Likely DPE questions by Area of Operation, with concise model answers and what to cite.
Instrument Rating–Helicopter Checkride: Oral Prep
Rehearse out loud: answer in your own words, then cite the source. "Cite" lines point to the regulation/handbook to reference — confirm the exact paragraph as you study. Aircraft-specific numbers are flagged to fill from the R44 POH.
Reference shorthand: IFH = Instrument Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-15B); IPH = Instrument Procedures Handbook (FAA-H-8083-16); HFH = Helicopter Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-21); AIM = Aeronautical Information Manual; POH = Robinson R44 Pilot's Operating Handbook; ACS = FAA-S-ACS-8. Confirm the current ACS revision and all codes.
✍️ My aircraft (N-________) — look these up in the R44 POH/avionics supplement and confirm with your CFI (leave blank until verified)
Aircraft-specific and installation-dependent — fill from the R44 POH/avionics supplement and confirm with your CFI. Don't quote from memory on the checkride.
I · Preflight Preparation — Qualifications, Weather, XC Planning
What are the recency requirements to act as PIC under IFR?
Within the preceding 6 calendar months you must have performed the required instrument experience — six instrument approaches plus holding procedures and intercepting/tracking courses — in the appropriate category, or in an approved simulator/FTD/ATD. If not current within 6 months, you have a further 6 months to regain currency with a safety pilot or device; after that, an IPC is required.
Cite: 14 CFR 61.57(c),(d); ACS Area I. Confirm category-specific wording.
What weather products and minimums drive an IFR go/no-go?
Standard briefing: METAR/TAF, area forecast/graphics, winds aloft, AIRMET/SIGMET (especially icing & turbulence), PIREPs, NOTAMs. For helicopters, icing and freezing precip are usually hard no-gos; also weigh ceilings/visibility against approach minima and personal minimums.
Cite: IFH/IPH weather; AIM Ch 7; NCHF personal minimums.
When is an alternate required, and what minimums apply?
The 1-2-3 rule: if, for at least 1 hour before to 1 hour after ETA, the ceiling is below 2,000 ft or visibility below 3 SM, file an alternate. The alternate must meet the applicable alternate minimums (or standard if none published).
Cite: 14 CFR 91.167, 91.169. Confirm any helicopter alternate-minimum specifics.
II · Preflight Procedures — Instruments & Required Equipment
What equipment is required for IFR flight?
VFR-day/night equipment plus the IFR items: a generator/alternator, two-way radio & nav appropriate to the route, gyroscopic rate-of-turn, slip-skid, sensitive altimeter (adjustable), clock (h:m:s), attitude & heading indicators (or equivalent). Remember "GRAB CARD."
Cite: 14 CFR 91.205(d).
What inspections must be current for IFR?
Pitot-static and altimeter system (24 calendar months) and the transponder (24 calendar months); plus a VOR equipment check within 30 days if using VOR for IFR. Normal airworthiness inspections (annual/100-hr, ADs) still apply.
How do you check the instruments before an IFR departure?
During taxi and run-up confirm the attitude indicator stays erect, the turn coordinator/ball respond correctly in turns, the heading indicator tracks and is set, the altimeter is set and reasonable, the VSI reads zero, the ASI is alive, and the nav/GPS is acquired with a current database.
Cite: IFH Ch 4–5; ACS Area II.
III · ATC Clearances & Procedures
What are the elements of an IFR clearance, and how do you read it back?
CRAFT — Clearance limit, Route, Altitude, Frequency (departure), Transponder code. Read back the route and any altitude/heading/holding instructions and your squawk.
Cite: AIM 5-2; IPH.
Explain a standard holding pattern and a teardrop/parallel/direct entry.
Standard holds turn right, 1-minute legs at/below 14,000 ft. Choose the entry by the ±70° rule relative to the inbound course: direct, teardrop, or parallel. Use proper wind correction and timing.
Cite: AIM 5-3-8; IFH. (See Lesson 07.)
IV · Flight by Reference to Instruments
Explain control vs. performance instrument flying.
Set an attitude (attitude indicator) and a power setting that you know produce the desired result (control instruments), then cross-check the performance instruments (altimeter, ASI, VSI, heading, turn) to confirm and fine-tune. Keep the cross-check moving to avoid fixation.
