Single Pilot IFR

[JVbst]

Hi everyone,

I'm almost sure this question has been asked before, but I was unable to find the answer. I'm getting contradicting information wherever I ask this question so perhaps you guys know for sure:

I want to do a flight in IFR with myself as only pilot. The flight is a non-commercial "just for fun" flight. Can I fly this flight in an airplane without autopilot?

Just to be clear: I'm asking about EASA regulations, not the FAA regulations.

Thanks!
John

[Jan Olieslagers]

Welcome to this forum!

You might perhaps be better to inquire at euroga.org, there's a fair deal of single pilot IFR flyers around there. For as little as I am aware, the answer might be decided by pilot (i.e. license) limitations or by aircraft equipment limitations or by airspace limitations - SERA might have an important role to play. Not my cup of tea really, but you'll find out.

One thing that I seem to remember: several FIR's require a (certified!) auto-pilot for single pilot IFR operations.

Good luck, and do keep us posted!

[Pace]

You do not have to have an autopilot to fly IFR you have to fly to and should be capable of flying to IFR limitations.

Say your autopilot failed would you become instantly illegal and have to leave CAS ?

If you want to keep up to speed and decide on a short route to disconnect the autopilot and hand fly is that illegal?

If you are training for an IR and hand fly in CAS is that illegal ?

lower airspace the answer is its not illegal if you can fly within the tolerances which you should be more than capable of doing in CAS or you should not be there

I think in Germany you have to have an autopilot with heading and alt hold or another pilot with a radio licence to operate the radio but even there how many aircraft old one have fully working autopilots
But with a basic autopilot fitted with only alt hold and heading hold what do you do in the climb? Hand fly ))

Pace

[Jan Olieslagers]

@Pace, once again this is not my cup of tea at all, yet I understand certain FIR's require the _installation_ of an approved and verified autopilot for single pilot IFR operations.

Whenever any piece of required equipment fails, a duly licensed pilot will know how to react.

[Pace]

Aircraft
The aircraft must be equipped and type-certified for instrument flight, and the related navigational equipment must have been inspected or tested within a specific period of time prior to the instrument flight.

instruments required for IFR flight in addition to those that are required for VFR flight are: heading indicator, sensitive altimeter adjustable for barometric pressure, clock with a sweep-second pointer or digital equivalent, attitude indicator, radios and suitable avionics for the route to be flown, alternator or generator, gyroscopic rate-of-turn indicator that is either a turn coordinator or the turn and bank indicator.[15] From 1999 single-engine helicopters could not be FAA-certified for IFR, and Helicopter Association International estimates that 326 lives were lost in 133 accidents that would likely not have happened if those helicopters had been flying in IFR.[16]

You can only really fly instruments when its makes no difference to you whether you are in cloud or VMC when your heart rate and relaxed state are the same in cloud or VMC! When you can hand fly on instruments and at the same time allow your mind to drift to what you are doing at the weekend

[Johnm]

This is a bizarre question, as are many on here it seems. If you are single pilot IFR as a private pilot you need only the most basic equipment. Single pilot CAT is a different matter.

[Genghis the Engineer]

Originally Posted by JVbst

Hi everyone,

I'm almost sure this question has been asked before, but I was unable to find the answer. I'm getting contradicting information wherever I ask this question so perhaps you guys know for sure:

I want to do a flight in IFR with myself as only pilot. The flight is a non-commercial "just for fun" flight. Can I fly this flight in an airplane without autopilot?

Just to be clear: I'm asking about EASA regulations, not the FAA regulations.

Thanks!
John

So long as you are suitably qualified.

Yes.

Not sure what the rest of the discussion going on is about.

G

[JeroenC]

John, asking for verification of rules is bizarre? And you contribute by posting your opinion, without reference to regs? OP does indicate he couldn't find the answer, so apparently has dug through them.
Waste of bandwith.


OP: sorry, no info here (waste of bandwith as well, I guess).

[Wrong Stuff]

Originally Posted by Pace

I think in Germany you have to have an autopilot with heading and alt hold or another pilot with a radio licence to operate the radio but even there how many aircraft old one have fully working autopilots

I understand this regulation doesn't apply to German airspace, but to German-registered aircraft. So you can fly a UK-registered aircraft IFR in Germany without an autopilot, but you can't fly a German-registered aircraft IFR in the UK without one.

The regulations are in the Betriebsordnung für Luftfahrtgerät (LuftBO), which is published in German.

[JVbst]

Thank you for all the answers But due to the uncertainty hanging around this topic I'm going to try to contact BAA directly in regards to this.

John

[OhNoCB]

Non public transport no autopilot required. Only time an autopilot is required is if you want to fly an ILS down to CATI mins then you need a coupling autopilot, otherwise it is restricted to, I think (been a while) 800m.

Public transport single pilot IFR requires an autopilot.