IFR Planning – Six Questions Every Helicopter Crew Should Answer: Part 1 (#1-4) 

As I have gained more experience, I have had the opportunity to observe—and often consult with—a wide range of helicopter communities. Despite operating under very different regulatory frameworks, there are common threads in how different operators approach their work. 

One area where this overlap is especially apparent is IFR planning. 

Private, commercial, and military operators are bound by different rules. FAA regulations, company policy, and military doctrine can vary significantly—sometimes aligning closely, other times diverging considerably. Many organizations rely on flowcharts to guide IFR planning. While useful, these charts are often layered and, in my opinion, unnecessarily complex—particularly when a plan must be adjusted, or a diversion is required once airborne. 

Regardless of the regulatory framework, every IFR flight crew should answer the same six fundamental questions:  

1. What is our fuel reserve and performance? 
2. Can we safely (and legally) take off? 
3. Can we return to the departure field? 
4. Can we reasonably expect to get in at the destination? 
5. Do we need an alternate (for the departure or destination), and can we meet the requirements? 
6. Then en route, can we fly the approach? 

If you can answer these questions clearly, you will be a more deliberate, adaptable, and effective IFR planner—especially during time-critical missions. 

1. What is our fuel reserve and performance? 

Fuel and performance are not a single step in IFR planning—they are continuous considerations. 

As the plan evolves, fuel requirements and performance margins evolve with it. Crews must maintain a working understanding of: 

• Fuel reserves at each phase of flight 
• Climb and cruise performance 
• Single-engine performance (for multi-engine aircraft) 

This ensures the aircraft not only meets planning requirements, but—more importantly—maintains appropriate safety margins throughout the mission and lands with adequate reserves. 

2. Can we safely (and legally) take off? 

What weather conditions are required at the departure airport to legally initiate the flight? 

To answer that, ask: 

• Are there published non-standard takeoff minimums? 
• If not, do we meet the standard takeoff minimums required by regulation or policy? 
• Can we meet the required climb gradient?
• Is there an Obstacle Departure Procedure (ODP) that should be harnessed?

In the Coast Guard community, it is legal to depart from a field that is not served by an instrument approach, in which case, the IFR departure has not been evaluated and designed (TERP’d). When departing a field without an instrument approach, crews are required to either climb in visual conditions to the minimum IFR altitude (MIA), or ensure they can maintain obstacle and terrain clearance in IMC until reaching the MIA. This is a nuance that crews can overlook. 

3. Can we return to the departure field? 

This requires a study of the weather, available approaches and their minimums, and NOTAMs.

If the answer is “no,” this will often drive the requirement for a departure alternate. 

Even in communities that do not formally require a departure alternate, good airmanship demands a contingency plan if continuing to the destination becomes inadvisable. For most multi-engine operations, this includes the ability to proceed single engine. 

4. Can we reasonably expect to get in at the destination? 

Some military helicopter operators have no formal destination weather requirement. Other helicopter communities require the destination to be above approach minimums prior to takeoff. 

Regardless of policy, crews should evaluate the probability of breaking out at the destination—and consider appropriate contingencies if they cannot. For operators without destination weather minimums, if the destination is below minimums or forecast to be below minimums at the estimated time of arrival, crews should treat the alternate as the practical destination. The selected alternate should have fair, stable weather. If there is any uncertainty regarding its suitability, identifying a secondary alternate further enhances flexibility and risk management.