Cite: IFH Ch 7; HFH Ch 12. (See Lessons 08–10.)
How do you recognize and recover from an unusual attitude on instruments?
Nose-low (airspeed increasing, descending): reduce power, level the wings, ease to level pitch. Nose-high (airspeed decreasing, climbing): add power, lower the nose to level. In a Robinson, avoid abrupt forward cyclic — manage low-G carefully.
Cite: IFH Ch 7; confirm R44 low-G wording.
V · Navigation Systems
How do you intercept and track a VOR course, and how do you check the receiver?
Tune, identify, confirm the flag is off; set the course; turn an intercept angle toward the needle; establish a wind-correction angle to hold it centered. Check the receiver via VOT (±4°), a designated ground/airborne checkpoint, or dual-VOR (±4°), recording the result.
Cite: IFH Ch 9; AIM 1-1; 91.171. (See Lesson 11.)
What is RAIM/WAAS, and when may GPS be used in lieu of DME/ADF?
RAIM is GPS integrity monitoring; WAAS adds a correction/integrity signal supporting vertical guidance (LPV). A suitable IFR GPS may generally be used in lieu of DME/ADF when the fix/facility is in the current database and the installation is approved — not as a substitute for the primary NAVAID defining a ground-based approach unless permitted.
Cite: AIM 1-1/1-2; IPH. (See Lesson 12.) Confirm against your AFMS.
VI · Instrument Approach Procedures
Walk me through briefing an approach chart.
Four questions: What is it? (name/type, currency, primary freq & ident); How do I get in? (IAF, course, FAF, step-downs); How low / how do I land? (MDA or DA, visibility, VDP, circling notes); What if I miss? (MAP, first action, routing/hold).
Cite: IPH; FAA Chart User's Guide. (See Lesson 13.)
Difference between MDA and DA, and the rule at each?
MDA (nonprecision) is a floor you may not descend below without the required visual references — hold it to the MAP if not visual. DA (precision/LPV) is a decision height: if not visual and in a position to land, you must already be executing the missed approach.
Cite: IFH Ch 10; IPH. (See Lessons 14–15.)
When must you go missed, and how do you fly it?
If not visual with the required references at DA/MAP, if unstable, on loss of guidance, or on ATC instruction. Fly the 5 C's — Cram/Climb, Clean, Climb, Communicate, Comply — flying the published track first, then reprogramming.
Cite: IFH Ch 10. (See Lesson 16.)
What do you do if you lose sight of the runway while circling?
Immediately begin the missed approach with a climbing turn toward the airport, then intercept and fly the published missed approach. Stay at/above circling MDA and within the protected area until in position to land.
Cite: IFH Ch 10; IPH. (See Lesson 17.)
VII · Emergency Operations
You lose two-way comms in IMC. What do you do (route and altitude)?
Squawk 7600. Route follows AVEF — Assigned, Vectored, Expected, Filed. Altitude is the highest of Assigned, Expected, or MEA for each segment. Begin the approach at the EFC time or near your ETA, then land. If VFR conditions exist, continue VFR and land as soon as practicable.
Cite: 14 CFR 91.185; AIM 6-4. (See Lesson 19.)
How do you fly an approach with loss of primary flight instruments?
Diagnose by cross-check (the lone disagreeing instrument is the suspect), build a scan from the survivors/standby/reversionary display, pick the simplest achievable approach (often GPS/LNAV), declare for priority if needed, configure early, and brief the miss.
Cite: IFH Ch 7 & 10. (See Lessons 18 & 20.) In the ACS this is one emergency Task — confirm.
VIII · Postflight Procedures
What do you check and record after an IFR flight?
Capture any in-flight anomaly (flags, erratic/lagging instruments, comm/nav issues, GPS integrity/database messages, autopilot behavior) as a clear squawk. Confirm required IFR inspections remain current; don't dispatch IFR with a lapsed inspection or unresolved airworthiness item.
Cite: 14 CFR 91.171/91.411/91.413; ACS Area VIII. (See Lesson 21.)
FLAGS for Walter: verify the current FAA-S-ACS-8 revision and every Area/Task/code reference; confirm helicopter-specific recency, alternate, and circling specifics; and replace all R44 fill-ins with verified POH/avionics-supplement values. Confirm the IFR trainer/sim context since the R44 is normally VFR-certificated.