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AviationStraight-and-level flight by instruments
Solely by reference to the instruments, you hold the airplane straight and level with a good instrument cross-check and coordinated control. It is Task A of Area VIII, Basic Instrument Maneuvers, in the FAA Private Pilot Airman Certification Standards, the checkride every private pilot flies.
Free to startThe steps
- Hold straight-and-level flight with a proper instrument cross-check and interpretation, and coordinated control.
- Hold altitude within 200 feet, heading within 20 degrees and airspeed within 10 knots.
Safety rules that stop the station
- Any action, or lack of action, that makes the examiner step in to keep the flight safe is unsatisfactory.
- Consistently exceeding the tolerances of the task, or not correcting promptly when you exceed them, is unsatisfactory.
To pass
- Altitude within 200 feet, heading within 20 degrees and airspeed within 10 knots, by instruments only.
- Know the flight instruments: their limits and errors, how they show the attitude, how they work and how to cross-check them, and the risks of losing control, when to ask for help or declare an emergency, collision, distractions, fixation and omission, instrument interpretation, flying by instruments only and trimming.
- Missing the standard on this task fails the task and its area of operation.
Official source
Federal · FAA Private Pilot ACS
Private Pilot for Airplane Category Airman Certification Standards (FAA-S-ACS-6C)
The FAA publishes the Private Pilot Airman Certification Standards free: every task of the checkride with its knowledge, risks and tolerances.
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