Instrument Takeoff

Two things: how early the visual world disappears, and how tight the numbers are. The evaluator simulates IMC at or before 100 feet AGL — and in a full flight simulator the visibility is set to no greater than ¼ mile, or as specified by the applicable operations specifications, whichever is lower (AA.VI.A.S7; ACS Appendix 3). From there you must hold heading ±5° and airspeed ±5 knots (AA.VI.A.S12) while retracting gear and flaps, following the flight director, and complying with the clearance. The task is graded as a crew evolution: checklists coordinated and completed in a timely manner before takeoff (S1) and after (S14), with callouts per the operator's procedures (S9).

Takeoff minimums apply to operations under parts 121, 125, 129, and 135 — not part 91. Use the minimums prescribed for the airport under part 97; if none are prescribed:

• Two engines or less — 1 statute mile visibility
• More than two engines — ½ statute mile visibility (91.175(f)(2))

And notwithstanding any ATC clearance, no takeoff when reported weather is below the certificate holder's OpSpecs minimums (121.651(a)). Through OpSpecs, operators with the required equipment, training, and runway visual aids — HIRL, centerline lights, centerline markings — can be authorized lower-than-standard minimums as low as 1600 RVR or ¼ SM with those basic visual aids (IPH ch. 1) — and lower still with additional RVR reporting, lighting, and equipment authorizations in the OpSpecs.

Yes — takeoff minimums are typically lower than landing minimums (IPH ch. 1) — but the release must name a takeoff alternate (121.617). If departure weather is below the landing minimums in the OpSpecs for that airport, the dispatch or flight release must specify an alternate within:

• 1 hour at normal cruising speed, still air, one engine inoperative — airplanes with two engines
• 2 hours, same conditions — airplanes with three or more engines (121.617(a))

That distance rule exists for exactly the risk this task names: engine failure in the takeoff/climb phase with ceiling or visibility below approach minimums at the departure airport (AA.VI.A.R3b). Brief where you're going before you need it.

The ACS expects the briefing to cover, as appropriate (ACS Appendix 3):

• Departure runway
• Departure procedure
• Power settings
• Speeds
• Abnormal or emergency procedures before or after decision speed (V1 or VMC)
• Emergency return intentions
• What the applicant expects other crewmembers to do during the takeoff and departure

If the operator or manufacturer hasn't specified one, brief it once well; the evaluator may then let you brief only the changes for the rest of the test. Single pilot? You still verbalize it.

• Avionics and flight instruments properly set — FMS, flight director, heading bug, altitude preselect, nav sources (S2)
• Assigned/correct runway verified (S4) — then clear the area, taxi into position, and align on the centerline (S6)
• Flight controls positioned for the existing wind (S5)
• Radio calls as appropriate (S3)

The instrument takeoff punishes a rushed lineup: the IFH lists improper runway alignment — creeping after alignment, nosewheel cocked — as a classic error, a built-in directional control problem before the roll even starts (IFH ch. 7).

Maintain centerline with proper flight control inputs during the roll (AA.VI.A.S8), and confirm takeoff power and proper engine and flight instrument indications prior to rotation, making callouts for the airplane or per the operator's procedures (S9). Then rotate at the recommended airspeed, establish the desired pitch attitude, and accelerate to the desired airspeed/V-speed (S10). Which speeds and which callouts are type- and operator-specific — fly your AFM numbers and your company's flow. What's universal is the discipline: power set and verified, instruments alive and agreeing, before VR.

Smoothly and on schedule — the cues may be gone by 100 feet AGL. A sudden, rapid transition from visual to instrument flight can cause serious disorientation and control problems, the whole reason instrument-takeoff competency exists (IFH ch. 7). The handbook's practical discipline:

• Hold the established pitch attitude on the attitude indicator through gear and flap retraction — control pressures change and overcontrolling is likely unless you read the pitch indications accurately
• Trim off the pressures
• Keep the cross-check rapid through every configuration and power change (IFH ch. 7)

Failure to maintain attitude after liftoff — chasing seat-of-the-pants sensations — is on the IFH's common-error list. The ACS names the underlying risks: distractions, task prioritization, loss of situational awareness, or disorientation (AA.VI.A.R6).

