Army flight regulations, explained

AR 95-1, Flight Regulations, is the Army regulation that governs the operation of Army aircraft: crew requirements, flight rules, training, standardization, and management of aviation resources. The edition in force is dated March 22, 2018 and took effect April 22, 2018. The Army Publishing Directorate record still lists it as active, with the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-3/5/7 as proponent. The regulation applies to the Regular Army, the Army National Guard, and the U.S. Army Reserve. When other Army aviation publications differ from it, the regulation takes precedence.

What the 2018 edition covers

The 2018 edition is a major revision. It superseded AR 95-1 of March 11, 2014, AR 95-23 of August 7, 2006, and Army Directive 2012-02. Folding in AR 95-23 made one source for manned and unmanned aircraft, with "aviator" for rated pilots and "operator" for unmanned aircraft system (UAS) operators.

The chapters run from aviation management, operations and safety, and training, through flight procedures and rules, safety of use, weight and balance, aviation life support, and nonstandard aircraft, to the Army flying hour program in chapter 10. Chapter 2 sets who may fly Army aircraft and how flight time is logged on DA Form 2408-12, the Army Aviator's Flight Record. Chapter 5 sets flight rules. A rotary-wing aircraft, for example, must take off with a planned fuel reserve of 20 minutes at cruise under visual flight rules and 30 minutes under instrument flight rules. Chapter 6 covers safety-of-flight and aviation safety action messages.

Training and readiness levels

Paragraph 4-1 puts the aircrew training program (ATP) under TC 3-04.11. The ATP is mandatory for military aviators in operational aviation positions and for operators in UAS units. Individual requirements include flying hours, simulator requirements, task iterations, and evaluations, including readiness level (RL) progression and the annual proficiency and readiness test (APART).

The regulation ties duties to the levels. A pilot-in-command must be qualified, current, and designated RL1 in the aircraft. A crewmember on a waiver or extension who has not completed every APART component within 24 months is designated RL3, and commanders may not waive that rule. Currency in a manned aircraft takes a flight at a crew station with access to the controls once every 60 days. After 60 days without one, the crewmember takes a proficiency flight evaluation.

TC 3-04.11, the Commander's Aviation Training and Standardization Program, is dated April 14, 2022 and superseded the edition of September 21, 2018. The circular says the commander determines RL status from an evaluation, calls RL progression a prescriptive process mandated by AR 95-1, and gives AR 95-1 precedence if the two conflict. The regulation cites the circular without a date, so it now points to an edition four years newer than itself.

Crewmember duties

Commanders must set up written flight crew qualification and selection programs and designate rated and nonrated crewmembers in writing, with the duties and crew stations each may occupy. Section II of chapter 4 then defines the roles:

• Pilot-in-command. Responsible for, and the final authority on, operating, servicing, and securing the aircraft, and for crew and passenger briefings.
• Pilot and co-pilot. The pilot is qualified and current and briefed by the pilot-in-command. The co-pilot assists as directed.
• Air mission commander. Commands all aircraft when two or more fly as one flight. The designation is a command responsibility, not an aircrew duty, and is not tied to rank.
• Crew chief and flight engineer. Crewmembers whose duties are essential to the aircraft's operation or mission. Each must be military occupational specialty (MOS) qualified, trained under TC 3-04.11, and listed on the flight briefing and the flight plan or operations log.

Aircrew coordination

The regulation's glossary defines a crewmember as someone who works with rated aviators under the team concept and the principles of aircrew coordination training. TC 3-04.11 supplies the program. Aircrew coordination training is a required part of the ATP, integrated into aircrew tasks, with two parts: initial qualification and annual sustainment training. Rated crewmembers, except flight surgeons, are first qualified at the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence (USAACE). Every crewmember completes sustainment training each training year and must show crew-coordinated actions during RL progression and all flight evaluations. Standardization personnel such as instructor pilots and standardization instructors may lead the training as facilitators. Initial qualification is recorded on DA Form 7122, and sustainment on the DA Form 7120 series and DA Form 7122. Commanders must ensure no crewmember goes more than 15 consecutive months without the training.

The operator's manual and the checklist

Paragraph 4-3 makes aircraft operator's manuals and checklists the primary references for operating a specific aircraft. Paragraph 2-5 adds three rules. Operator and crewmember checklists are used from preflight through before-leaving-aircraft checks, with checks done from memory in flight only when time does not permit or the checklist would create a hazard. Checklists and test flight manuals are used for maintenance checks, test flights, and preventive maintenance inspections. Only DA-approved operator's manuals and checklists may be used. USAACE standardizes those manuals and develops their normal and emergency procedures.

DA Pam 738-751, dated February 28, 2014, requires the operator's checklist and the TM -10 operator's manual, with changes and related safety-of-flight messages, on board. For the CH-47F, the index lists TM 1-1520-271-10, dated December 18, 2013, with changes of May 5, 2015 and June 26, 2017, and the TM 1-1520-271-CL-1 checklist of December 31, 2025, which is not complete without the CL-2.

What to check

• Does a document cite AR 95-1 of March 22, 2018, or a superseded edition or AR 95-23?
• Does a training claim follow TC 3-04.11 of April 14, 2022, and does it yield to AR 95-1 where the two conflict?
• Is the pilot-in-command designated RL1, and is each crewmember current within 60 days?
• Has every crewmember completed aircrew coordination sustainment training within 15 months?
• Is the crew using the current DA-approved -10 and checklist, such as the CH-47F CL-1 of December 31, 2025 with its CL-2?

Azcuna's ELLMENT for the CH-47 puts the Chinook's public technical manuals, the Army sling-load manuals and a unit's own SOPs on a laptop or tablet that answers a repairer's or flight engineer's question with no network and cites the manual and page. Azcuna submitted it as a concept white paper to the Army's xTech|Search 10 competition in October 2026.

Sources

1. 1AR 95-1, Flight Regulations · Headquarters, Department of the Army, March 22, 2018
2. 2Record Details for AR 95-1 · Army Publishing Directorate
3. 3TC 3-04.11, Commander's Aviation Training and Standardization Program · Headquarters, Department of the Army, April 14, 2022
4. 4DA Pam 738-751, Functional Users Manual for the Army Maintenance Management System-Aviation · Headquarters, Department of the Army, February 28, 2014
5. 5Record Details for TM 1-1520-271-10 · Army Publishing Directorate
6. 6Record Details for TM 1-1520-271-CL-1 · Army Publishing Directorate

Where this shows up in our work

• ELLMENT for the CH-47 Chinook answers a repairer's or flight engineer's question from the Chinook's manuals and the Army sling-load manuals and cites the page, with no network.
• TRACE, the offline S1000D and IETM viewer opens S1000D, MIL-STD-3001 and PDF technical manuals on a tablet with every marking intact.