Commercial pilot · ACS CA.IV.M · Instructor lesson plan

Power-Off 180° Accuracy Approach and Landing

Student pack: Train: Power-Off 180° Accuracy Approach and Landing · Full lesson: Prepare guide

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1 · Objective

By the end of this lesson your student can explain power-off 180° accuracy approach and landing in their own words, apply it in a realistic situation, and fly it to the ACS standard for CA.IV.M.

Why it matters for safety: An engine failure leaves you one attempt at a landing. Pilots who misjudge glide distance stretch the glide, slow down and stall in the last turn, or arrive too high and overrun the field. The power-off 180 builds the energy judgment that turns an engine failure into a landing.

2 · Assign before the lesson

Pre-work: the free Train pack, Power-Off 180° Accuracy Approach and Landing. Close the throttle abeam your point and glide a 180° turn to a touchdown within 200 feet, managing energy, not power.

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Pack: pilotprep.pro/train/cpl/power-off-180-accuracy-approach-and-landing · Full lesson: pilotprep.pro/prepare/cpl/power-off-180-accuracy-approach-and-landing

3 · Teach sequence

Key points to land

The purpose: judging glide distance and energy with no engine, the skill behind any engine-out landing.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
Checklists and radio calls done, touchdown point selected, on a downwind parallel to the runway and configured (gear down in a retractable when the POH or operator says): close the throttle abeam the point (the downwind key position); no power is added after that.(Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.IV.M.S1-S6; Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
At the key position, hold altitude while slowing to the POH glide speed (or 1.4 VSO if none is published), and trim. Turn with a medium or slightly steeper bank, normally from pattern altitude no higher than about 1,000 feet AGL, to arrive at a base key position you can adjust, aiming to be a little high.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
Adjust with the path (wider or tighter base), flaps and, if needed, a forward slip: extend flaps only once you're sure of reaching the point.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
Touch down at a proper pitch attitude on the point or within 200 feet beyond it (-0/+200, never short), aligned and without drift. On the checkride, a go-around because you can't make the point is unsatisfactory: it must work the first time.(Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.IV.M.S8)
Never stretch a glide by raising the nose: it reduces airspeed and can stall, especially in the turn to final.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Emergency Procedures)
Know the slip limits in your POH (flaps, fuel). In training, go around whenever continuing is unsafe; on the test, a go-around is only for a safety condition outside your control, such as an occupied runway.(Your airplane's POH/AFM; Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.IV.M)

Purpose and energy

It trains energy management: how far the airplane glides, how a turn, flaps or a slip change that, and when to commit.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
Best glide speed gives the farthest glide; below or above it, you come up short. The speed decreases with lower weight (use the POH figure), but the glide ratio and still-air distance don't: a heavier airplane glides as far, faster.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Emergency Procedures)
High: lose height with a wider, longer path, flaps and a slip. Low: conserve it with a tighter, more direct path and flaps delayed. You can't gain height back without power, so plan to be a little high. Other tools: dog-leg the base toward or away from the runway, S-turns, and speed (a little above best glide into a headwind to stretch over the ground, below it to steepen when high). Never retract flaps to reach the point.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)

Wind and the path

A headwind on final steepens the glide over the ground: turn base closer and earlier. A tailwind on base carries you long and wide.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
Correct for wind drift on downwind and base to keep the planned path; in a crosswind on final, crab then sideslip for the touchdown.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
Select the touchdown point considering the wind, surface, obstacles and the airplane's limits.(Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.IV.M.S4)

Slips and their limits

A forward slip steepens the descent without increasing airspeed; correlate it with the crosswind (upwind wing low) and transition to a sideslip before touchdown.(Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.IV.M.S7; AFH)
Some POHs restrict slips with flaps extended (airflow over the tail can cause buffeting or a tail stall tendency); prolonged slips with low fuel can unport a tank.(Your airplane's POH/AFM)
Airspeed indications can be wrong in a slip: hold the pitch attitude you know.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)