The knowledge element is a planning checklist for the low-visibility case:

• Runway length, lighting, and surface conditions — enough runway and enough visual aids to keep centerline at ¼ mile vis
• Wind and wake turbulence (also AA.VI.A.R2)
• Icing conditions
• Obstructions in the departure path
• Available instrument approaches or alternate airports in the event of an emergency after takeoff — can you get back in, and if not, where exactly are you going?

Each of these feeds the runway-selection risk element (R1) and the abnormal-ops planning element (R3): rejected takeoff, and engine failure with weather below approach minimums.

• Collision hazards (R4) — at ¼-mile visibility they live mostly on the surface: aircraft and vehicles you won't see until they matter. The mitigations are procedural: verify the assigned/correct runway (S4), clear the area before lineup (S6), comply exactly with ATC clearances and hold-short instructions (S13), and use published low-visibility taxi routes where they exist. Airborne, separation is ATC's — precise clearance compliance is what keeps it that way.
• Low altitude maneuvering — stall, spin, or CFIT (R5) — over-rotating or chasing the flight director at low energy erodes stall margin you can't see out the window; turning early or drifting off the departure procedure gives away the obstacle protection the departure design assumed (Task VI.B). The defense is the task's own standard: pitch attitude set and held, heading ±5°, airspeed ±5 knots (S12), nothing nonessential until clean and climbing on the procedure.

The decision itself is briefed the same way — abnormals before or after decision speed (ACS Appendix 3) — but the margins shrink. A reject in ¼-mile visibility means stopping on a runway you can barely see, so the brief must be concrete: who calls it, who does what, and what the stop margins are for today's weight and surface condition. The ACS treats rejected takeoff as a planning risk for this task (AA.VI.A.R3a); the maneuver itself is tested under Area III, Task I. The low-visibility twist that belongs here: after any reject, hold your instrument discipline — taxiing clear in low visibility is its own threat.

Adapted for any airplane (IFH ch. 7):

1. Align with the centerline, nosewheel straight; hold the brakes to avoid creeping
2. Set the heading reference on the runway heading so any swerve shows instantly
3. Power smoothly to takeoff setting — abrupt application complicates directional control
4. Rudder for heading during the roll; avoid brakes except as a last resort
5. Approaching flying speed, smoothly set the takeoff attitude on the attitude indicator
6. At a safe altitude, gear and flaps up, holding attitude on the AI through the trim changes
7. Confirm the climb: altimeter and airspeed increasing, vertical speed stable — then trim and set climb power

In a transport-category airplane the same skeleton holds; your operator's callouts and the flight director overlay it, they don't replace it.

From IFH ch. 7:

• Inadequate flight deck check — pilots have attempted instrument takeoffs with obstructed pitot tubes, caged gyros, and locked controls. This one is fatal to AA.VI.A.S2.
• Improper runway alignment — a built-in directional problem (S6)
• Abrupt power application (S8)
• Overcontrolling the rudder — late recognition, correcting the wrong way
• Failure to maintain attitude after liftoff — pitch by guesswork (S10, S11)
• Inadequate cross-check — fixating during trim, gear, flap, and power changes

The last one is the quiet killer of the ±5° / ±5-knot standard (S12): every fixation shows up as a drift.

The ACS grades coordination explicitly — coordinate with crew and complete the appropriate checklists in a timely manner before takeoff (AA.VI.A.S1) and after (S14), with callouts per the operator's procedures before rotation (S9). Fly your company's split; the pattern to be able to describe:

• Pilot flying: centerline, rotation, attitude, flight path
• Pilot monitoring: verifies takeoff power set, monitors engine and flight instruments, makes the deviation and standard speed callouts, handles radio calls (S3), and backs up the after-takeoff flow

The task also requires complying with ATC clearances and instructions issued by ATC or the evaluator (S13) — in a crew, that's the PM's radio and the PF's execution, cross-verified.