FAR ninety-one dot two oh five and the required instruments checklist that decides whether your airplane is legal before you ever start it

FAR 91.205 defines the minimum instruments and equipment that must be installed and operable in any powered civil aircraft before it can legally fly. For day VFR flight, the required items are captured in the classic mnemonic A TOMATO FLAMES. For night VFR, add FLAPS. Understanding this regulation determines whether a broken gauge grounds your airplane or lets you fly — a distinction every pilot must know, especially on checkrides.

What Does FAR 91.205 Actually Require?

FAR 91.205 is essentially a shopping list. It specifies what instruments and equipment must be installed and working depending on when and how you fly. There are two main tiers for VFR pilots: one for day flight, and an expanded list for night flight. Instrument flight adds even more, but the VFR requirements are where most pilots spend their training.

The key concept: if an item on this list is broken, you cannot legally fly until it is repaired or properly addressed through the process outlined in FAR 91.213 (inoperative instruments and equipment).

What Is A TOMATO FLAMES?

A TOMATO FLAMES is the time-tested mnemonic for the day VFR required equipment list under FAR 91.205. Each letter represents one required instrument or piece of equipment.

A — Airspeed Indicator. Provides reliable approach speeds, stall margins, and cruise performance data. Without it, you have no way to manage airspeed safely.

T — Tachometer. One for each engine. The tach is how you set power, monitor engine health, and lean the mixture properly.

O — Oil Pressure Gauge. One for each engine. Oil pressure is the engine’s heartbeat. A zero reading means an emergency is imminent. Non-negotiable.

M — Manifold Pressure Gauge. Required only if the airplane has a constant-speed propeller. A Cessna 172 with a fixed-pitch prop doesn’t have or need one. A Piper Arrow or Bonanza with a constant-speed setup does.

A — Altimeter. Tells you and every other aircraft in the sky what altitude you’re at. Essential for terrain and traffic separation.

T — Temperature Gauge. Required for each liquid-cooled engine. Most piston trainers are air-cooled, so this typically does not apply to standard training aircraft like Cessnas and Pipers.

O — Oil Temperature Gauge. One for each engine. Works alongside oil pressure to provide a complete picture of engine health — monitoring warm-up, overheating, and abnormal conditions.

F — Fuel Gauge. One for each tank. Fuel gauges in small aircraft are famously unreliable, which is why good pilots cross-check with time calculations and fuel planning. The gauge is required; your math is what keeps you safe.

L — Landing Gear Position Indicator. Required only if the airplane has retractable landing gear. In a fixed-gear trainer, this does not apply. In a retractable like a Piper Arrow, that green “three down and locked” light is critical on final approach.

A — Anti-Collision Lights. An approved aviation red or white anti-collision light system — typically a rotating beacon, flashing strobes, or both. This is about being seen by other pilots.

M — Magnetic Direction Indicator. The magnetic compass — not the heading indicator, not a glass panel display. The whiskey compass is the only instrument that requires no electricity, no vacuum, and no external power source. It is your last line of defense for navigation.

E — ELT (Emergency Locator Transmitter). Activates on impact and broadcasts a distress signal for search and rescue. Some exceptions exist, but most flights in most airplanes require a working ELT with current batteries.

S — Safety Belts. Every occupant needs a seatbelt. Aircraft manufactured after 1986 also require shoulder harnesses for the front seats. A frayed or non-functional belt makes that seat unusable until repaired.

What Additional Equipment Is Required for Night VFR?

Night VFR adds to the day list. The mnemonic for the additions is FLAPS.

F — Fuses. A complete set of spare fuses accessible in the cockpit. If the airplane uses circuit breakers (most modern trainers do), this requirement is already satisfied.

L — Landing Light. Required only if the aircraft is operated for hire. Private pilots flying at night are not strictly required to have a working landing light under 91.205. That said, flying at night without one is inadvisable — you need to see the runway and be seen by others.

A — Anti-Collision Lights. Already required for day VFR; the mnemonic repeats them as a reminder.

P — Position Lights (Navigation Lights). Red on the left wing, green on the right wing, white on the tail. These are how other pilots determine your direction of flight at night. Without them, you are invisible.

S — Source of Electrical Energy. A functioning alternator and battery to power all lights and instruments. No electrical power means no night flight.

What Happens When a Required Instrument Breaks?

This is where the regulation directly affects your flying life. If you arrive at the airport and discover a required instrument is inoperative — say the oil temperature gauge reads zero and is clearly dead — you cannot legally fly.

The process for handling inoperative instruments is governed by FAR 91.213. The short version: if the instrument is required by 91.205, you cannot simply placard it inoperative and depart. It must be repaired or properly deactivated and signed off by a mechanic.

If the inoperative item is not required by 91.205, and not required by the airplane’s equipment list or type certificate, and not required by an airworthiness directive, then a pilot can potentially placard it inoperative and defer the repair.

Checkride example: An examiner asks, “Your attitude indicator has failed — can you fly day VFR?” The answer is yes, because the attitude indicator is not on the 91.205 day VFR list. But if the airspeed indicator has failed, the answer is no.

How Do Anti-Collision Lights Work With Redundant Systems?

A common scenario: you discover your rotating beacon has stopped working at a remote airport with no mechanic available. Anti-collision lights are on the required list, so you appear to be grounded.

However, some airplanes have both a rotating beacon and wingtip strobes. Either system can satisfy the anti-collision light requirement. If the beacon is dead but the strobes still function, you may still be legal because you still have an approved anti-collision light system operating. This is the kind of regulatory detail that can save you from being stranded — or from making a bad legal decision.

How Does 91.205 Relate to Your Airplane’s Equipment List?

The 91.205 required list is the federal minimum floor. Your specific airplane may have additional requirements based on its type certificate and the equipment list in the Pilot’s Operating Handbook. The POH might list items as required equipment that go beyond what 91.205 mandates, and those items also affect airworthiness.

Three separate references matter when determining if your airplane is legal to fly:

1. FAR 91.205 — the regulatory minimum
2. The Type Certificate Data Sheet and equipment list — what the manufacturer requires
3. Applicable Airworthiness Directives — mandatory modifications or inspections

All three must be satisfied.

How to Use A TOMATO FLAMES During Preflight

During a standard preflight inspection, you are already checking most of these items — glancing at gauges, testing lights, tugging seatbelts. What 91.205 does is provide a framework that turns a casual glance into a deliberate scan.

Before every flight, run through the mnemonic: A TOMATO FLAMES. At night, add FLAPS. It takes about fifteen seconds and confirms that your airplane meets the legal minimum to leave the ground.

Key Takeaways

• A TOMATO FLAMES covers the 13 required items for day VFR flight under FAR 91.205
• FLAPS adds 5 items required for night VFR operations
• Some items (manifold pressure gauge, landing gear indicator, liquid-cooled engine temp gauge) only apply to certain aircraft configurations
• If a required instrument is inoperative, FAR 91.213 governs what happens next — you cannot simply placard and fly
• Your airplane’s POH and type certificate may impose requirements beyond the 91.205 minimum