Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

6 Answers

Is it legal to swap the POH for a plane out for a direct, reprinted copy? It would be the exact same POH, but since the original is falling apart, is it legal to scan and print out a new one with all the same pages and info?

Asked by: 3458 views FAA Regulations, Student Pilot

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Actual FAA Questions / Free Lifetime Updates
The best explanations in the business
Fast, efficient study.
Pass Your Checkride With Confidence!
FAA Practical Test prep that reflects actual checkrides.
Any checkride: Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
Written and maintained by actual pilot examiners and master CFIs.
The World's Most Trusted eLogbook
Be Organized, Current, Professional, and Safe.
Highly customizable - for student pilots through pros.
Free Transition Service for users of other eLogs.
Our sincere thanks to pilots such as yourself who support AskACFI while helping themselves by using the awesome PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android aviation apps of our sponsors.

6 Answers



  1. Mark Kolber on Jun 20, 2020

    It’s funny that. despite being a very obvious question, as far as I can tell, the FAA has never answered it, although I suspect it has been done for decades. But I will go out on a limb and say yes.

    Why? Because as a Part 91 operator, the FAA permits it to be on your EFB. Here’s a link to AC 91-78, “Use of Class 1 or Class 2 Electronic Flight Bag (EFB)” https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Advisory_Circular/AC_91_78.pdf. POH is specifically mentioned a number of times. If an electronic copy suffices, why wouldn’t a hardcopy?

    Now, if you want to be conservative about it, make sure you have it on your tablet too. So if you are ramp checked and the inspector balks about the photocopy, you can say, “Oh that’s just a reference copy. The ‘legal’ one is on my iPad!”

    Perhaps obviously, I would not toss the original. The copy must be an accurate and complete duplicate, so verification is required.

    +3 Votes Thumb up 3 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  2. John Scarry on Jun 20, 2020

    Keep in mind that there is no requirement to have a POH in your airplane. The rule applies to serial number specific Airplane Flight Manuals for airplanes manufactured after March 1, 1979.
    https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Advisory_Circular/AC60-6B.pdf

    +1 Votes Thumb up 1 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  3. Mark Kolber on Jun 20, 2020

    John, since you are being technical, let’s be complete. A “POH” is a format for flight manuals created by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association for industry consistency. The FAR 91.9 regulatory term is Airplane Flight Manual. The modern “POH” contains the AFM, AFM supplements, and non-AFM material chosen by the manufacturer. And while the requirement to have a formal AFM did begin in 1979, the regulation tells us that if one is not “required”, we still need to have “manual material, markings, and placards, or any combination thereof.” If the manufacturer chose to provide “manual material” in the form of a book, as many did, it would be hard to say it’s not required to be available.

    +1 Votes Thumb up 1 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  4. KDS on Jun 21, 2020

    When Mark wrote “Perhaps obviously, I would not toss the original”, I would just add an AMEN to that. Everything in aviation is overpriced, but if you ever had to buy a serial numbered POH you would be stunned at what the manufacturer charges.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  5. John Scarry on Jun 24, 2020

    Mark, You are correct. We have been referring to the booklets that come with older airplanes as the POH but that terminology isn’t found on any that I have seen. I checked my PDF collection and Cessna prefers Owner’s Manual with a few older ones called Operation Manual or Operator’s Manual. The term Pilot’s Operating Handbook did not make an appearance until 1978 along with AFM. Piper used Pilot’s Operating Manual, Owner’s Handbook, and Information Manual until 1978.

    My 1968 Cherokee has an Airplane Flight Manual that is required to be in the airplane. It lists all of the limits e.g. airspeed, temperatures, W&B etc. It does not contain any of the performance data that are in the Owner’s Handbook. It is not a modern AFM.

    The POH in the modern format contains the kind of information that was found in the old booklets but is not “approved” by the FAA. The AFM portion of the manual contains the approved information. It also includes supplements required by STCs for installed equipment like Garmin radios, autopliots, etc.

    You can buy reprints of the pre-1978 manuals from Essco https://www.esscoaircraft.com for around $20. I usually buy a couple of copies for the planes that I fly.

    +1 Votes Thumb up 1 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  6. Mark Kolber on Jun 28, 2020

    For those interested, search “GAMA Specification No. 1”. It will take you to the document which “created” the modern POH In 1975.

    +1 Votes Thumb up 1 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes


The following terms have been auto-detected the question above and any answers or discussion provided. Click on a term to see its definition from the Dauntless Aviation JargonBuster Glossary.

Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.