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Documents & inspections

ARROW and AV1ATE with the regulations attached — every interval quoted from the rule that sets it, not from a mnemonic. Two rows of ARROW have no rule in the sections this sheet freezes, and they say so instead of pretending; the for-hire and IFR-only scopes are spelled out in the rules’ own words.

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1 · Documents aboard — ARROW

§ 91.203 · § 91.9

REGULATION

ARROW	Document	What the rule says — verbatim
A	Airworthiness certificate Aboard, current — and displayed where people can read it. Both halves are quoted; the display half is the one ramp checks actually look for.	“(a) Except as provided in § 91.715, no person may operate a civil aircraft unless it has within it the following: (1) An appropriate and current airworthiness certificate.” § 91.203(a)(1) “(b) No person may operate a civil aircraft unless the airworthiness certificate required by paragraph (a) of this section or a special flight authorization issued under § 91.715 is displayed at the cabin or cockpit entrance so that it is legible to passengers or crew.” § 91.203(b)
R	Registration certificate “Effective” is the rule's word — and the rule itself lists the substitutes that count for domestic operation.	“(2) An effective U.S. registration certificate issued to its owner or, for operation within the United States, the second copy of the Aircraft registration Application as provided for in § 47.31(c), a Certificate of Aircraft registration as provided in part 48, or a registration certification issued under the laws of a foreign country.” § 91.203(a)(2)
R	Radio station license The mnemonic's second R — and an honest blank. Neither § 91.203 nor § 91.9, the two document rules frozen for this sheet, mentions a radio station license. The letter is in the mnemonic; a requirement for it does not come from these sections, and this sheet does not invent one.	No quote — on purpose. The frozen sections don’t state this requirement, so this sheet doesn’t either.
O	Operating limitations Two duties, both quoted: comply with the limitations, and have the approved manual aboard. The limitations live in the manual, the markings, and the placards — not on a single card.	“(a) Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this section, no person may operate a civil aircraft without complying with the operating limitations specified in the approved Airplane or Rotorcraft Flight Manual, markings, and placards, or as otherwise prescribed by the certificating authority of the country of registry.” § 91.9(a) “(b) No person may operate a U.S.-registered civil aircraft— (1) For which an Airplane or Rotorcraft Flight Manual is required by § 21.5 of this chapter unless there is available in the aircraft a current, approved Airplane or Rotorcraft Flight Manual or the manual provided for in § 121.141(b); and” § 91.9(b)(1)
W	Weight & balance data The mnemonic's W — bounded honestly. The phrase “weight and balance” appears in neither frozen section. What § 91.9 actually requires — complying with the approved manual's operating limitations, with the manual material aboard — is quoted on the O row. This sheet states no separate weight-and-balance-document rule, because these sections don't.	No quote — on purpose. The frozen sections don’t state this requirement, so this sheet doesn’t either.

