Flight Standards Information Management System, FAA Order 8900.1

The old Air Carrier Inspector’s Handbook, FAA Order 8400.10, was a wealth of information about aviation systems and procedures. A few years ago, it was digitized, and then in 2007, it was transitioned to Order 8900.1, the Flight Standards Information Management System. It is no longer comprised of a dozen or more 3 inch looseleaf binders, but is all online. A lot of it has been reorganized to accommodate ATOS and Safety Assurance material, but the core information is still there. Most of it is very readable and concise.

The best way to access it is through the contents page, which the link above will take you to. Each chapter can be opened, and you can look for topics of interest. You’ll find that some chapters have little value to the line pilot, but some have great value. You can also enter a term in the search window, and it will yield all results...which can be pretty extensive and are not always organized intuitively. But you can get your hands on almost anything here.

Below, I have listed links to sections that I have found useful over the years in developing an understanding beyond that made possible by company manuals. In particular, the Introduction to All Weather Terminal Area Operations contains some fascinating history.

 
Operations Specifications: Background Information 
(Vol. 3, Chapter 18, Section 1)

Operational Control
(Vol. 3, Chapter 25, Section 1)

Aviation Weather Regulatory Requirements
(Vol. 3, Chapter 26, Section 1)

Class I Navigation
(Vol. 4, Chapter 1, Section 3)

Class II Navigation
(Vol. 4, Chapter 1, Section 4)

Minimum Equipment Lists and Configuration Deviation Lists
(Vol. 4, Chapter 4, Section 1)

Minimum Equipment List Use in Service
(Vol. 4, Chapter 4, Section 8)

 
All Weather Terminal Area Operations, Introduction 
(Vol. 4, Chapter 2, Section 1)

All Weather Terminal Area Operations, Non-Precision and CAT I Precision
(Vol. 4, Chapter 2, Section 5)

All Weather Terminal Area Operations, CAT II Operations
(Vol. 4, Chapter 2, Section 6)

All Weather Terminal Area Operations, CAT III Operations
(Vol. 4, Chapter 2, Section 7)

Airplane Performance Computation Rules
(Vol. 4, Chapter 3, Section 1)

Airplane Performance Rules
(Vol. 4, Chapter 3, Section 2)