Task I.D
Cross-Country Flight Planning
To determine the applicant exhibits satisfactory knowledge, risk management, and skills associated with cross-country flights and VFR flight planning.
Note: Preparation, presentation, and explanation of a computer-generated flight plan is an acceptable option.
References: 14 CFR part 91; AIM; Chart Supplements; FAA-H-8083-2, FAA-H-8083-3, FAA-H-8083-25; NOTAMs; VFR Navigation Charts
Quick Review
A complete plan, cross-checked in the air, is what keeps a VFR flight legal, fueled, and oriented.
Time-critical information not known early enough to chart. Check during planning and again just before departure.
The Chart Supplement (formerly the A/FD), updated every 56 days.
Required for IFR (91.169); a prudent but optional practice VFR. I pick a suitable backup field considering weather, fuel, and terrain.
Enough to reach the first point of intended landing, then fly at normal cruise for at least 30 minutes (day) or 45 minutes (night).
Pilotage — navigating by visible landmarks. Dead reckoning — computing heading, time, distance, and fuel from known speed and wind.
The angular difference between true and magnetic north; apply it using the isogonic lines on the sectional. East is least (subtract); West is best (add).
The E6B (or electronic equivalent) solves the planning math. The wind side computes wind correction angle, ground speed, and true heading from the wind triangle; the calculator side handles time-speed-distance, fuel burn, true airspeed, density altitude, and unit conversions. Be ready to find ground speed and a heading correction given a wind, and to compute fuel required for a leg.
Three relationships to have ready:
- Time = distance ÷ ground speed
- Fuel = burn rate × time
- 60-to-1 rule for course corrections
Know how to update an ETA and a fuel state in the air from your actual ground speed.
Line-of-sight only — range limited by altitude and terrain. Service volumes: Terminal, Low, High (plus newer VOR MON). Always identify the Morse code before using it.
Satellite-based area navigation; verify the database is current and check integrity (RAIM/WAAS) before relying on it.
Build a call with four parts:
- Who you're calling
- Who you are
- Where you are
- What you want
Read back hold-short and runway-assignment instructions. Use the phonetic alphabet for the N-number and standard phrasing ("with you," "roger," "wilco," "unable").
Squawk 7600. Continue to the airport, watch for light gun signals from the tower, and use known procedures. If you can receive but not transmit, listen for ATC instructions and acknowledge by rocking the wings (or by transponder ident if asked).
Tower light gun signals
| Signal | On the ground | In flight |
|---|---|---|
| Steady green | Cleared for takeoff | Cleared to land |
| Flashing green | Cleared to taxi | Return for landing |
| Steady red | Stop | Give way / continue circling |
| Flashing red | Taxi clear of runway | Airport unsafe — do not land |
| Flashing white | Return to starting point | N/A |
| Alternating red/green | Extreme caution | Extreme caution |
Turn toward the alternate immediately, then estimate heading, distance, time, and fuel to it.
Deep Dive
NOTAM types
Four categories to know (AIM 5-1-3):
- NOTAM (D) — the general domestic category, disseminated for all public-use airports and navaids: runway/taxiway closures, lighting and navaid outages, new obstructions.
- FDC NOTAM — regulatory, issued by the Flight Data Center: changes to procedures — heavily IFR-related, but not always. TFRs are published as FDC NOTAMs, so a VFR pilot has to check these too.
- Military NOTAM — for military airports and navaids.
- NOTAM (I) — international; for operations outside the U.S.
Loading scenarios — how to reason through them
The oral is built around the same cross-country problem repeated with progressively heavier loads: a light single passenger early on, then a heavier passenger with real baggage and a filed VFR flight plan, then two passengers plus luggage to a distant field. The point is that each added pound changes the answer to every NWKRAFT item.
Sectional chart legend — quick reference
These symbols come from the FAA's published sectional legend (public domain). Towered airports are shown in blue, all others in magenta; consult the Chart Supplement for details.
Airport symbols
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Blue airport symbol | Control tower on the field |
| Magenta airport symbol | Non-towered |
| Open circle | Other-than-hard-surfaced runways |
| Circle with runway layout inside | Hard-surfaced runways 1,500–8,069 ft |
| Runway outline only (no circle) | Hard-surfaced runway longer than 8,069 ft (or some multiple-runway fields) |
| Tick marks around the symbol | Fuel available |
| Star on the symbol | Rotating beacon, sunset to sunrise |
| Open dot inside the runway layout | VOR / VOR-DME / VORTAC on the field |
| Circled R | Private field — landmark value, non-public |
| Circled X | Abandoned paved field, 3,000 ft or greater, landmark value |
| Circled U | Unverified |
| Circled H | Heliport |
| Anchor | Seaplane base |
Airport data block — decoding the text next to the symbol:
- CT - 118.3 — control tower primary frequency; a star means the tower is part-time.
