Care shall be taken not to maneuver the aircraft into a critical condition in which power ______ exceeds power ______.

• A. Power required exceeds power available
• B. Power available exceeds power required
• C. Power required equals power available
• D. Power available equals power required

Answer: (A)

In powered flight, you must have enough available power to meet the power required for the current flight condition. The critical situation is when that demand for power exceeds what the engine and rotor can supply. When power required is greater than power available, you can’t maintain level flight or hover and you’re at risk of descending or losing control unless you reduce the demand (for example, by reducing airspeed, lowering weight, or changing configuration). This is why the statement that power required exceeds power available is the hazardous condition to avoid. The other options describe situations where you have more or an exact match between demand and supply, which do not represent the same imminent limitation.