What Equipment Questions Are on the Instrument Oral Exam?

Quick Answer

The equipment block of the instrument oral covers four layers: the 91.205(d) IFR instrument list (GRABCARD), the IFR-specific inspections — altimeter/pitot-static within 24 calendar months (91.411) and transponder within 24 calendar months (91.413) — the 30-day VOR check with its methods and tolerances (91.171), and your specific GPS/avionics: RAIM vs. WAAS, LPV availability, and database currency.

GRABCARD — With the Why

For IFR you need everything required for day and night VFR (91.205(b), (c)) plus: Generator or alternator of adequate capacity, two-way Radio communication and navigation equipment suitable for the route to be flown, Attitude indicator, Ball (slip-skid indicator), Clock displaying hours, minutes, and seconds, sensitive Altimeter adjustable for barometric pressure, Rate-of-turn indicator, and Directional gyro.

Reciting the acronym gets a nod; two refinements make the examiner stop probing. First, the clock must be installed — a wristwatch or phone does not satisfy 91.205(d). Second, "suitable for the route" is the operative phrase on radios: a VOR airway requires VOR receiving equipment, an ILS requires localizer and glideslope. Equipment suitability is route-specific, not generic. Above FL240, add DME or a suitable RNAV system if VOR navigation is required (91.205(e)).

The Inspection Clocks

Beyond the annual (91.409), ELT (91.207), and AD compliance that every oral covers, IFR adds two: the altimeter and pitot-static system check within 24 calendar months (91.411 — required for IFR in controlled airspace) and the transponder check within 24 calendar months (91.413). Calendar-month math applies: the check expires at month-end. DPEs hand you the aircraft logbooks and have you find the entries — do it the day before and tab them.

The VOR Check: Methods and Tolerances

If you will use VOR for IFR, it must have been operationally checked within the preceding 30 days (91.171). Know the methods cold with their tolerances: VOT, repair station test signal, or a designated ground checkpoint — all ±4°; an airborne checkpoint or a self-made check over a prominent landmark on an established airway 20+ NM from the station — ±6°; and a dual-VOR cross-check — 4° between each other. Know what gets logged: date, place, bearing error, and signature.

The Avionics You Actually Fly

Modern orals live here. Expect: what RAIM is and what you do when a RAIM check fails, what WAAS adds, when LPV minima are available and what LNAV+V advisory glidepath is and is not, and what your AFM supplement requires for database currency — an expired database on checkride morning is a classic test-killer. "The GPS handles it" fails; walking the examiner through your unit's limitations passes.

The IFR Oral Exam Guide ($24) covers the entire legality-and-equipment block with exact tolerances and citations — 269 examiner Q&As and 12 scenario drills across 155 pages aligned to FAA-S-ACS-8C.