Updated October 2026
ATOMATOFLAMES is the memory aid for the day VFR equipment list in 14 CFR 91.205(b): Airspeed indicator, Tachometer, Oil pressure gauge, Manifold pressure gauge, Altimeter, Temperature gauge for liquid-cooled engines, Oil temperature gauge, Fuel gauge, Landing gear position indicator, Anticollision lights, Magnetic compass, ELT and Safety belts. FLAPS adds the night items and GRABCARD the IFR items.
Two more acronyms finish the set. ARROW is the paperwork that has to be in the airplane, and AVIATES is the list of inspections that keep it legal. Every one of them comes up on a private pilot oral exam. The usual form is "is this airplane airworthy today, and how do you know?" We checked each rule below against the current eCFR text in October 2026.
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91.205: Day VFR Required Equipment (ATOMATOFLAMES)
Section 91.205 applies to powered civil aircraft with a standard category airworthiness certificate. Paragraph (b) lists what has to be installed and working for day VFR. Several items only apply to certain airplanes, and that is where students lose points. The manifold pressure gauge is required only for an altitude engine. The temperature gauge item is for liquid-cooled engines, which almost no trainer has.
| Letter | Equipment | When It Is Required |
|---|---|---|
| A | Airspeed indicator | Always |
| T | Tachometer | For each engine |
| O | Oil pressure gauge | For each engine using a pressure system |
| M | Manifold pressure gauge | For each altitude engine |
| A | Altimeter | Always |
| T | Temperature gauge | For each liquid-cooled engine |
| O | Oil temperature gauge | For each air-cooled engine |
| F | Fuel gauge | Indicating the quantity in each tank |
| L | Landing gear position indicator | If the airplane has retractable gear |
| A | Anticollision light system, aviation red or white | Small airplanes certificated after March 11, 1996 |
| M | Magnetic direction indicator | Always |
| E | Emergency locator transmitter | If 91.207 requires one |
| S | Safety belts and shoulder harnesses | Belts for each occupant 2 or older; harnesses by date of manufacture |
Two items are not in the acronym but are in the rule. Flotation gear and a pyrotechnic signaling device are required when an airplane is operated for hire over water beyond power-off gliding distance from shore. And the anticollision light item has its own relief: if the light fails, you may continue until repairs can be made.
On the Piper Warrior the list maps neatly onto the panel. On a Cirrus SR22 or a Cessna 162 Skycatcher most of it lives on glass screens, and you still have to find each item. The Skycatcher has a further wrinkle: it was approved to the ASTM light-sport standards rather than holding a standard type certificate, so its required equipment comes from its own operating limitations and equipment list. We teach ATOMATOFLAMES in it anyway, because the examiner will ask.
Night VFR Additions (FLAPS)
Paragraph (c) of 91.205 requires everything on the day list plus five items. FLAPS is the usual way to remember them:
- Fuses: one spare set, or three spare fuses of each kind required, accessible to the pilot in flight.
- Landing light: one electric landing light, but only if the aircraft is operated for hire.
- Anticollision lights: an approved aviation red or white system on every US-registered civil aircraft at night, not only the post-1996 airplanes.
- Position lights: approved navigation lights.
- Source of electricity: enough electrical energy for all installed electrical and radio equipment.
The landing light catches people. A private pilot flying their own airplane at night does not need one under 91.205(c). A flight school airplane on a night lesson is operated for hire, so it does. Separately, 91.209 requires lighted position lights between sunset and sunrise and anticollision lights on whenever the system is installed, unless the pilot in command decides it is safer to turn them off. Our night flying guide covers the currency side.
IFR Additions (GRABCARD)
For IFR, 91.205(d) adds the following to the day list, and to the night list if you fly IFR at night:
- Generator or alternator of adequate capacity.
- Radios: two-way communication and navigation equipment suitable for the route and facilities.
- Attitude indicator, the gyroscopic pitch and bank instrument.
- Ball, the slip-skid indicator.
- Clock showing hours, minutes and seconds, with a sweep-second pointer or digital display.
- Altimeter, a sensitive one adjustable for barometric pressure.
