Instrument Flight Rules and Procedures
Instrument flight is governed by a clearance that defines route, altitude, and timing, and by the standard operating discipline that keeps that clearance safe. Candidates must know the components of an IFR clearance (clearance limit, route, altitude, frequency, transponder), the difference between a full route clearance and a "cleared direct" amendment, and how to read a standard instrument departure and arrival. Understand holding entries and the standard holding pattern: right turns, one-minute inbound legs at or below 14,000 ft, and the three entry sectors (direct, parallel, teardrop). Know the meaning of minimum vectoring altitude versus minimum IFR altitude, and when a pilot may deviate from a clearance (emergency authority, traffic avoidance, wind shear escape).
Traps in questions cluster around phraseology and priority. A clearance void time is not a departure release; an "expect further clearance" time governs lost-communications behavior. When radio failure occurs in IMC, the pilot follows the assigned route, then the expected route, then the filed route, descending at the expect-further-clearance time. Another trap is confusing "maintain" with "climb to"-the former prohibits further altitude change without a new clearance.
Rule of thumb: in a hold, the outbound leg is timed so the inbound leg is one minute; if the inbound leg runs long, shorten the next outbound leg by the same amount. Worked example: cleared to hold southeast of a fix on the 135° radial, inbound course 315°. Arriving on a heading of 090°, the aircraft is in the teardrop sector and should turn to a heading of 045° (30° off the outbound course) for one minute before turning inbound.