Aircraft Information
Manual
Disclaimer
FAR §21.5(a) mandates all aircraft "Airplane or Rotorcraft Flight
Manual and having no flight time before March 1, 1979, the holder of a type
certificate (including amended or supplemental type certificates) or the
licensee of a type certificate must make available to the owner at the time of
delivery of the aircraft a current approved Airplane or Rotorcraft Flight
Manual."
In short, all aircraft that were sold as new as of that date must have a
serial number-specific manual applicable to that specfic airframe. The manual
must be issued directly from the manufacturer with the serial number shown on
the cover page with an authorized signature an the agent of the Federal Aviation
Administration.
The Airplane Information Manuals we sell does not satisfy this mandates. The
manufacturer is the ONLY source for the serial number-specif Airplane Flight
Manual. We may assist as requested in obtaining this manual. The typical cost
may vary from a few hundred to well over a thousand dollars. The reason for this
high cost is to cover the creation of the manual as well as the manufacturer's
liability attached in its creation.
A Bit of Education on Flight Manuals!
Frequently, the terminalogy of flight manuals is tossed around and confused
by most pilots, instructors and even those writing them.
- Airplane Flight Manual (AFM):
- The AFM is a document developed by the airplane manufacturer and
approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
- It is specific to a particular make and model airplane by serial
number and it contains operating procedures and limitations which meet
the requirements of FAR 21.5 (Shown below)
- Pilot Operating Handbook (POH):
- The POH is a document developed by the airplane manufacturer and
contains the FAA approved Airplane Flight Manual (AFM) information
- The term "POH" came into existence in the mid-1970s as a result of
AOPA's and GAMA's efforts to standardize and expand information
contained in the owner's manuals or information manuals of the day
- Airplane Owner/Pilot Information Manual (PIM): ←
This is what we sell!
- The PIM is a document developed by the airplane manufacturer
containing general information about the make and model of an airplane
- The airplane owner’s manual is not FAA-approved and is not specific
to a particular serial numbered airplane
- This manual is not kept current, and therefore cannot be substituted
for the AFM/POH
- It is often used as a way to learn and review aircraft information
without removing legal information from the aircraft
An example of the "POH" might be a manual package or case which includes the
Airplane Flight Manual (AFM) and a manual for the Garmin G1000 or other
equipment manual which may be required to be on board.
With exception of older manuals prior to the min-1970s they are laid out in a very
specific order shown as follows:
- Section 1: General:
- Provides overall information about the aircraft which includes such
things as an overview of the engine and propeller, type of fuel it can
carry, max weights and standard dimensions
- Section 2: Limitations:
- Provides the FAA approved operating limitations, instrument
markings, color coding and basic placards necessary for the safe
operation of the airplane its system
- Section 3: Emergency Procedures:
- Section provides the recommended procedures for coping with various
emergency or critical situations
- This section is divided into two parts:
- The first part provides an emergency procedure checklist
- These supply immediate action sequence to be followed during
critical situations with little emphasis on the operation
systems)
- The second part of this section provides the amplified emergency
procedures corresponding to the emergency procedures checklist items
- These contain additional information to provide the pilot
with a more complete description of the procedures so they could
be more easily understood
- Section 4: Normal Procedures:
- All normal operating procedures for that aircraft
- Two parts similar to the emergency procedures section
- Section 5: Performance:
- All of the required and complementary performance information
applicable to this aircraft
- Examples can be found on our performance calculations page
- Section 6: Weight and Balance:
- Necessary tables and calculations to determine aircraft stability
- A weight and balance explanation can be found here
- Section 7: Description and Operation of the Airplane and its
Systems:
- A general overview of the systems that can
and mostly are installed on the aircraft
- Section 8: Airplane Handling, Servicing and Maintenance:
- Meant to provide a guideline for handling, servicing, and
maintenance for the aircraft
- Section 9: Supplements:
- This section provides information in the form of supplements which
are necessary for efficient operation of the airplane when equipped with
one or more of the various operational systems and equipment not
approved with the standard alone
- Section 10: Operating Tips:
- Provide particular tips to that aircraft (Usually not included in
smaller aircraft.)
14 CFR §21.5 — Airplane or Rotorcraft Flight Manual.
(a) With each airplane or rotorcraft not type certificated with an Airplane
or Rotorcraft Flight Manual and having no flight time before March 1, 1979, the
holder of a type certificate (including amended or supplemental type
certificates) or the licensee of a type certificate must make available to the
owner at the time of delivery of the aircraft a current approved Airplane or
Rotorcraft Flight Manual.
(b) The Airplane or Rotorcraft Flight Manual required by paragraph (a) of
this section must contain the following information:
(1) The operating limitations and information required to be furnished in an
Airplane or Rotorcraft Flight Manual or in manual material, markings, and
placards, by the applicable regulations under which the airplane or rotorcraft
was type certificated.
(2) The maximum ambient atmospheric temperature for which engine cooling was
demonstrated must be stated in the performance information section of the Flight
Manual, if the applicable regulations under which the aircraft was type
certificated do not require ambient temperature on engine cooling operating
limitations in the Flight Manual.
[Amdt. 21-46, 43 FR 2316, Jan. 16, 1978, as amended by Amdt. 21-92, 74 FR
53385, Oct. 16, 2009]
Additionally, the current edition of
Advisory Circular AC 25.1581-1 may apply. Find that AC on the FAA web site.
This Advisory Circular provides guidelines mandating how the Aircraft Flight
Manual must be assembled and in what order.