- (C) — follows the CTAF frequency.
- 285 L 72 — field elevation in feet; L = lighting sunset to sunrise (star-L means limitations, see Supplement); longest runway in hundreds of feet (72 = 7,200 ft).
- 122.95 — UNICOM. RP 23 — right traffic for runway 23.
- NO SVFR — fixed-wing special VFR prohibited.
- A dash means the information is lacking.
Airspace depiction
| Depiction | Airspace |
|---|---|
| Solid blue band | Class B |
| Solid magenta band | Class C |
| Blue dashed line | Class D |
| Bracketed number, e.g. a 40 in brackets | Class D ceiling in hundreds of feet MSL; a minus sign means up to but not including that value |
| Magenta dashed line | Class E to the surface |
| Magenta shaded vignette | Class E floor at 700 ft AGL |
| Blue shaded vignette | Class E floor at 1,200 ft AGL or greater abutting Class G |
| Blue hatched band | Prohibited, Restricted, Warning areas |
| Magenta hatched band | Alert area or MOA |
| Solid gray band | TRSA |
| Magenta dotted band | ADIZ |
| Broken magenta bars | National Security Area |
| IR / VR centerlines | Military Training Routes |
| Dashed blue band labeled MODE C | Mode C veil (91.215) |
Obstruction symbols
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Tall tower symbol | 1,000 ft AGL and higher |
| Small caret/tick symbol | 200 ft up to 1,000 ft AGL (from 300 ft AGL in urban areas) |
| Paired symbols | Group obstruction |
| Turbine symbol / dotted outline around turbines | Wind turbine / wind farm |
| Bold number | Elevation of the top, MSL |
| Number in parentheses | Height above the ground, AGL |
| UC | Under construction — position and elevation unverified |
| Symbol with light rays | High-intensity lights, may operate part-time |
Remember: guy wires can extend far outward from towers — give charted towers a wide berth laterally, not just vertically.
Official ACS elementsreference
Knowledge10 elements
The applicant demonstrates understanding of:
PA.I.D.K1Route planning, including consideration of different classes and special use airspace (SUA) and selection of appropriate and available navigation/communication systems and facilities.PA.I.D.K1aa. Use of an electronic flight bag (EFB), if usedPA.I.D.K2Altitude selection accounting for terrain and obstacles, glide distance of airplane, VFR cruising altitudes, and effect of wind.PA.I.D.K3Calculating:PA.I.D.K3aa. Time, climb and descent rates, course, distance, heading, true airspeed, and groundspeedPA.I.D.K3bb. Estimated time of arrival, including conversion to universal coordinated time (UTC)PA.I.D.K3cc. Fuel requirements, including reservePA.I.D.K4Elements of a VFR flight plan.PA.I.D.K5Procedures for filing, activating, and closing a VFR flight plan.PA.I.D.K6Inflight intercept procedures.
Risk Management7 elements
The applicant is able to identify, assess, and mitigate risk associated with:
PA.I.D.R1Pilot.PA.I.D.R2Aircraft.PA.I.D.R3Environment (e.g., weather, airports, airspace, terrain, obstacles).PA.I.D.R4External pressures.PA.I.D.R5Limitations of air traffic control (ATC) services.PA.I.D.R6Fuel planning.PA.I.D.R7Use of an electronic flight bag (EFB), if used.
Skills5 elements
The applicant exhibits the skill to:
PA.I.D.S1Prepare, present, and explain a cross-country flight plan assigned by the evaluator, including a risk analysis based on real-time weather, to the first fuel stop.PA.I.D.S2Apply pertinent information from appropriate and current aeronautical charts, Chart Supplements; Notices to Air Missions (NOTAMs) relative to airport, runway and taxiway closures; and other flight publications.PA.I.D.S3Create a navigation plan and simulate filing a VFR flight plan.PA.I.D.S4Recalculate fuel reserves based on a scenario provided by the evaluator.PA.I.D.S5Use an electronic flight bag (EFB), if applicable.