Checkride

Because instrument-rated pilots need an ATC clearance to fly in controlled airspace under instrument flight rules (IFR), they have to know how clearances work. They must recognize invalid clearances and know what to do if they receive one because - like the best pilots - air traffic controllers sometimes make mistakes, too.

Your instrument rating practical test should realistically evaluate your ability to meld with the air traffic control system as well as detect and correct ATC errors - just as ATC deals with errors pilots make. When you take the practical test, familiarity with Federal Aviation Regulation Parts 61 and 91; the Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM); and Advisory Circular (AC) 61-27, the Instrument Flying Handbook, will serve you well.

In addition to these references, good familiarity with standard instrument departures (SIDs), en route low altitude charts, standard terminal arrival routes (STARs), and instrument approach procedure charts will guide you smoothly through the test and through your flying career.

In the instrument rating's practical test standards (PTS), Area of Operation III governs ATC clearances and procedures. The three tasks include ATC clearances; compliance with departure, en route, and arrival procedures and clearances; and holding procedures. The PTS notes that "The ATC clearance may be an actual or simulated ATC clearance based upon the flight plan." This lets your examiner cope with local flying conditions and other considerations.

Occasionally, examiners surprise applicants and instructors alike by asking about Tower En Route Control (TEC) because local training often doesn't emphasize it. But the PTS requires knowledge of TEC, which serves aircraft flying to and from airports in metropolitan areas. AIM section 4.1.18 describes this logical program. Shifting its emphasis to less urban departure points, the PTS cites clearance void times as another requisite testing area, and AIM section 5.2.4 describes this clearance group.

Clearances range from stone-simple to complicated. For clarity, controllers use terms the way they are defined in the AIM pilot/controller glossary to deliver clearances, and examiners are usually alert to whether an applicant uses and understands these terms correctly.

A good example is "cruise." In conversational use, the meaning of "cruise" only implies forward motion. In aviation, however, "cruise" encompasses route and altitude as well as authority to conduct an instrument approach at one's destination.

This holds a drastically different meaning from the term "level," which some applicants replace with a more stylish-sounding "cruise." If an applicant makes this type of phraseology error during the oral portion of the checkride, he (or she) may not get to fly that day.

Some examiners ask applicants what ATC means when it advises "clearance on request." Experienced instrument pilots know that when they call to request their clearance, the controller may not yet have received it. "Clearance on request" is ATC's way of politely saying "I don't have it - I've requested it - you'll be the first to know when I get it!"

Frequently imbedded in some in-flight clearances is the instruction "report procedure turn inbound." Some non-FAA sources teach that the time to make this report is when you reverse your heading on the 45-degree barb to intercept the final approach course. However, the AIM pilot/controller glossary says that the aircraft must be established inbound on the intermediate approach segment or final approach course before the pilot reports "procedure turn inbound."

Because ATC uses this report to separate aircraft, instructors and examiners cannot overemphasize its importance. Neither can we overemphasize that the pilot must be familiar with the pilot/controller glossary.

Commercially produced text and study books abound to help you attain certificates and ratings, but checkride danger lurks when these references deviate from FAA publications. The examiner should use the FAA publications referenced in the PTS to evaluate every part of an applicant's performance.

For example, certain non-FAA materials teach instrument pilots who fly single-pilot aircraft to perform pre-takeoff checks while taxiing. (This is bad advice because divided attention is an overriding PTS concern for any checkride.) Others teach clearance and communication techniques and meanings that are contrary to the AIM and related advisory circulars. Your best insurance is to compare your study material to FAA references on the given subject. If the two disagree, go with the latter.

Each examiner has a different approach to testing clearances. Some examiners test clearances in the aircraft only, making ATC part of the checkride. Some examiners assume the role of ATC during the checkride, and others combine oral testing on the ground with the flight portion. Regardless what method the examiner uses, he probably will have specific areas of interest regarding your proficiency with ATC procedures.

For example, your examiner might issue a clearance with incorrect routing. The routing may sound similar to a clearance you were used to receiving during your training, but it will be flawed. For example, it may omit an altitude assignment. A clearance given during the checkride's oral portion may be entirely valid, and lead to discussion of clearance void times, amendments, tower-en route control, or other elements of clearance testing. In any event, examiners know that most applicants test in a familiar ATC environment, and that familiarity breeds complacency. Similar-but-invalid clearances are one way examiners root out dangerous complacency.

Familiarity is not always a bad thing, of course. The Instrument Flying Handbook holds that few clearances are especially difficult to copy, understand, or follow. But for this to be true, four elements must exist - your communications equipment has to be properly set, you must concentrate on what you actually hear rather than what you expect to hear, you must be familiar with the geographical area the clearance covers, and you have to copy fast enough to keep up with the controller reciting the clearance.

Familiarity with an area gives instrument pilots the advantage of knowing the locations of specified navigation facilities, routes, and point-to-point times. Examiners know all too well that their signatures authorize pilots to range far and wide in instrument conditions. Therefore, examiners want assurances that applicants study an unfamiliar clearance before accepting it. You must know the locations of the specified navaids, the route, your aircraft's performance capability, and point-to-point times before accepting the clearance. That means you read the clearance back to ATC to make sure you have the correct information - then you study the clearance. If some element is incorrect or unacceptable, call ATC again and correct the error or work out the details.

At busy metropolitan airports clearances are often rendered as SIDs or STARs to reduce frequency congestion. Your examiner will probably question you on these. One area of interest is how SIDs and STARs ease your piloting workload. Because you can study these before you file a flight plan, you can become familiar with their sometimes complicated routing.

Regardless of the nature of any clearance you receive, your examiner considers it vital that you understand it before accepting it. Once you have accepted a clearance, your examiner is there to verify that you comply with it to the letter.

III. AREA OF OPERATION: AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL CLEARANCES AND PROCEDURES

NOTE: The ATC clearance may be an actual or simulated ATC clearance based upon the flight plan.

A. TASK: AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL CLEARANCES (IA, IH, A) REFERENCES: FAR Parts 61, 91,; AC 61-27; AIM.

Objective. To determine that the applicant:

1. Exhibits adequate knowledge of the elements related to ATC clearances and pilot/controller responsibilities to include tower enroute control and clearance void times.

2. Copies correctly, in a timely manner, the ATC clearance as issued.

3. Determines that it is possible to comply with ATC clearance.

4. Interprets correctly the ATC clearance received and, when necessary, requests clarification, verification, or change.

5. Reads back correctly, in a timely manner, the ATC clearance in the sequence received.

6. Uses standard phraseology when reading back clearance.

7. Sets the appropriate communication and navigation frequencies and transponder codes in compliance with the ATC clearance.