- Rate-of-turn indicator, with an exception for airplanes fitted with a third attitude instrument.
- Directional gyro, the heading indicator or equivalent.
Paragraph (e) adds DME or a suitable RNAV system at and above FL240 where VOR navigation is required. A training airplane never gets there; the Cirrus SR22 Turbo, N422SN, is certificated to FL250, so it is the one airplane on our ramp where that paragraph is not purely academic. Our IFR-equipped Warriors, N3034Q and N6312C, carry everything on the GRABCARD list, and the instrument rating course at $11,700 is flown in them and the Redbird MCX simulator.
ARROW: The Documents That Must Be On Board
ARROW is how most students remember the paperwork:
- Airworthiness certificate. Required by 91.203(a)(1), and under 91.203(b) it must be displayed at the cabin or cockpit entrance where passengers or crew can read it.
- Registration certificate. Required by 91.203(a)(2). Since the FAA's 2022 change to 14 CFR 47.40, a registration certificate expires seven years after the last day of the month it was issued, so check the date.
- Radio station license. It is an FCC document, not an FAA one, and under 47 CFR 87.18 an aircraft that is not required to carry a radio and does not fly internationally is licensed by rule. You need an individual license only when you leave the country.
- Operating limitations. Under 91.9 you must comply with the limits in the approved flight manual, markings and placards, and a current approved flight manual must be aboard when one is required.
- Weight and balance data for that specific airplane, normally kept with the handbook. It is the document you actually use on every flight.
The pilot carries documents too. Under 14 CFR 61.3 you need your pilot certificate, your medical certificate or other accepted medical documentation where required, and a photo ID such as a driver's license or passport. A student pilot on a solo cross-country must also carry the logbook with the endorsements, under 61.51(i)(2).
AVIATES: The Inspections
AVIATES covers what has to have been inspected, and when. The V, the second A and the S apply only to IFR flight; the rest apply to almost every airplane you will rent.
| Letter | Inspection | Interval | Regulation |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Airworthiness directives complied with, and recorded | As each AD requires; status kept in the records | 91.417(a)(2)(v) |
| V | VOR accuracy check, for IFR | Within the preceding 30 days | 91.171 |
| I | Inspections: annual, and 100-hour if used for hire or instruction | 12 calendar months; 100 hours of time in service | 91.409(a) and (b) |
| A | Altimeter and altitude reporting, for IFR in controlled airspace | 24 calendar months | 91.411 |
| T | Transponder | 24 calendar months | 91.413 |
| E | ELT inspection; battery replaced after 1 cumulative hour of use or 50 percent of its useful life | 12 calendar months | 91.207(c) and (d) |
| S | Static system, for IFR in controlled airspace | 24 calendar months | 91.411 |
The 100-hour inspection is the one that matters most at a flight school. Under 91.409(b) it applies to an aircraft carrying anyone other than crew for hire, and to an aircraft used for flight instruction for hire when the instructor provides it. The 100-hour limit may be exceeded by up to 10 hours only while flying to a place where the inspection can be done, and those extra hours come off the next interval. Because all 20 of our airplanes are owned by us and maintained in our own shop, that clock is something we track, not something we chase.
The VOR check under 91.171 allows 4 degrees of error against a ground test signal or ground checkpoint, 6 degrees against an airborne checkpoint, and 4 degrees between two independent VOR receivers. The pilot logs the date, the place and the bearing error, and signs it.
Inoperative Equipment: 91.213, MELs And Placards
Something will be broken one day: a landing light, a fuel gauge, a second radio. Section 91.213 decides whether you may still go. Airplanes with an approved minimum equipment list follow it under paragraph (a). Most piston trainers have no MEL, and they fall under paragraph (d). That paragraph allows takeoff with an inoperative item only if it is none of the following.
- Part of the day VFR instruments and equipment required by the airplane's type certification rules.
- Listed as required on the airplane's equipment list, or its kinds of operations equipment list, for the flight you plan.
- Required by 91.205 or another rule for that kind of operation.
- Required to be working by an airworthiness directive.
