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Aircraft Documents

Use the acronym ARROW to recall the documents required to be onboard the aircraft at all times:

-A = Airworthiness Certificate:  Issued without an expiration date, this certificate must be visible to all occupants and crew and is only valid if the aircraft is maintained appropriately.

-R = Registration Certificate:  A certificate of aircraft registration expires three years after the  last day of the month in which it was entered.  There are other reasons why an aircraft registration certificate would expire, such as destruction of the aircraft, sale to another owner or death of the owner.

-R = Required Placards:  As listed in Section 2 of the Airplane/Rotorcraft Flight Manual (a standardised format of publishing aircraft data adopted in the late 1970s).  Normally displayed as stickers, usually with white on a red background, such as a baggage weight limitation or airspeed limitation.

-O = Operating Handbook, Pilot's -or- Airplane/Rotorcraft Flight Manual (POH or A/R FM) specific to that aircraft.  The serial number and registration of the aircraft must be recorded in the handbook.

-W = Weight and Balance AND Equipment List:  Again, specific to that aircraft.  The most current and up-to-date weight and balance data, in addition the Equipment List, which lists all installed equipment on the aircraft, must be in the aircraft.  The weight and balance and equipment list are normally located in the POH or A/R FM book/binder either at the back or in Section 6.