Aircraft Documents & Airworthiness

Required aircraft documents — ARROW

Memorize this — it appears on every checkride and ramp check:

• Airworthiness Certificate — § 91.203(a)(1)
• Registration Certificate — § 91.203(a)(2)
• Radio station license (international ops only — FCC requirement, not FAA)
• Operating handbook / AFM / POH — § 91.9
• Weight & balance data — required from the equipment list, also covered under § 91.9

The Airworthiness and Registration certificates must be visible to passengers and crew per § 91.203(b). The other documents must be on board but need not be displayed.

14 CFR § 91.205 — Required equipment

The "ATOMATOFLAMES" / "FLAPS" mnemonic captures the day VFR / night VFR / IFR equipment lists, but the rotorcraft list is slightly different — § 91.205(b) is the day-VFR list for powered civil aircraft, with § 91.205(b)(15) specifically excluding the inertial-airspeed / ASI requirement only for some helicopter ops.

For night VFR, add (per § 91.205(c)):

• Approved position lights
• Approved aviation red or white anti-collision light system
• Adequate source of electrical energy for installed equipment
• One spare set of fuses (or three of each kind required)
• An electric landing light (if for hire)

For IFR, add (per § 91.205(d)) — the GRABCARD list:

• Generator/alternator of adequate capacity
• Radios / nav appropriate to ground facilities
• Attitude indicator
• Ball (slip-skid)
• Clock with sweep-second/digital seconds
• Altimeter, sensitive (adjustable for barometric pressure)
• Rate of turn indicator
• Directional gyro / heading indicator

14 CFR § 91.213 — Inoperative equipment

If equipment is inoperative, you may legally fly only if one of these applies:

• The aircraft has an approved Minimum Equipment List (MEL) (§ 91.213(a)) and the inop item is permitted by the MEL
• The inop equipment is not required by:
  • The VFR-Day type-certification equipment list, OR
  • The aircraft's equipment list / Kinds of Operations Equipment List (KOEL), OR
  • 14 CFR § 91.205, OR
  • Any other rule (e.g., § 91.207 ELT)
• The inop item is placarded "INOPERATIVE" and deactivated by a mechanic, with the deactivation entered in the maintenance records

The flowchart: required by 91.205? — required by KOEL/AFM? — required by another reg? If "no" to all three, placard and fly. Otherwise, ground.

14 CFR § 91.409 — Inspections

The inspection cycles you must verify before flight — "AAV1ATE" remembers them all:

• Annual inspection — every 12 calendar months (§ 91.409(a))
• Airworthiness Directives — compliance status verified (§ 39.3)
• VOR check — every 30 days for IFR ops (§ 91.171)
• 100-hour inspection — required if used for hire or flight instruction for hire (§ 91.409(b)). May be exceeded by 10 hours only while flying to the place where the inspection will be done.
• Altimeter / static system — every 24 calendar months for IFR ops (§ 91.411)
• Transponder — every 24 calendar months (§ 91.413)
• ELT — battery replaced/recharged after 1 cumulative hour of use or 50% of useful life; inspection every 12 calendar months (§ 91.207)

For commercial helicopter ops, the 100-hour inspection becomes the dominant cycle — flight schools and tour operators see it constantly.

14 CFR § 39.3 — Airworthiness Directives

• ADs are legally enforceable rules issued by the FAA when an unsafe condition exists or is likely to exist in a product (aircraft, engine, propeller, appliance).
• AD compliance is mandatory before further flight unless the AD itself permits continued operation under specific conditions.
• Categorized as Emergency ADs (immediate compliance), Standard ADs (compliance by date or hours), or Recurring ADs (e.g., every 100 hours).
• Compliance status must be recorded in the aircraft's permanent records (§ 91.417). Owner/operator responsibility is in § 91.403.
• Service bulletins from the manufacturer are not mandatory unless made mandatory by an AD that references them.

Search current ADs at the FAA Dynamic Regulatory System (DRS). The Robinson R-22 / R-44 fleet sees frequent ADs — your CPL oral may include "name a recent helicopter AD."

14 CFR Part 47 — Aircraft registration

• Aircraft must be registered to a US owner to operate in the US — § 47.3.
• Registration is renewed every 3 years (changed from 7 years per the 2010 rulemaking) — § 47.40.
• § 47.69 — Dealer's Registration: only valid for required flight testing, or flights necessary for/incident to its sale. A prospective buyer may operate the aircraft for demonstration purposes only, under the direct supervision of the dealer or their agent.
• Registration online via registry.faa.gov.