Regulations – Daytime Required Equipment | Training Blog

What Instruments and Equipment Are Required for Daytime VFR Flight?

A pilot can have perfect weather, a perfect runway, and a perfectly healthy engine…
…but if the required equipment isn’t installed and operational, the flight is not legal.

Daytime VFR equipment requirements are defined in: 14 CFR 91.205(b)

A common memory aid for required daytime VFR equipment is: A TOMATO FLAMES

This acronym is useful — but the real goal is understanding what the equipment is for and why it matters.

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📌 Why This Matters (Legal + Practical Reality)

Required equipment knowledge matters because:

• A missing or inoperative item can ground the aircraft
• Pilots must verify airworthiness before flight
• DPEs expect confident understanding of 91.205
• Equipment failures happen — and pilots must know what is required vs optional

This is one of the most important “real-world” regulations for GA flying.

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📋 Day VFR Required Equipment (14 CFR 91.205(b))

A TOMATO FLAMES

A — Airspeed Indicator
Required for basic flight control and performance management.

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T — Tachometer
Required to monitor engine RPM.

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O — Oil Pressure Gauge
Required to confirm proper lubrication and engine health.

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M — Manifold Pressure Gauge (If Applicable)
Required for aircraft with a controllable-pitch propeller or altitude engine.

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A — Altimeter
Required to maintain altitude awareness and comply with airspace requirements.

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T — Temperature Gauge
Required if the aircraft uses a liquid-cooled engine.

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O — Oil Temperature Gauge
Required to monitor engine thermal conditions and prevent damage.

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F — Fuel Gauge
Required to indicate the quantity of fuel in each tank.

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L — Landing Gear Position Indicator (If Applicable)
Required for retractable landing gear aircraft to confirm gear position.

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*A — AntiCollision Lights
Required if installed, and required for operations depending on aircraft certification date.

See regulation for details and exceptions, such as 14 CFR 91.205(b)(11) which states: Anticollision lights are not required for day VFR flights on aircraft certificated before March 11, 1996.

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M — Magnetic Compass
Required as a basic navigation and attitude reference instrument.

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E — Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT)
Required for emergency location and rescue response.

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*S — Safety Belts and Shoulder Harnesses
Required occupant restraints.

See regulation for details and exceptions. 14 CFR 91.205(b)(13) states that aircraft manufactured before July 18, 1986 are generally not required to have shoulder harnesses for day VFR flights. Note: Lap belts are always required.

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🧠 A More Logical Way to Understand the List

The acronym is helpful — but pilots should also think of required equipment in three functional groups:

1️⃣ Engine Instruments

• Manifold pressure gauge (if applicable)
• Tachometer
• Oil pressure gauge
• Oil temperature gauge
• Engine temperature gauge (if liquid cooled)
• Fuel gauge

These items help ensure the engine is producing power safely and reliably.

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2️⃣ Flight / Navigation Instruments

• Airspeed indicator
• Altimeter
• Magnetic compass

These provide the minimum information needed to control the aircraft and maintain situational awareness.

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3️⃣ Safety Equipment

• Landing gear position indicator (if applicable)
• Anti-collision lights
• Emergency locator transmitter (ELT)
• Safety belts and shoulder harnesses

These protect occupants and improve survivability if something goes wrong.

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🛩 Operational Scenarios

Scenario 1
Your aircraft’s anti-collision light is inoperative.

Can you still fly daytime VFR?

Answer: Possibly — depending on aircraft certification requirements and whether the light is required under the regulation. This requires a regulation-based determination, not a guess.

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Scenario 2
Fuel gauges are inaccurate but “usually close.”

Legal?

Answer: No. Fuel quantity indicators are required equipment.

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Scenario 3
The aircraft has retractable gear and the indicator light does not work.

Can you depart?

Answer: No. If retractable gear is installed, the position indicator is required.

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⚠️ Common Pilot Mistakes

• Thinking required equipment is only an IFR concern
• Assuming Minimum Equipment List (MEL) rules apply to all GA aircraft
• Ignoring “required if installed” logic
• Overlooking that fuel gauges are required equipment
• Confusing “recommended” with “legally required”

This regulation is not about convenience — it’s about minimum safety and compliance.

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🧩 The Big Takeaway

Daytime VFR required equipment is defined in: 14 CFR 91.205(b)

The memory tool is: A TOMATO FLAMES

But the better mindset is to think in categories:

• Engine instruments
• Flight/navigation instruments
• Safety equipment

The purpose of required equipment is simple:

• Minimum information to operate safely
• Minimum safety equipment to reduce risk
• Minimum compliance to legally fly the aircraft

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💻 PRO TIP

Green Castle Aero Club members can find all required equipment lists (day/night VFR & IFR) at the end of the IFR Reference Tools section of each aircraft’s in-flight guide.

In-flight guides can be found in each Club aircraft, in CrewChief Systems, and on each Club airplane web page.

CLICK HERE for the Green Castle Aero Club airplane pages

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🗓 Next Week

Plane & Pilot – The Four Forces of Flight (Applied)

How do thrust, drag, lift, and weight explain real flight behavior?

Next week, we’ll connect the four forces to actual flight conditions including:

• Acceleration
• Deceleration
• Steady flight
• Climbs
• Descents

​Because understanding the four forces is not about memorization — it’s about predicting what the airplane will do next.