2 · Inspections — AV1ATE

the library's densest interval table — every interval is a quote

REGULATION

AV1ATE	Inspection	Interval	Applies to	The rule, word for word
A	Annual inspection	12 calendar months	All operations	“(a) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, no person may operate an aircraft unless, within the preceding 12 calendar months, it has had— (1) An annual inspection in accordance with part 43 of this chapter and has been approved for return to service by a person authorized by § 43.7 of this chapter; or” § 91.409(a)(1)
V	VOR equipment check An IFR rule — and a check, not a shop visit: the rule's own alternative is an approved maintain-and-inspect procedure.	30 days	IFR only	“(a) No person may operate a civil aircraft under IFR using the VOR system of radio navigation unless the VOR equipment of that aircraft— (1) Is maintained, checked, and inspected under an approved procedure; or (2) Has been operationally checked within the preceding 30 days, and was found to be within the limits of the permissible indicated bearing error set forth in paragraph (b) or (c) of this section.” § 91.171(a)
1	100-hour inspection The whole paragraph, because the scope is the part clone sheets garble: it binds carrying persons for hire and instruction for hire in an aircraft the instructor provides. The 10-hour allowance is for reaching the inspection — and the excess counts against the next 100.	100 hours of time in service	For hire	“(b) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, no person may operate an aircraft carrying any person (other than a crewmember) for hire, and no person may give flight instruction for hire in an aircraft which that person provides, unless within the preceding 100 hours of time in service the aircraft has received an annual or 100-hour inspection and been approved for return to service in accordance with part 43 of this chapter or has received an inspection for the issuance of an airworthiness certificate in accordance with part 21 of this chapter. The 100-hour limitation may be exceeded by not more than 10 hours while en route to reach a place where the inspection can be done. The excess time used to reach a place where the inspection can be done must be included in computing the next 100 hours of time in service.” § 91.409(b)
A	Altimeter & static system An IFR rule — the tests live in part 43's appendices, and the clock is on each system and instrument.	24 calendar months	IFR only	“(a) No person may operate an airplane, or helicopter, in controlled airspace under IFR unless— (1) Within the preceding 24 calendar months, each static pressure system, each altimeter instrument, and each automatic pressure altitude reporting system has been tested and inspected and found to comply with appendices E and F of part 43 of this chapter;” § 91.411(a)(1)
T	Transponder “No persons may use” is the rule's own opening — the clock binds using the transponder, whatever the flight rules.	24 calendar months	All operations	“(a) No persons may use an ATC transponder that is specified in 91.215(a), 121.345(c), or § 135.143(c) of this chapter unless, within the preceding 24 calendar months, the ATC transponder has been tested and inspected and found to comply with appendix F of part 43 of this chapter; and” § 91.413(a)
E	ELT — inspection and battery Two clocks, both quoted: the 12-calendar-month inspection with its four checks, and the battery's own criteria — 1 cumulative hour of use, or 50 percent of useful life expired.	12 calendar months	All operations	“(d) Each emergency locator transmitter required by paragraph (a) of this section must be inspected within 12 calendar months after the last inspection for— (1) Proper installation; (2) Battery corrosion; (3) Operation of the controls and crash sensor; and (4) The presence of a sufficient signal radiated from its antenna.” § 91.207(d) “(c) Batteries used in the emergency locator transmitters required by paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section must be replaced (or recharged, if the batteries are rechargeable)— (1) When the transmitter has been in use for more than 1 cumulative hour; or (2) When 50 percent of their useful life (or, for rechargeable batteries, 50 percent of their useful life of charge) has expired, as established by the transmitter manufacturer under its approval. The new expiration date for replacing (or recharging) the battery must be legibly marked on the outside of the transmitter and entered in the aircraft maintenance record. Paragraph (c)(2) of this section does not apply to batteries (such as water-activated batteries) that are essentially unaffected during probable storage intervals.” § 91.207(c)

3 · Maintenance records — § 91.417

the essentials, verbatim

REGULATION

MEMORY — What each record must containTECHNIQUEDescription, date, signature — the three things that make a maintenance entry an entry.

“(1) Records of the maintenance, preventive maintenance, and alteration and records of the 100-hour, annual, progressive, and other required or approved inspections, as appropriate, for each aircraft (including the airframe) and each engine, propeller, rotor, and appliance of an aircraft. The records must include— (i) A description (or reference to data acceptable to the Administrator) of the work performed; and (ii) The date of completion of the work performed; and (iii) The signature, and certificate number of the person approving the aircraft for return to service.”
§ 91.417(a)(1)

AD status — the record buyers and examiners open first:

“(v) The current status of applicable airworthiness directives (AD) including, for each, the method of compliance, the AD number and revision date. If the AD involves recurring action, the time and date when the next action is required.”
§ 91.417(a)(2)(v)

How long the work records last:

“(1) The records specified in paragraph (a)(1) of this section shall be retained until the work is repeated or superseded by other work or for 1 year after the work is performed.”
§ 91.417(b)(1)

The records that travel with the airplane: The status records — times, life-limited parts, inspections, ADs — do not expire; they change hands with the aircraft.

“(2) The records specified in paragraph (a)(2) of this section shall be retained and transferred with the aircraft at the time the aircraft is sold.”
§ 91.417(b)(2)

This sheet is the airplane's paperwork. The pilot's — flight review, medical, passenger currency — lives on the currency sheet: one module, not two copies. Currency & experience sheet

The paperwork questions that come next

This sheet covers what must be aboard and inspected — three other sheets carry the questions that follow from it.

Inoperative equipment — what happens when something on the airplane is broken: the can-you-fly decision path, in the rule’s own words.

Checkride ready — the same aircraft paperwork as a one-page eligibility run-through for the practical test.

Currency & experience — the pilot’s side: flight review, medical durations, passenger currency.

Badges.REGULATION quoted from 14 or 49 CFR.FAA GUIDANCE quoted from the AIM, an AC, or an FAA handbook — advice, not law.POH/AFM your aircraft’s own records govern.TECHNIQUE our voice — how to think about it.Text outside quotation marks is ours, whatever badge sits nearby.

Sources. Everything quoted is 14 CFR at eCFR issue date 2026-08-24, retrieved 2026-08-24 (audit round) and 2026-08-31 (wave-3 Task 1); every quoted artifact is frozen and hashed in the repository (see documents-inspections/content.ts). Where a mnemonic letter has no basis in the frozen sections, the row says so — this sheet quotes rules, it does not launder mnemonics into them.

This is a study aid. It does not replace the regulations, your mechanic, or your CFI. Verify against the primary source before you act on it.

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