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CH.VIII.L — Flight Solely by Reference to Instruments

CH.VIII.L for the Commercial Pilot Rotorcraft ACS: official objective, references, and 11 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

CH.VIII.L official ACS context
Certificate or ratingCommercial Pilot
Aircraft categoryRotorcraft
Area of operationArea of Operation VIII. Emergency Operations
TaskTask L. Flight Solely by Reference to Instruments
Task code prefixCH.VIII.L
Official references14 CFR part 61; FAA-H-8083-2, FAA-H-8083-15, FAA-H-8083-21, FAA-H-8083-25
FAA documentFAA-S-ACS-16 — Commercial Pilot for Rotorcraft Category Helicopter Rating Airman Certification Standards
FAA source libraryOpen the official ACS library

Official task objective

To determine the applicant exhibits satisfactory knowledge, risk management, and skills associated with flying solely by reference to instruments.

What the ACS code means

  • CH identifies the ACS standard family used for this Commercial Pilot Rotorcraft document.
  • VIII identifies Emergency Operations, the Area of Operation.
  • L identifies Flight Solely by Reference to Instruments, 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

Official ACS knowledge items and mock-oral treatment
ACS codeOfficial descriptionHow a mock oral can probe it
CH.VIII.L.K1Elements related to attitude instrument flying during straight-and-level flight, climbs, turns, and descents.Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant.
CH.VIII.L.K2Interpretation, 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.
CH.VIII.L.K3Normal 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

Official ACS risk management items and mock-oral treatment
ACS codeOfficial descriptionHow a mock oral can probe it
CH.VIII.L.R1Situations 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.
CH.VIII.L.R2Spatial disorientation and optical illusions.Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision.
CH.VIII.L.R3Flying an 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

Official ACS skills items and mock-oral treatment
ACS codeOfficial descriptionHow a mock oral can probe it
CH.VIII.L.S1Maintain straight and level flight, altitude ±200 feet, heading ±20°, and airspeed ±10 knots.Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test.
CH.VIII.L.S2Make a constant airspeed climb, airspeed ±10 knots, in straight flight and turns to a heading ±20°, and level off and maintain assigned altitude ±200 feet.Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test.
CH.VIII.L.S3Make a constant airspeed descent, airspeed ±10 knots, in straight flight and turns to a heading ±20°, and level off and maintain assigned altitude ±200 feet.Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test.
CH.VIII.L.S4Use proper instrument cross-check and interpretation, and apply the appropriate pitch, bank, power, maintain coordinated flight throughout the maneuver.Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test.
CH.VIII.L.S5Demonstrate SRM/CRM.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.

Practice in a mock oral

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