ATOMATOFLAMES is the memory aid for the instruments and equipment 14 CFR 91.205(b) requires for day VFR flight: airspeed indicator, tachometer, oil pressure gauge, manifold pressure gauge, altimeter, temperature gauge, oil temperature gauge, fuel gauge, landing gear position indicator, anticollision lights, magnetic direction indicator, ELT and safety belts. Night VFR adds FLAPS from 91.205(c), and IFR adds GRABCARD from 91.205(d). Several letters apply only to certain airplanes, and 91.213 decides what happens when an item is broken.
Part of our Memory Aids guide. Pair it with ARROW for required documents and AV1ATES for required inspections.
What 14 CFR 91.205 actually says
Section 91.205 covers powered civil aircraft with a standard U.S. airworthiness certificate, which includes most certificated trainers. Each listed item, or an FAA-approved equivalent, must be installed and in operable condition for the kind of flight you are making. A broken airspeed indicator does not count.
Treat the list as a floor. The airplane’s type certification, its equipment list (Section 6 of the pilot’s operating handbook), its Kinds of Operations Equipment List (KOEL) and airworthiness directives can require more. Experimental and light-sport aircraft fly under special airworthiness certificates with their own operating limitations (91.319 and 91.327). Keep a current rulebook within reach; PilotMall’s FAR/AIM collection is a good place to start.
ATOMATOFLAMES: day VFR equipment, letter by letter
Each row is a paragraph of 91.205(b), and the notes flag what is conditional.
| Letter | Required item | When it applies | 91.205 |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Airspeed indicator | Always. | (b)(1) |
| T | Tachometer | One for each engine. | (b)(4) |
| O | Oil pressure gauge | Each engine using a pressure system. | (b)(5) |
| M | Manifold pressure gauge | Only altitude engines, which produce rated takeoff power from sea level up to an established higher altitude (14 CFR 1.1). | (b)(8) |
| A | Altimeter | Always. | (b)(2) |
| T | Temperature gauge | Each liquid-cooled engine. | (b)(6) |
| O | Oil temperature gauge | Each air-cooled engine. | (b)(7) |
| F | Fuel gauge | Shows the fuel quantity in each tank. | (b)(9) |
| L | Landing gear position indicator | Only if the gear retracts. | (b)(10) |
| A | Anticollision lights | Day VFR: only small airplanes certificated under Part 23 after March 11, 1996. After a failure you may continue to a place where it can be repaired. | (b)(11) |
| M | Magnetic direction indicator | Always (the magnetic compass). | (b)(3) |
| E | Emergency locator transmitter | Only if 91.207 requires one. | (b)(15) |
| S | Safety belts and shoulder harnesses | Belts for each occupant 2 years of age or older. Shoulder harnesses in small airplanes: front seats if manufactured after July 18, 1978, all seats after December 12, 1986. | (b)(13), (b)(14) |
Flotation gear and, outside Part 121, a pyrotechnic signaling device (91.205(b)(12)) have no letter: they apply only to flights for hire over water beyond power-off gliding distance from shore.
The M can mislead. Section 91.205 requires a manifold pressure gauge only for altitude engines, but the Part 23 certification rule in effect until 2017 also required one for each engine with a controllable propeller (former 23.1305(b)(5)), so a constant-speed airplane certificated to that rule still needs its gauge.
Day VFR: ATOMATOFLAMES
- A Airspeed indicator
- T Tachometer, each engine
- O Oil pressure gauge (pressure system)
- M Manifold pressure gauge (altitude engine)
- A Altimeter
- T Temperature gauge (liquid-cooled engine)
- O Oil temperature gauge (air-cooled engine)
- F Fuel gauge for each tank
- L Landing gear position indicator (retractable)
- A Anticollision lights (Part 23, after March 11, 1996)
- M Magnetic compass
- E ELT, if required by 91.207
- S Safety belts and shoulder harnesses
Night VFR adds: FLAPS
- F Fuses: spare set or 3 of each kind, reachable in flight
- L Landing light, if operated for hire
- A Anticollision light system
- P Position lights
- S Source of electrical energy, adequate for all equipment
FLAPS: what night VFR adds
For VFR flight at night, 91.205(c) adds five items to the day list:
- Fuses: one spare set, or three of each kind required, accessible to the pilot in flight. The Airplane Flying Handbook says “if applicable,” since many airplanes use circuit breakers instead.
