ACS Alignment

FAA-S-ACS-8 — Instrument Rating, Rotorcraft–Helicopter · Area of Operation VII. Emergency Operations · Task: B — Approach with Loss of Primary Flight Instrument Indicators

IR.VII.B.K1 — primary flight instrument/display failure modes IR.VII.B.K2 — substitute references & reversionary display IR.VII.B.S2 — fly a complete approach with degraded instruments IR.VII.B.R1 — risk: misdiagnosis & excessive workload

⚑ FLAG (Walter): confirm Task letter (B) and K/R/S sub-numbers. Note the overlap with Lesson 18 (Partial-Panel Approach): in the ACS this is the single formal emergency Task — decide whether Lessons 18 and 20 stay separate (technique vs. full approach) or merge.

Approach with Loss of Primary Flight Instruments

The checkride task: fly a complete approach to landing or a miss with primary flight indicators lost.

By the end of this lesson you can:

Identify which indicators are lost on your panel (vacuum AI/HI on a six-pack, or PFD/AHRS on glass) and what remains.
Establish a reliable cross-check from the remaining/reversionary/standby instruments.
Fly a full approach — intercept, final, and either landing or a missed approach — within standards on the degraded panel.
Manage workload: declare if appropriate, request the simplest approach, and use available automation wisely.

1 · Know what “primary flight instruments” means for your panel

The meaning of this failure depends entirely on the aircraft. On a traditional six-pack, losing the vacuum system fails the attitude and heading indicators, leaving the pitot-static instruments, the turn coordinator, and the magnetic compass. On a glass cockpit, a PFD failure usually drops you into reversionary mode on the remaining display; a deeper AHRS loss removes attitude and heading and is more serious. Establish exactly what you've lost and what you have before you commit to the approach.

2 · Build the cross-check, then fly the approach

Phase	Technique with degraded panel
Stabilize	Wings level and a known power/attitude using surviving references; confirm trends with altimeter/VSI/ASI.
Set up	Pick the most achievable approach (often GPS/LNAV), brief it simply, and configure early.
Fly final	Small inputs, steady scan; hold MDA/DA exactly; lead corrections gently.
Land or miss	Land if visual and in position; otherwise fly a stabilized, deliberate missed approach.

3 · Manage the workload

This is as much a resource-management task as a flying task. Declare an urgency or emergency if it gets you priority, a longer final, and fewer turns. Use a working autopilot or flight director if your remaining equipment supports it and you trust it. Keep ATC informed, slow down, and resist the urge to attempt a complex approach — the goal is a safe arrival, not a graceful one.

4 · Watch

Curated reference clip — “Partial Panel,” MzeroA Flight Training (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 Attitude Instrument Flying & Ch.10 IAPs 📄 Helicopter Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-21) — Instrument Flight

Your aircraft: the installed primary, standby, and backup instruments and any reversionary modes are installation-specific — note your R44's instrument fit and failure indications from the POH Section 7 (Systems Description) and the avionics supplement, plus relevant emergency procedures (Section 3).

✍️ Fill in for the aircraft you fly What you lose in a primary-instrument/PFD/AHRS failure, your standby/backup instruments, and any related emergency-procedure steps — look it up in the R44 POH (Systems Description / Emergency Procedures / avionics supplement) and confirm with your CFI.

⚑ FLAG (Walter): the R44 is a VFR-certificated helicopter; confirm how this failure is simulated in the IFR trainer/sim and which instruments the student must fly without.

Risk management (the “Consider”): the killers are misdiagnosis (acting on a failed indicator), workload saturation, and pressing a hard approach. Isolate the failure by cross-check, build a steady scan from the survivors, declare and get help, and choose the simplest approach the weather allows. A deliberate, slightly slow, well-briefed approach beats a rushed one every time.