Standard Alignment

FAA-S-8081-9E (PTS) — Flight Instructor Instrument, Helicopter · Area of Operation III. Preflight Preparation · Task: IFR Weather, Cross-Country Planning & Airworthiness

PTS Area III — Preflight Preparation IFR weather: hazards, icing, go/no-go IFR XC planning, routes, fuel & alternates IFR airworthiness & required inspections

⚑ FLAG (Walter): PTS references, not ACS codes — confirm against FAA-S-8081-9E.

Teaching IFR Preflight Preparation

Coach the IFR go/no-go: weather and hazards, a real IFR plan, and the inspections that keep the aircraft legal.

By the end of this lesson you can:

Teach IFR weather acquisition and the hazards that matter (icing is a no-go for the R44, embedded convection, low ceilings).
Teach IFR cross-country planning: routes, altitudes, fuel/reserves, and alternates.
Teach the IFR airworthiness and inspection currency check.
Coach a structured IFR go/no-go the student owns.

1 · IFR weather & hazards

Teach a complete briefing focused on IFR hazards: icing (a hard no-go in a piston helicopter), embedded thunderstorms, freezing levels, ceilings/visibility vs. approach minima, and winds. Teach interpreting the products and reaching a structured go/no-go with personal minimums.

2 · IFR planning

Teach building an IFR plan: route and altitudes (MEAs/MOCAs), fuel with IFR reserves, and the alternate decision (1-2-3 rule) and minimums. Have the student plan a real flight and defend it.

3 · IFR airworthiness

Teach verifying the IFR-required inspections (pitot-static/altimeter, transponder, VOR check) and equipment, in addition to normal airworthiness. The student should confirm the aircraft is legal for IFR before planning to fly it.

4 · Watch

Curated reference clip — “IFR Alternate Airport Requirements — the 1-2-3 Rule” · FlightInsight (YouTube), verified via oEmbed. Embedded with the creator’s player; we don’t host or alter it.

5 · Reference sources

Use the authoritative references

📄 Instrument Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-15B) / Instrument Procedures Handbook 📄 Aviation Weather Handbook (FAA-H-8083-28); 14 CFR 91.167-169/91.171/91.411-413

Your aircraft: IFR inspections/equipment are partly aircraft-specific — teach from the IFR trainer’s records and equipment list.

✍️ Fill in for the aircraft you fly the IFR weather hazards, alternate rule, and inspection currency you require students to check — verify against the regs and confirm with your CFII.

⚑ FLAG (Walter): the R44 is VFR-certificated; confirm the IFR trainer/sim and avionics the student actually uses, and that all instrument procedures and the required inspections match that installation.

Risk management (the “Consider”): the IFR-planning killer is icing or get-there-itis — pressing into conditions a VFR-certificated piston helicopter can’t handle. Teach icing as a no-go, a structured go/no-go against personal minimums, and verifying IFR inspection currency before the flight.