Updated October 2026
NWKRAFT is the memory aid for 14 CFR 91.103, the preflight action rule: NOTAMs, Weather, Known ATC delays, Runway lengths, Alternatives, Fuel requirements, and Takeoff and landing distances. It lives in Part 91, the operating rules every civil aircraft in the United States follows, next to the 8-hour alcohol rule, the 30-minute day fuel reserve and the oxygen rule above 12,500 feet.
Part 91 is long, but a private pilot uses perhaps twenty sections of it on a normal flight, and those are the ones a checkride examiner asks about. This page is the plain-English version of that short list, checked against the current eCFR text in October 2026, with the way each rule actually shows up on a flight out of Van Nuys.
Book A Discovery Flight — $229 Book A Free Consultation Call (818) 330-1318
What Part 91 Is, And How It Differs From Parts 61, 121 And 135
Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations splits the job in two. Part 61 decides who may fly: certificates, ratings, training, endorsements, currency. Part 91 decides how any aircraft is flown: preflight, right-of-way, weather minimums, equipment, inspections. Under 91.1(a) it governs the operation of aircraft within the United States, including the waters within 3 nautical miles of the coast.
Parts 121 and 135 sit on top of Part 91 for airlines and for charter or commuter operators. A private pilot never operates under them. Every lesson you fly with us, every rental and every solo is a Part 91 flight. Our Part 91 vs Part 135 vs Part 121 page covers where the line falls when money changes hands.
91.103 Preflight Action: NWKRAFT
The rule itself is one sentence and two paragraphs. Before every flight, it says, the pilot in command must become familiar with all available information concerning that flight. For a flight under IFR or away from the vicinity of an airport, that includes weather reports and forecasts, fuel requirements, alternatives if the flight cannot be completed, and known traffic delays ATC has told you about. For any flight, it includes runway lengths at the airports you will use and the takeoff and landing distance data from the flight manual.
Notice what is missing. The word NOTAM is not in 91.103. It is covered by "all available information", and in Los Angeles that phrase carries real weight, because temporary flight restrictions for fires, stadiums and VIP movements pop up at short notice. Our NOTAMs and TFRs guide covers how to read them.
| Letter | Item | Where It Sits In The Rule | What We Check Before A Van Nuys Departure |
|---|---|---|---|
| N | NOTAMs | "All available information" | Runway and taxiway closures at VNY, fire and stadium TFRs |
| W | Weather reports and forecasts | 91.103(a) | The VNY METAR and TAF, the marine layer at the coast, winds over the passes |
| K | Known ATC delays | 91.103(a) | Delays ATC has told you about; rare for a local flight |
| R | Runway lengths | 91.103(b) | 16L/34R is 4,000 feet; the destination's runways too |
| A | Alternatives | 91.103(a) | A second airport if the destination goes below minimums |
| F | Fuel requirements | 91.103(a) | The 91.151 reserve plus our own margin |
| T | Takeoff and landing distances | 91.103(b)(1) and (b)(2) | Handbook charts at today's weight, temperature and wind |
91.3 Pilot In Command, 91.7 Airworthiness And 91.13 Careless Or Reckless
Section 91.3 makes the pilot in command "directly responsible for" the flight and its final authority. In an in-flight emergency that needs immediate action, you may deviate from any Part 91 rule to the extent the emergency requires, and the FAA may ask you for a written report afterwards. Examiners like asking whether you need permission to do that. You do not.
Section 91.7 puts airworthiness on the same person. Nobody may operate a civil aircraft that is not airworthy, and the pilot in command decides whether it is in condition for safe flight. If a mechanical, electrical or structural problem shows up in the air, the rule says to discontinue the flight. That is why a squawk you find on the walkaround belongs in the conversation with your instructor, not in your pocket.
Section 91.13 is the catch-all. No one may operate an aircraft carelessly or recklessly so as to endanger the life or property of another, and paragraph (b) extends the same idea to taxiing and other ground operations on an airport. Examiners use it to ask about taxiing too fast or buzzing a friend's house.
91.17 Alcohol And Drugs: 8 Hours, 0.04 And Under The Influence
No person may act or attempt to act as a crewmember in four situations. The first is within 8 hours after drinking any alcoholic beverage. The other three are while under the influence of alcohol, while using a drug that affects their faculties contrary to safety, and with an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or greater in a blood or breath specimen. Each one stands alone. Waiting 8 hours does not make you legal if you are still impaired the next morning, and being under 0.04 does not help if you drank 6 hours ago.
