GRABCARD Explained: IFR Required Equipment (FAR 91.205)

The first time you fly a real approach down to minimums and the runway appears out of the murk right where it's supposed to be, something clicks. Instrument flying is precise, demanding, and deeply rewarding — and it asks more of your airplane than VFR ever did. That "more" is captured in the mnemonic GRABCARD.

This one is written for Instrument students, but if you're a Private pilot eyeing the rating, reading it now will make your training smoother later.

And just like with night flying, there's a framing you have to get right first.

IFR = VFR + (Night if applicable) + GRABCARD

The IFR equipment requirements can be found in 14 CFR 91.205(d). And the very first item, 91.205(d)(1), says you need everything from the day VFR list in 91.205(b) — and, if you're flying at night, everything in the night VFR list in 91.205(c) — plus the IFR-specific gear.

Stacked up, it looks like this:

IFR = ATOMATOFLAMES + (FLAPS if at night) + GRABCARD.

GRABCARD is only the IFR additions. If someone asks what you need to fly IFR and you stop at GRABCARD, you've forgotten the airspeed indicator, the fuel gauges, and everything else the day list requires. Always build up from the bottom.

The Mnemonic, Decoded

GRABCARD covers the eight IFR items in 91.205(d):

• G — Generator or alternator of adequate capacity.
• R — Radios. Two-way radio communication and navigation equipment suitable for the route to be flown.
• A — Altimeter. A sensitive altimeter adjustable for barometric pressure.
• B — Ball. The slip-skid indicator (the inclinometer).
• C — Clock. Displaying hours, minutes, and seconds, with a sweep-second pointer or digital presentation.
• A — Attitude indicator. Gyroscopic pitch and bank indicator (the artificial horizon).
• R — Rate-of-turn indicator. The gyroscopic rate-of-turn indicator.
• D — Directional gyro. Gyroscopic direction indicator (directional gyro or equivalent).

The "Why" Behind the List

Strip away the outside world — that's what instrument flight does — and you're left flying entirely by what's inside the panel. Look at what GRABCARD gives you:

• Attitude, heading, and rate of turn let you control the airplane precisely without a horizon to look at.
• The ball keeps your turns coordinated, which matters more than ever when your inner ear is lying to you.
• The sensitive altimeter gives you the precise altitude control an approach demands.
• The clock times approaches, holds, and missed-approach legs — seconds count on a non-precision approach.
• The radios keep you talking to ATC and navigating the route.
• The generator or alternator keeps every one of those systems alive. In IMC, an electrical failure isn't a nuisance — it's an emergency, because the panel is your only window.

Picture it: you're in solid cloud, being vectored for an approach, and your alternator fails. Now you're racing a draining battery to get on the ground before your instruments and radios go dark. That's exactly why "generator or alternator of adequate capacity" earned a spot on the list.

Above and Beyond the Regs

Here's where instrument flying gets its reputation for paperwork — and where GRABCARD stops telling the whole story. Having the equipment installed isn't the same as being legal to fly IFR. Several inspections and checks stand between you and a legal instrument flight:

• Pitot-static and altimeter system (91.411): tested and inspected within the preceding 24 calendar months to fly IFR in controlled airspace.
• Transponder (91.413): tested and inspected within the preceding 24 calendar months. 
• VOR check (91.171): if you're navigating by VOR under IFR, the VOR equipment must have been operationally checked within the preceding 30 days. 

Then there's the equipment GRABCARD never mentions at all:

• IFR-approved GPS/RNAV. If you're flying GPS approaches, the unit must be approved for IFR, with a current navigation database, operated per its AFM supplement. A VFR GPS doesn't count.
• DME or a suitable RNAV system is required at and above FL240 when VOR navigation equipment is required. 
• The POH/AFM and KOEL, plus any Airworthiness Directives, can require still more for your specific tail number.

And when a required item goes inoperative, 91.213 governs what you can do. Under IFR, a dead required instrument almost always means the flight doesn't go.

Student-Pilot Nuances Worth Knowing

• "Suitable for the route to be flown" is doing a lot of work. The radios and nav gear you need depend on how you're navigating. A GPS-direct flight and a Victor-airway flight have different equipment needs — the reg flexes to the operation.
• The VOR check only applies when you use VOR. If you're navigating entirely by IFR-approved GPS, the 30-day VOR check doesn't apply to that flight. Know the "if" in the rule.
• Glass cockpits get a break on the rate-of-turn indicator. 91.205(d)(3) carves out an exception for aircraft with a qualifying third attitude instrument system — which is why some glass-panel airplanes with a standby attitude indicator don't carry a separate turn coordinator. 
• Installed vs. inspected vs. operational are three different tests. GRABCARD is only the installed equipment piece. Legality also depends on the 24-month checks, the 30-day VOR check (when applicable), and everything being in operable condition per 91.205(a).

On Your Checkride

Your examiner will expect you to move fluently from the mnemonic to the regulation to this airplane — and to explain not just what's required, but what makes it legal for today's IFR flight. Being able to flip straight to 91.205, 91.411, 91.413, and 91.171 in a Pre-Tabbed FAR/AIM makes that part of the oral far less stressful.

Of course, knowing the equipment is only half of instrument training — you have to be able to fly on it. That's where a view limiting device earns its keep, letting you build real instrument scanning skills under the hood. Pair it with the ASA Instrument Oral Exam Guide to rehearse exactly how these equipment questions get asked, and you'll walk into the oral ready.

The Takeaway

GRABCARD is the IFR add-on to the VFR list — never the complete picture. Learn it as ATOMATOFLAMES + FLAPS (at night) + GRABCARD, understand that every IFR item exists because the panel becomes your only reference in the clouds, and remember that legality goes beyond installed equipment to the 24-month inspections and the 30-day VOR check. Master that, and "is this airplane legal for the approach?" becomes a question you can answer without hesitation — which is exactly the kind of pilot you want to be when the weather closes in.

For more resources to support your training, visit NorthstarVFR.com.