TM  55-1510-221-10 safety  pins  and  chocks  are  installed  as required. 13. NOTE A cold oil check is unreliable. Oil should be  checked  within  10  minutes  after  stop ping  engine. 14. Aircraft  forms  -  Complete.  In  addition  to established  requirements  for  reporting  any system  defects,  unusual  and  excessive  opera- tion  such  as  hard  landings,  etc.,  the  flight crew  will  also  make  entries  on  DA  Form 2408-13 to indicate when limits in the Oper- ator’s Manual have been exceeded. Aircraft   -   Secured.   Lock   cabin   door   as required. Section III.   INSTRUMENT  FLIGHT 8-54. GENERAL. This aircraft is qualified for operation in instru- ment   meteorological   conditions.   Flight   handling, stability  characteristics  and  range  are  approximately the  same  during  instrument  flight  conditions  as when under visual flight conditions. tion  the  flight  director  pitch  steering  bar.  Retract flaps after attaining best single-engine rate-of-climb speed (V yse), and re-adjust pitch as required. Control bank attitude to maintain the desired heading. Sup- port  flight  director  indications  throughout  the maneuver by crosschecking “raw data“ information displayed  on  supporting  instruments. 8-55. INSTRUMENT FLIGHT PROCEDURES. NOTE Refer to FM 1-5, FM 1-230; FLIP; AR 95-1; FC 1-2  18;  or  applicable  foreign  government  regulations, and procedures described in this manual. 8-56. INSTRUMENT TAKEOFF. Complete   the   BEFORE   TAKEOFF   check. Engage  the  heading  (HDG)  mode  on  the  autopilot computer/control  (do  not  engage  autopilot).  Set heading  marker  (HDG)  to  runway  heading  and  align the aircraft with the runway centerline, insuring that nosewheel is straight before stopping aircraft. Hold brakes  and  complete  the  LINEUP  check.  Insure  that the roll steering bar is centered. Power application and copilot duties are identical to those prescribed for a “visual” takeoff. After the brakes are released, initial  directional  control  should  be  accomplished predominantly with the aid of outside visual refer- ences.  As  the  takeoff  progresses,  the  crosscheck should  transition  from  outside  references  to  the flight  director  and  airspeed  indicator.  The  rate  of transition  is  directly  proportional  to  the  rate  at which the outside references deteriorate. Approach- ing  rotation  speed  (V,),  the  crosscheck  should  be totally committed to the instruments so that errone- ous   sensory   inputs   can   be   ignored.   At   rotation speed, establish takeoff attitude on the flight direc- tor.  Maintain  this  pitch  attitude  and  wings-level  atti- tude until the aircraft becomes airborne. When both the  vertical-velocity  indicator  and  altimeter  show positive climb indications, retract the landing gear. After the landing gear is retracted, adjust the pitch attitude as required to attain best rate-of-climb air- speed (V,). Use PITCH-SYNC as required to reposi- Due  to  possible  precession  error,  the  pitch steering  bar  may  lower  slightly  during acceleration, causing the pitch attitude to appear higher than actual pitch attitude. To avoid lowering the nose prematurely, crosscheck  the  vertical-velocity  indicator and altimeter to insure proper climb per- formance. The erection system will auto- matically  remove  the  error  after  the  accel- eration  ceases. 8-57. INSTRUMENT CLIMB. Instrument  climb  procedures  are  the  same  as those  for  visual  climb.  Enroute  instrument  climbs are  normally  performed  at  cruise  climb  airspeeds. 8-58. INSTRUMENT CRUISE. There are no unusual flight characteristics dur- ing cruise in instrument meteorological conditions. 8-59. INSTRUMENT DESCENT. When  a  descent  at  slower  than  recommended speed  is  desired,  slow  the  aircraft  to  the  desired speed before initiating the descent. Normal descent to approach altitude can be made using cruise air- speed. Normally, descent will be made with the air- craft in a cruise configuration, maintaining desired speed  as  required. 8-23