Paragraph (b) covers your passengers. Except in an emergency, you may not carry someone who appears intoxicated or shows signs of drug influence, unless they are a medical patient under proper care. Paragraph (c) requires a crewmember to take an alcohol test when a law enforcement officer is authorized to ask. If the FAA has a reasonable basis, it can also request the results of tests taken within 4 hours of flying.
The rule that surprises people is on the ground. Under 14 CFR 61.15(e), a pilot must report a motor vehicle action, such as a DUI conviction or a license suspension for impaired driving, to the FAA's security division in writing within 60 days. It is separate from what you declare on your medical application, and it is easy to miss because nobody reminds you.
91.107 Seat Belts And Briefing Passengers
Before takeoff, the pilot in command must make sure everyone aboard knows how to fasten and unfasten the seat belt and shoulder harness, and has been told to fasten them. During movement on the surface, takeoff and landing, everyone must be in an approved seat with the belt fastened. A child under 2 may be held by an adult in an approved seat.
Section 91.105 adds that required crewmembers stay at their stations with belts fastened during takeoff, landing and en route, unless duties or physiological needs take them away. In a two-seat Cessna 162 the briefing takes thirty seconds. Do it every time anyway, including the door latch and what to do with the headset cord if you have to get out quickly.
Fuel Reserves Under 91.151 And 91.167, And What We Plan At Van Nuys
VFR fuel is in 91.151. You may not begin a VFR flight in an airplane without enough fuel, considering wind and forecast weather, to reach the first point of intended landing. On top of that you need 30 more minutes at normal cruising speed by day, or 45 minutes at night. IFR fuel is in 91.167 and asks for more.
| Flight | Fuel Required | Regulation |
|---|---|---|
| VFR airplane, day | To the first point of intended landing plus 30 minutes at normal cruise | 91.151(a)(1) |
| VFR airplane, night | To the first point of intended landing plus 45 minutes at normal cruise | 91.151(a)(2) |
| VFR rotorcraft | To the first point of intended landing plus 20 minutes | 91.151(b) |
| IFR airplane | To the destination, then to the alternate if one is required, then 45 minutes at normal cruise | 91.167(a) |
| IFR alternate not required | Destination has an instrument approach, and from 1 hour before to 1 hour after arrival the forecast is at least a 2,000-foot ceiling and 3 miles visibility | 91.167(b) |
Treat those as the floor. In the Piper Warrior, our student planning sheet works the 30-minute day reserve out to 4.5 gallons at 9 gallons an hour, and we plan our students' cross-countries with an hour on landing instead. Running the tanks down to a legal minimum over the Santa Susana Mountains at dusk is a bad trade for twenty minutes of saved fuel.
91.159 VFR Cruising Altitudes And 91.211 Oxygen
Once you are in level cruise more than 3,000 feet above the surface and below 18,000 feet MSL, 91.159 sets the altitude by magnetic course. From 0 through 179 degrees, fly an odd thousand plus 500: 3,500, 5,500, 7,500. From 180 through 359, an even thousand plus 500: 4,500, 6,500, 8,500. The rule does not apply while turning, while holding for 2 minutes or less, or when ATC authorizes something else. A trip up the coast to Santa Barbara is westbound for this rule, so even plus 500; a trip east to the desert is odd.
Oxygen is in 91.211. It is written in cabin pressure altitude, which in an unpressurized trainer is simply the altitude you are flying.
- Above 12,500 feet MSL up to and including 14,000 feet, the required flight crew must use supplemental oxygen for any part of the flight at those altitudes that lasts more than 30 minutes.
- Above 14,000 feet MSL, the required flight crew must use it the whole time.
- Above 15,000 feet MSL, every occupant must be provided with supplemental oxygen.
Most of our flying never gets near those lines. The exception is the Cirrus SR22 Turbo, N422SN, which is certificated to FL250 and is the one airplane on our ramp where oxygen planning is a normal part of the brief.
91.155 Weather Minimums, 91.113 Right-Of-Way And 91.119 Minimum Altitudes
Three more sections come up on every oral exam, and each has its own page. For Class D airspace like Van Nuys, 91.155 calls for 3 statute miles visibility and cloud clearance of 500 feet below, 1,000 feet above and 2,000 feet horizontal. Inside the surface area you also need a 1,000-foot ceiling to fly beneath it and 3 miles of ground visibility to take off, land or enter the pattern. On many June mornings the marine layer holds Van Nuys below those numbers until it burns off. Our VFR guide has the full table.
