Definition
An FAA directive titled the United States Standard Flight Inspection Manual, which establishes the policies, procedures, and tolerances used by FAA flight inspection crews to evaluate and certify the accuracy and reliability of navigation aids, instrument flight procedures, and air traffic control radar and communications systems.
Plain English
It is the official FAA rulebook that tells inspectors how to check that navigation equipment, instrument approaches, and radar systems are working correctly and meet required standards.
Context Anchor
Seen when FAA handbooks explain how radar approaches, navigation services, and instrument procedures are checked and approved for operational use.
Derivation
FAA Orders are numbered internal directives issued by the Federal Aviation Administration. The 8200 series covers flight inspection, and the '.1' identifies this specific document — the master flight inspection manual.
Why Pilots Care
Proper flight inspection under this order ensures that radar-based instrument procedures remain reliable and within safe operating limits.
Intuition Check
An FAA Order is not an air traffic control instruction given to a pilot. Here, “Order” means an official FAA directive or manual, and “8200.1” identifies this specific one.
Example Sentence 1
The tolerances allowed for an ASR approach are defined in FAA Order 8200.1.
Example Sentence 2
Flight inspection crews use FAA Order 8200.1 when checking the accuracy of airport surveillance radar approaches.