IFR Endorsement & Flight Rules
features/IFR_ENDORSEMENT.md
This manual describes the IFR endorsement and flight-rules tagging feature in Contact Ground.
1. Overview
Organizations can tag calendar events with VFR (Visual Flight Rules) or IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) to indicate the intended flight environment. When an organization has an IFR endorsement type configured:
- Members may select VFR or IFR when creating or editing an event.
- IFR events are restricted to members who hold an IFR endorsement.
- VFR events that are forecast to have non-VFR weather at departure time trigger an automatic weather alert in the pre-flight dispatch email.
If the organization has not created an IFR endorsement type, flight-rules tagging is unavailable and this feature has no effect.
2. Enabling the Feature (Admin)
The feature activates automatically when an IFR endorsement type exists in the organization. By default, Contact Ground creates a standard IFR ☁️ endorsement type for every new organization.
To verify or create the IFR endorsement type
- Navigate to Settings → Endorsements.
- Confirm an endorsement type named IFR (☁️) is listed.
- If it does not exist, create one with the name
IFR.
Once the IFR endorsement type exists, the Flight Rules selector appears on the event creation form for all members.
3. Member Experience
During Event Creation
When the organization has an IFR endorsement type, a Flight Rules field appears on the event creation form:
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| (not specified) | No flight-rules preference recorded |
| VFR | Visual Flight Rules – standard VFR conditions expected |
| IFR | Instrument Flight Rules – IFR endorsement required |
Members without an IFR endorsement will receive an error if they attempt to book an IFR event.
Pre-flight Email
The pre-flight dispatch email includes:
- Flight Rules in the Flight Details section (when specified).
- VFR Weather Alert warning box if the event is tagged VFR and the TAF-predicted conditions at the homebase are less than VFR (MVFR, IFR, or LIFR) at the scheduled departure time.
4. CFI Experience
CFIs can assign or remove the IFR endorsement from members through the standard endorsement workflow:
- Navigate to People → [Member] → Endorsements.
- Select Assign Endorsement → IFR.
- The endorsement is recorded with the CFI's user ID and the current timestamp.
Once assigned, the member may book IFR events.
5. VFR Weather Notification
When a member creates a VFR event, Contact Ground checks the TAF forecast for the organization's homebase at the scheduled departure time. If the forecast predicts conditions below VFR minimums:
| Condition | Threshold |
|---|---|
| MVFR ceiling | 1 000 – 3 000 ft AGL |
| MVFR visibility | 3 – 5 SM |
| IFR ceiling | 500 – 999 ft AGL |
| IFR visibility | 1 – 2 SM |
| LIFR ceiling | < 500 ft AGL |
| LIFR visibility | < 1 SM |
A VFR Weather Alert warning box is included in the pre-flight email, identifying the predicted flight category and recommending the pilot review conditions before departure.
Note: The weather check uses the base FM group in the TAF. TEMPO and PROB overlays are not used for the primary alert to avoid spurious warnings.
6. Booking Validation
| Scenario | Outcome |
|---|---|
| Org has no IFR endorsement type | Flight rules field hidden; no validation |
| IFR event, member has IFR endorsement | Booking succeeds |
| IFR event, member lacks IFR endorsement | Booking blocked with error: "An IFR endorsement is required to book an IFR event" |
| VFR event, any member | Booking always succeeds; weather checked at dispatch time |
7. Related Areas
- Endorsements – assign IFR endorsements to members.
- Admin → Endorsements – create/manage the IFR endorsement type.
- Flight Operations → Pre-flight Dispatch – includes flight rules and weather alert.
- Calendar → Create Event – select flight rules when org has IFR type.