Right-of-way under 91.113 and minimum safe altitudes under 91.119 are on their own page: right-of-way rules and minimum safe altitudes. The short version: distress first, then balloon, glider, towing, airship, and turn right head-on. Over anything built up, stay 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle within 2,000 feet, which near Los Angeles means almost everywhere.
91.205, 91.213 And 91.409: Equipment And Inspections
The equipment rules are their own subject, so they get their own page: required equipment, documents and inspections. In one paragraph: 91.205 lists the instruments and equipment for day VFR, night VFR and IFR (the ATOMATOFLAMES, FLAPS and GRABCARD lists). 91.213 tells you whether you may fly with something broken, which for most training airplanes means checking it is not required, then placarding it "Inoperative". And 91.409 requires an annual inspection within the preceding 12 calendar months. It adds a 100-hour inspection for an airplane used for flight instruction for hire when the instructor provides it, which covers every airplane in a flight school fleet.
Students who learn these sections with a real airplane in front of them remember them. Students who learn them from a list forget them by the checkride. That is one reason our private pilot course puts the regulations into the preflight briefing of every lesson rather than saving them for ground school week.
Related Reading
- Right-of-way rules and minimum safe altitudes: 91.113 and 91.119 with Van Nuys examples.
- Required equipment, documents and inspections: ATOMATOFLAMES, FLAPS, GRABCARD, ARROW and AVIATES.
- NOTAMs and TFRs explained: the N in NWKRAFT, and the Los Angeles fire TFRs.
- What is VFR: weather minimums, special VFR and cruising altitudes.
- Private pilot oral exam guide: how examiners ask about all of this.
- Part 91 vs Part 135 vs Part 121: where private flying ends and commercial operations begin.
Part 91 Rules FAQ
What Does NWKRAFT Stand For?
NOTAMs, Weather reports and forecasts, Known ATC delays, Runway lengths, Alternatives, Fuel requirements, and Takeoff and landing distances. It is a memory aid for the preflight action rule in 14 CFR 91.103; the regulation itself lists everything except NOTAMs by name.
Are NOTAMs Required By 91.103?
Not by name. 91.103 requires you to become familiar with all available information concerning the flight, and NOTAMs and temporary flight restrictions fall under that phrase. Around Los Angeles a fire or stadium TFR can appear at short notice, so check them on every briefing.
How Long After Drinking Can A Pilot Fly?
At least 8 hours after the last drink, and only if you are no longer under the influence and below an alcohol concentration of 0.04. All three conditions in 14 CFR 91.17(a) apply at once, so the 8-hour mark alone does not make you legal.
What Are The VFR Fuel Requirements?
Enough fuel to reach the first point of intended landing plus 30 minutes at normal cruising speed by day, or 45 minutes at night, under 14 CFR 91.151. Helicopters need 20 minutes. We plan student cross-countries with an hour of fuel on landing.
When Is Supplemental Oxygen Required?
Under 14 CFR 91.211, the required crew must use oxygen for any time beyond 30 minutes above 12,500 feet up to and including 14,000 feet, and at all times above 14,000 feet. Above 15,000 feet, every occupant must be provided with it.
Do I Have To Brief My Passengers Before Every Flight?
Yes. Under 14 CFR 91.107(a) the pilot in command must show each person aboard how the seat belt and shoulder harness work, and tell them to fasten both before taxi, takeoff and landing.
Which VFR Cruising Altitude Do I Use Westbound?
An even thousand plus 500 feet, such as 4,500 or 6,500, on a magnetic course from 180 through 359 degrees, once you are more than 3,000 feet above the surface. Eastbound, from 0 through 179 degrees, it is an odd thousand plus 500.
Learn The Rules With An Airplane In Front Of You
The fastest way to make Part 91 stick is to brief it before a real flight. A 60-minute discovery flight from Van Nuys is $229, you fly it from the left seat, and your instructor walks you through the preflight that NWKRAFT describes. It is logged as dual instruction and credited in full toward training if you enroll within 24 hours. The private pilot course starts at $10,400 with $2,500 down, or a two-hour beginner flying lesson is $349 if you want a longer first session. To plan the whole course, book a free consultation or call (818) 330-1318, 9 AM to 9 PM every day.
Book A Discovery Flight — $229 Book A Free Consultation Call (818) 330-1318
