic control stops.
- **CH.IV.E.S8** — Maintain positive control while lowering the downslope skid or wheel to touchdown.
- **CH.IV.E.S9** — Neutralize controls after landing.
- **CH.IV.E.S10** — Make a smooth transition from the slope to a stabilized hover parallel to the slope.
- **CH.IV.E.S11** — Properly move away from the slope.
- **CH.IV.E.S12** — Maintain a specified heading throughout the operation, ±5°.

## Difficulty methodology

Difficulty calibration is ongoing for this Task. Observed difficulty is a privacy-thresholded check-ride.ai mock-oral practice proxy, not an FAA practical-test pass or fail rate. Underlying sample sizes and the private reporting threshold are not published.

## Official Task notes

- Note: See Appendix 3: Aircraft, Equipment, and Operational Requirements & Limitations for information related to this Task.

## Use in practice

A mock examiner can ask a pilot to explain the published elements, apply them to the configured aircraft and airport context, identify risks, and defend a decision. Practice prompts are not represented as actual FAA examiner scripts or predictions of the questions a candidate will receive.