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by Friday Morning Flight Plan at [date]
If you hold an instrument rating, you have to know the required instruments for three different sets of flight conditions:
- VFR day
- VFR night
- IFR
The FAA outlines the requirements for each in 91.205, paragraphs b (VFR day), c (VFR night), and d (IFR). Clever acronyms like ATOMATOFLAMES, FLAPS, and GRABCARD can help you memorize and retain the list of instruments.
However, you also must remember to consult Section 6 of your POH to see which equipment has the letter "R" affixed to it, denoting a required piece of equipment for flight.
Why would such a list not be included in 91.205?
Because it’s aircraft-specific, whereas 91.205 is aircraft generic. That said, if Section 6 of the POH for your 1937 Snozzberry Aerowing states that a yellow kazoo is required, then the FAA expects you to have it just as if it's in 91.205. That's a mandatory kazoo.
And then there's the placard often found in many aircraft that specifies the Kinds of Operations it is permitted to conduct, which (of course) means you would need to know the required equipment for such operations.
Aircraft certified for VFR Day/Night will be so noted, which means you will need to know what's in 91.205(b)(c)(d) to exercise these flight privileges.
Likewise, you need to be familiar with 91.213, Inoperative instruments and equipment, and the section that specifies that if these are inop, they must be placarded as such, deactivated, and noted in the appropriate logbook. You can only fly with such instrument and equipment failures if they aren't required per 91.205, Section 6 in your POH, the Kind of Operation placard, and any Airworthiness Directives.
To stay on your toes, it's a good idea to review these areas regularly so that you don't get caught unaware and possibly in violation of these regs. There are some fairly common scenarios that private pilots with instrument ratings can find themselves in, and they are worth looking at to help you self-study and refresh your skills.
Your motivation, should you need some, is not only for safety but for those rare instances when you might get ramp checked. A forward-thinking pilot would always do so in anticipation of flying 200 miles from home and landing, only to be greeted by a surprise ramp check and a red tag grounding because they knowingly took off on a clear VFR day with observably low levels of compass fluid.