FAR ninety-one dot two oh five and the equipment list your examiner will absolutely ask you to recite from memory

FAR 91.205 requires specific instruments and equipment for VFR flight, and it is one of the most heavily tested regulations on the private pilot oral exam. The daytime VFR requirements are remembered with the mnemonic A TOMATOFLAMES, while night VFR adds FLAPS. Beyond memorization, understanding how to apply this regulation through the 91.213 decision tree is what separates a passing answer from an impressive one.

What Instruments Are Required for Daytime VFR Flight?

The mnemonic A TOMATOFLAMES covers every required instrument and piece of equipment under 14 CFR 91.205(b). Each letter stands for one item:

A — Airspeed Indicator. The pitot-static instrument that provides approach speeds, maneuvering speed reference, and stall awareness.

T — Tachometer (for each engine). Your primary power reference. In a single-engine airplane, losing the tachometer means losing your ability to set power reliably.

O — Oil Pressure Gauge (for each engine). Arguably the most critical engine instrument. If oil pressure drops to zero, engine seizure can follow within seconds, not minutes.

M — Manifold Pressure Gauge (for each altitude engine). This only applies to aircraft with constant-speed propellers. A Cessna 150 with a fixed-pitch prop does not have or need one — the tachometer handles power reference. Know which items apply to your specific airplane.

A — Altimeter. Required for compliance with cruising altitudes, traffic pattern altitudes, and minimum safe altitude rules.

T — Temperature Gauge (for each liquid-cooled engine). Most training aircraft (Cessnas, Pipers) use air-cooled engines, so this requirement does not apply to them. The cylinder head temperature gauge found in many air-cooled aircraft is not required by this regulation. This specifically targets liquid-cooled engines.

O — Oil Temperature Gauge (for each engine). Oil pressure confirms circulation; oil temperature confirms the oil is within its effective operating range. Both are required.

F — Fuel Gauge (for each tank). The gauge must be installed and functional, indicating fuel quantity in each tank. Fuel gauges in many GA aircraft are notoriously inaccurate — that is a practical concern, but it does not change the regulatory requirement.

L — Landing Gear Position Indicator (if retractable gear). Fixed-gear trainers do not need one. Transition to a Cessna 182 RG or Piper Arrow, and it becomes required. Gear-up landings remain one of the most common and expensive mistakes in general aviation.

A — Anti-Collision Lights. For aircraft certified after March 11, 1996, an approved aviation red or white anti-collision light system is required. This is typically your rotating beacon, strobes, or both. If the system fails before a flight, 91.209(d) allows operation without it when repair is not practical — but you must be able to cite that exception.

M — Magnetic Direction Indicator. The magnetic compass — not the heading indicator, not GPS track. It requires no electrical power and no vacuum system. It is the last reference standing when everything else fails.

E — ELT (Emergency Locator Transmitter). Most aircraft carry one in the tail section. Certain operations (ferry flights, training flights within a specific radius) allow flight without one. Critical detail: the ELT battery has an expiration date. If that battery is past its replacement date, the ELT is not airworthy, and neither is the airplane. Check the logbook.

S — Safety Belts. Every occupant must have a seatbelt. Aircraft manufactured after July 18, 1978 also require shoulder harnesses for front seats.

What Additional Equipment Is Required for Night VFR?

Night VFR requires everything on the daytime list plus items remembered by the mnemonic FLAPS, from 91.205(c):

F — Fuses. One complete set of spare fuses, or three of each kind required, accessible to the pilot in flight. If the airplane uses circuit breakers instead of fuses (most training aircraft do), this requirement does not apply.

L — Landing Light. Required only if the aircraft is operated for hire. Personal night flights do not legally require one. That said, flying at night without a landing light is a poor decision regardless of legality.

A — Anti-Collision Lights. Already required for day, but visibility becomes even more critical at night.

P — Position Lights (Navigation Lights). Red on the left wing, green on the right, white on the tail. These allow other pilots to determine your direction of travel. A burned-out nav light before a night flight means the airplane is grounded until it is fixed.

S — Source of Electrical Energy. An adequate source for all installed electrical and radio equipment — meaning your alternator and battery must be in good working order. Losing the electrical system at night is a far more serious situation than during the day.

How Do I Determine If I Can Fly With Something Broken?

This is where 91.205 connects to 91.213 (Inoperative Instruments and Equipment), and this decision tree is what examiners really want to hear on the oral exam.

Step 1: Does the airplane have a Minimum Equipment List (MEL)? Most Part 91 GA airplanes do not. MELs are more common in Part 135 and Part 121 operations. If there is no MEL, move to Step 2.

Step 2: Is the inoperative item required by 91.205? If yes, the airplane is not airworthy. Full stop.

Step 3: Is it required by the airplane’s type certificate, equipment list, or any other regulation (such as an Airworthiness Directive)? Check the POH and the aircraft’s equipment list. Some items not listed in 91.205 may still be required because the manufacturer listed them as required for that specific airplane.

Step 4: If the item is not required by any of those sources, you can deactivate or remove it, placard it as inoperative, and note it in the maintenance records. Then you can legally fly.

Scenario: Broken Com 2 Radio on a Cessna 172

During preflight for a daytime VFR cross-country, the number two com radio is not working. Walk the decision tree: a second com radio is not required by 91.205 for daytime VFR. Check the POH — in most Cessna 172s, the second radio is listed as optional equipment. Placard it inoperative, note it in the records, and the flight is legal.

Now change the scenario: the altimeter reads 400 feet off from field elevation and the Kollsman window adjustment will not correct it. The altimeter is on the required list (the A in A TOMATOFLAMES). That airplane is not legal for VFR flight. Call maintenance.

What About Transponders and ADS-B?

A common exam trap: transponder requirements for VFR flight do not come from 91.205. They come from 91.215. If flying in Class B or Class C airspace, or above 10,000 feet MSL, an operating transponder with Mode C altitude encoding is required.

ADS-B Out requirements come from 91.225. In most airspace where a transponder is required, ADS-B Out is now also required. Know where these regulations live so you do not accidentally lump them into 91.205 and overcomplicate your answer.

Building a Preflight Habit Around 91.205

Do not memorize A TOMATOFLAMES for the oral exam and then forget it. Before every flight, as you scan the panel prior to engine start, run the mnemonic:

• Airspeed indicator reading?
• Tachometer in the green arc?
• Oil pressure — will it come alive after start?
• Altimeter set to field elevation within 75 feet?
• Fuel gauges matching what you physically verified during the walk-around?

This takes ten seconds and catches real problems — expired ELT batteries found by checking the logbook before each flight, burned-out position lights caught during preflight instead of after engine start.

Key Takeaways

• Daytime VFR requires A TOMATOFLAMES: Airspeed indicator, Tachometer, Oil pressure gauge, Manifold pressure gauge (altitude engines only), Altimeter, Temperature gauge (liquid-cooled engines only), Oil temperature gauge, Fuel gauge, Landing gear position indicator (retractable gear only), Anti-collision lights, Magnetic compass, ELT, Safety belts
• Night VFR adds FLAPS: Fuses (if applicable), Landing light (for hire only), Anti-collision lights, Position lights, Source of electrical energy
• When something is broken, walk the 91.213 decision tree: MEL → 91.205 → Type certificate/equipment list → Placard and go
• Transponder and ADS-B requirements live in 91.215 and 91.225, not 91.205
• Make the mnemonic a preflight habit, not just an exam answer