If it clears all four, the item must be removed with the maintenance recorded, or deactivated and placarded "Inoperative". Then a certificated pilot or a person qualified to maintain the airplane must decide that it is not a hazard. A broken landing light on a day solo can pass that test, if the airplane's equipment list does not call for it. The same light on a night lesson cannot, because the airplane is operated for hire and 91.205(c) requires it. When nothing in 91.213 works, a special flight permit under paragraph (e) is the only way to move the airplane.
How We Check These On A Preflight At Van Nuys
On a student's first few lessons we turn the acronyms into a routine at the airplane, before the walkaround.
- Open the door and find the airworthiness certificate at the entrance, then the registration and its expiration date.
- Find the handbook and the weight and balance sheet for that tail number, and do the weight and balance for today.
- Look for any "Inoperative" placards and ask why each one is there.
- Ask your instructor to show you the annual, 100-hour, transponder and ELT dates in the records.
- Run ATOMATOFLAMES across the panel with your finger, then FLAPS if the flight ends after sunset.
The preflight inspection checklist page covers the walkaround that follows. Done this way the whole check takes five minutes, and a student who has done it twenty times has the oral exam answer ready without studying for it.
Related Reading
- Part 91 rules every private pilot must know: NWKRAFT, fuel, oxygen, alcohol and cruising altitudes.
- Preflight inspection checklist: the walkaround, item by item.
- Transponder codes and ADS-B explained: the equipment the Los Angeles airspace requires.
- Private pilot oral exam guide: how airworthiness questions are asked.
- Night flying currency and training: where FLAPS gets used.
- Aircraft checkout requirements: what we ask of renters before they fly solo.
Required Equipment FAQ
What Does ATOMATOFLAMES Stand For?
Airspeed indicator, Tachometer, Oil pressure gauge, Manifold pressure gauge, Altimeter, Temperature gauge, Oil temperature gauge, Fuel gauge, Landing gear position indicator, Anticollision lights, Magnetic compass, ELT and Safety belts. It is the day VFR list in 14 CFR 91.205(b), and several items apply only to certain engines or airplanes.
What Is The FLAPS Acronym For Night Flying?
Fuses, Landing light, Anticollision lights, Position lights and Source of electricity, the night VFR additions in 91.205(c). The landing light is required only when the aircraft is operated for hire, which includes a flight school's night lesson.
What Does GRABCARD Mean?
Generator or alternator, Radios, Attitude indicator, Ball, Clock, Altimeter, Rate-of-turn indicator and Directional gyro: the IFR additions in 91.205(d). The clock must show hours, minutes and seconds with a sweep-second pointer or a digital display.
What Documents Must Be On Board An Airplane?
The airworthiness certificate, displayed at the entrance, and the registration certificate under 91.203, plus the operating limitations under 91.9. A US registration certificate now expires after seven years, and the FCC radio station license is needed only for international flights.
How Often Does An ELT Need To Be Inspected?
Within 12 calendar months of the last inspection, under 91.207(d). The battery must be replaced or recharged after more than 1 cumulative hour of use, or once half of its useful life has expired.
Can I Fly With An Inoperative Instrument?
Sometimes. Without an MEL, 91.213(d) allows it only if nothing requires the item: not the type certification rules, the equipment list, 91.205 or an airworthiness directive. It must then be removed or placarded "Inoperative" and judged not to be a hazard.
Does A Flight School Airplane Need A 100-Hour Inspection?
Yes, when it is used for flight instruction for hire and the school provides it, under 91.409(b). The interval may be overflown by up to 10 hours only to reach a place where the inspection can be done, and that time counts against the next 100 hours.
See The Paperwork On A Real Airplane
The acronyms make sense the first time you open the door of a real airplane and find each document yourself. A 60-minute discovery flight from Van Nuys is $229, flown from the left seat with an instructor, 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, and you can book a free consultation to plan it, or call (818) 330-1318 any day from 9 AM to 9 PM. We are at 7900 Balboa Blvd, Main Terminal Unit 108, Van Nuys, CA 91406.
Book A Discovery Flight — $229 Book A Free Consultation Call (818) 330-1318
