ACS Alignment

FAA-S-ACS-8 — Instrument Rating, Rotorcraft–Helicopter · skill bridge for VI. Instrument Approach Procedures, mapping to the emergency Task Approach with Loss of Primary Flight Instrument Indicators (see Lesson 20).

IR.VI/VII.K1 — primary/backup instrument failures IR.VI/VII.K2 — partial-panel scan & substitute references IR.VI/VII.S1 — fly an approach on partial panel within standards IR.VI/VII.R1 — risk: fixation & misdiagnosed failure

⚑ FLAG (Walter): in FAA-S-ACS-8 the formal Task is Area VII (Emergency Operations) — Approach with Loss of Primary Flight Instrument Indicators, covered in Lesson 20. This Lesson 18 is positioned in the index under Area VI as a partial-panel technique builder — decide whether to keep both or merge 18 into 20, and assign final codes. Codes shown are placeholders.

Partial-Panel Approach

Lose a primary display and still fly the approach — diagnose, substitute, and keep the scan moving.

By the end of this lesson you can:

Recognize a failed primary instrument or display and avoid chasing a bad indication.
Build a partial-panel scan using the remaining/backup instruments for pitch, bank, and heading.
Fly headings, altitudes, and a basic approach with the degraded panel within tolerances.
Decide when to declare and request assistance, and pick the most achievable approach.

1 · Diagnose before you react

The first job is to notice that something is wrong and identify which instrument or display has failed — a stuck or toppled attitude indicator, a failed AHRS/PFD, or a blocked pitot-static source all present differently. Cross-check: if one instrument disagrees with the rest, suspect it, not the others. On a glass cockpit a failed PFD usually means going to reversionary mode on the remaining display; on a six-pack you fall back to the partial-panel instruments. Confirm the failure, then commit to the substitute references.

2 · Building the partial-panel scan

Lost instrument	Substitute references
Attitude indicator	Use turn coordinator/turn indicator for bank, altimeter/VSI/ASI for pitch trend, magnetic compass/heading source for direction.
Heading indicator	Use the magnetic compass (account for turning/acceleration errors) or a secondary heading source.
Primary flight display	Reversionary/backup display or standby instruments — confirm what your installation provides.

Keep the scan moving across the surviving instruments and make small, smooth control inputs. Partial-panel flying rewards a deliberate, disciplined cross-check.

3 · Flying the approach degraded

Choose the most achievable approach for your degraded panel and conditions — often a nonprecision or GPS approach with a stabilized profile and generous planning. Declare an urgency or emergency if appropriate to get priority handling and a longer, simpler routing. Configure early, fly conservative speeds, and brief the missed approach in case the degraded workload makes a landing impractical.

4 · Watch

Curated reference clip — “How to Fly a Circle to Land Approach | Partial Panel IFR,” 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) — Ch.7 Airplane/Rotorcraft Attitude Instrument Flying & Ch.10 IAPs 📄 Helicopter Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-21) — Instrument Flight

Your aircraft: what counts as a “primary flight instrument” failure depends on your panel — note your R44's installed flight instruments, any standby/backup instruments, and reversionary modes from the POH Section 7 (Systems Description) and the avionics supplement.

✍️ Fill in for the aircraft you fly Which primary/standby instruments are installed, what a PFD/AHRS failure looks like, and your reversionary options — look it up in the R44 POH (Systems Description / avionics supplement) and confirm with your CFI.

⚑ FLAG (Walter): the R44 is a VFR-certificated helicopter; confirm the panel/instruments the student will actually fly and how partial-panel failures are simulated in the IFR trainer/sim.

Risk management (the “Consider”): the partial-panel killers are misdiagnosing the failure (trusting the failed instrument), fixation on the lost instrument, and over-controlling. Cross-check to isolate the bad indication, keep the scan moving across the survivors, fly small inputs, and ask for help early. Pick the simplest approach the degraded panel and weather will allow — there are no extra points for difficulty.