- Landing light: one electric landing light, only if the aircraft is operated for hire.
- Anticollision lights: an aviation red or white system, required at night on all U.S.-registered civil aircraft.
- Position lights: red on the left wingtip, green on the right, white on the tail.
- Source of electrical energy adequate for all installed electrical and radio equipment.
Section 91.209 also requires lighted position lights from sunset to sunrise (Alaska differs), which starts before night as 14 CFR 1.1 defines it (the end of evening civil twilight). It requires installed anticollision lights to be on unless the pilot in command turns them off for safety. The Airplane Flying Handbook also recommends at least one reliable flashlight on all night flights.
GRABCARD: what IFR adds
IFR flight under 91.205(d) requires the day list, the night list when flying at night, and the eight GRABCARD items.
- G Generator or alternator of adequate capacity
- R Radios: two-way communication and navigation suitable for the route
- A Altimeter: sensitive, adjustable for barometric pressure
- B Ball: slip-skid indicator
- C Clock with hours, minutes and seconds (sweep-second or digital)
- A Attitude indicator (gyroscopic pitch and bank)
- R Rate-of-turn indicator (gyroscopic)
- D Directional gyro or equivalent
Two details worth knowing: the rate-of-turn indicator is not required in an airplane with a third attitude instrument system usable through 360 degrees of pitch and roll and installed per 14 CFR 121.305(j), and the vertical speed indicator is not required for day VFR, night VFR or IFR under 91.205(b) through (d). You will meet GRABCARD again in instrument rating training.
What 91.205 does not require (but other rules might)
Transponder and ADS-B Out
Neither is on the VFR lists; both are airspace rules. Section 91.215 requires a transponder with Mode C in Class A, B and C airspace; within 30 nautical miles of the airports listed in Appendix D, section 1 of Part 91 (the Mode C veil), from the surface to 10,000 feet MSL; above Class B and C airspace up to 10,000 feet MSL; and at and above 10,000 feet MSL over the 48 contiguous states, excluding airspace at and below 2,500 feet AGL. Section 91.225 requires ADS-B Out in much the same airspace, and a working transponder must be on in all controlled airspace (91.215(c)). Portable ADS-B receivers are ADS-B In only and do not satisfy 91.225. See airspace classes for the boundaries.
ELT
The E applies only “if required by 91.207,” which exempts training flights conducted entirely within 50 nautical miles of the departure airport, aircraft equipped to carry only one person, and aircraft whose ELT is removed for inspection, repair, modification or replacement, for up to 90 days with a records entry and an “ELT not installed” placard in view of the pilot. A required ELT needs an inspection within 12 calendar months and a new battery after more than 1 cumulative hour of use or when 50 percent of its useful life has expired.
Radios, gyros and the landing light
VFR radio requirements come from airspace: two-way communications before entering Class D or C (91.129, 91.130) and an operable two-way radio in Class B (91.131). Gyro instruments are IFR items, and the landing light is required at night only for hire. Your equipment list or KOEL may still require them.
How to fly with inoperative equipment (14 CFR 91.213)
The PHAK’s baseline is strict: all instruments and installed equipment are required to be operative before each departure, and 91.213 supplies the exceptions. Found something inoperative before a flight? Cancel, get it repaired, or defer it. (A failure in flight is handled with the POH procedures instead.) Most pilots use the 91.213(d) deferral provision, which works like this in a piston airplane without an MEL:
- Check for an MEL. If the airplane has an approved Minimum Equipment List and letter of authorization, you must use it.
- Ask whether the item is required by the VFR-day type certification equipment, the equipment list or the KOEL for this flight, 91.205 or another Part 91 rule for this flight, or an airworthiness directive. If so, repair it, or get a special flight permit to fly to a repair shop (91.213(e)).
- Remove or deactivate it, and placard it. Remove it, placard the cockpit control and record the maintenance under 14 CFR 43.9, or deactivate it and placard it “Inoperative,” with any maintenance done and recorded under Part 43.
- Make the hazard determination. A certificated, appropriately rated pilot or maintenance person determines that the item does not constitute a hazard to the aircraft.
- Fly within what is left. Inoperative position lights may be deferrable for a day flight and still ground you tonight.
Deactivation deserves care. The PHAK describes it as anything from the pilot setting a circuit breaker to OFF to rendering equipment totally inoperable, but AC 91-67A (October 2023), the FAA’s advisory circular on 91.213, says deactivation is not preventive maintenance and a person authorized under 14 CFR 43.7 must make the maintenance record entry before flight. Involve a mechanic.
How an MEL is different
An MEL is an FAA-approved list for a specific aircraft; with its letter of authorization it constitutes a supplemental type certificate (91.213(a)). Once issued, it is mandatory for that aircraft, its documents must be aboard every flight, and anything it does not list as deferrable must be repaired before departure.
What you'll need
The rulebook, the test standard and an oral exam guide to study this rule, plus a kneeboard to keep these cards in view.
How examiners ask about it
The Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C) tests this in Task I.B, including equipment for day and night VFR, MELs, the KOEL and placards (PA.I.B.K3). Expect scenarios like these; our oral exam guide has more.
“What does this airplane need for a day VFR flight?”
Recite ATOMATOFLAMES, say which letters do not apply and why (no gear position indicator in a fixed-gear trainer, for example), and point to the airplane’s equipment list and KOEL.
“The attitude indicator failed during preflight. Can we go VFR?”
Possibly. It is not on the 91.205 VFR lists, so walk through every 91.213(d) step above, out loud, and fly VFR only if it passes all of them.
“The transponder is inoperative. Where can you fly?”
After the 91.213(d) steps, anywhere 91.215 does not require one: not Class A, B or C, the Mode C veil, above Class B or C, or at and above 10,000 feet MSL outside the 2,500-foot AGL exclusion. ATC can also authorize a deviation to reach your destination or a repair shop (91.215(d)).
Say each letter with its condition: “L, landing gear position indicator, if the gear retracts.” That habit answers the examiner’s follow-up before it is asked, on the oral and on the checkride itself.
Frequently asked questions
What does ATOMATOFLAMES stand for?
It lists the day VFR equipment in 14 CFR 91.205(b): Airspeed indicator, Tachometer, Oil pressure gauge, Manifold pressure gauge, Altimeter, Temperature gauge, Oil temperature gauge, Fuel gauge, Landing gear position indicator, Anticollision lights, Magnetic direction indicator, ELT and Safety belts. Several items apply only to certain airplanes, such as those with retractable gear or liquid-cooled engines.
What does FLAPS stand for in aviation?
As a memory aid, FLAPS is the night VFR equipment 14 CFR 91.205(c) adds: Fuses (spares accessible in flight), a Landing light if the aircraft is operated for hire, an Anticollision light system, Position lights, and a Source of electrical energy adequate for all installed equipment.
What does GRABCARD stand for?
GRABCARD is the added IFR equipment in 14 CFR 91.205(d): Generator or alternator, Radios suitable for the route, a sensitive Altimeter, the Ball (slip-skid indicator), a Clock with seconds, an Attitude indicator, a Rate-of-turn indicator and a Directional gyro, on top of the day VFR items and, at night, FLAPS.
Is a transponder required for VFR flight?
Not by 91.205. It is an airspace requirement: 14 CFR 91.215 requires a transponder with Mode C in Class A, B and C airspace, inside the 30-nautical-mile Mode C veil, above Class B and C airspace, and at and above 10,000 feet MSL except within 2,500 feet of the surface. ADS-B Out rules in 91.225 are similar.
Can you fly with inoperative equipment?
Sometimes. In a piston airplane without an MEL, 14 CFR 91.213(d) allows it if the item is not required by type certification, the equipment list or KOEL, 91.205 or another rule, or an airworthiness directive; it is removed or deactivated and placarded inoperative with maintenance recorded; and a rated pilot or mechanic determines it is not a hazard.
Is ATOMATOFLAMES an official FAA term?
No. The requirement is the text of 14 CFR 91.205, and the acronym does not appear in the regulation, the Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge or the Private Pilot ACS. It is an instructor convention, so examiners test the equipment and its conditions, not the spelling.