Wind, surface and wake on landing

Crosswind: crab on final, then sideslip (upwind wing low, opposite rudder) to touch down without drift, aligned with the centerline; keep adding aileron into the wind on the rollout.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
The maximum demonstrated crosswind is a tested value, not a limit, unless the POH puts a crosswind value in its Limitations section; then it is one. Check the POH first, then set your own lower limit.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings; Your airplane's POH/AFM)
A tailwind raises groundspeed and landing distance. In gusts, add no more than half the gust factor to the approach speed (unless the POH says otherwise), and hold ±5 knots of that adjusted target.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
Wind shear on short final can cause a sudden loss of airspeed and a high sink rate: be ready to go around.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
Behind a larger airplane landing, stay at or above its approach path and land beyond its touchdown point. Behind one departing, land well before its rotation point. A light quartering tailwind can hold vortices in the touchdown zone.(AIM, Chapter 7, Wake Turbulence)
Wet or grass surfaces lengthen the roll and reduce braking: use the POH corrections.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aircraft Performance)

Planning for the go-around, and LAHSO

Brief your go-around triggers before the approach: not stable by your gate, too fast or high, drifting, or the runway not clear.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
LAHSO: the pilot in command decides whether to accept. Accept only if you know the available landing distance (ALD, in the Chart Supplement) and your airplane can stop within it for the conditions; otherwise say "unable". Read back the full clearance, including "hold short of" the runway, taxiway or point. Once accepted it binds you unless you get an amended clearance or have an emergency. Expect it only with at least a 1,000-foot ceiling and 3 SM visibility, and not on a wet or contaminated runway; student pilots and pilots unfamiliar with LAHSO shouldn't participate.(AIM 4-3-11, Pilot Responsibilities When Conducting Land and Hold Short Operations (LAHSO))
If you accept LAHSO and then must go around, maintain separation from the intersecting runway's traffic and tell the tower promptly.(AIM 4-3-11, Pilot Responsibilities When Conducting Land and Hold Short Operations (LAHSO))

Low, slow and busy

Look for traffic on final and on the runway before you line up or turn final, and use landing lights.(AC 90-48, Pilots' Role in Collision Avoidance)
Near the ground there's no room to recover: a skidding turn to final or a nose-high climb can stall and spin; a distraction can lead into terrain or obstacles.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
Fly the airplane first: checklists and calls before the critical moments. Overloaded on final, go around.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))

Watch for in the airplane: Your instructor watches the throttle closed abeam the point, glide speed held and trimmed, a planned turn adjusted for wind, flaps only once the field is made, coordinated turns with no stretching, and a touchdown within 200 feet without power.

4 · Ask your student

In order: recall, then understanding, then applying it. Move up only when the answer shows it.

Recall · Where do you close the throttle on a power-off 180?
A strong answer: On downwind, abeam the intended touchdown point.
Understand · Why plan to be slightly high?
A strong answer: Extra height can be lost with flaps, a slip or the path, but without power a shortfall can't be fixed.
Apply · Turning base, you realize you're low and might not make the point. What do you do?
A strong answer: Turn toward the runway sooner, hold best glide, keep flaps up until it's made, and never stretch by pulling the nose up. On the checkride, go around if it won't work; in a real engine-out, land on the best surface reachable.

Scenarios to talk through

A strong headwind on final today. How do you adjust the 180?
Sound decision: Turn base earlier and closer, and keep flaps up longer: the headwind steepens the glide over the ground.
On final with full flaps you're clearly high, and your POH prohibits slips with flaps. What do you do?
Sound decision: Don't slip with flaps. Next time fix it earlier: a wider, longer path, and slip before the flaps go down (or use flaps earlier). Delaying flaps would only keep you higher. In training, go around; on the checkride, a go-around because you can't make the point is unsatisfactory, so the fix has to come before final.
In the turn to final, low, you feel the urge to tighten the turn with rudder. What's the risk?
Sound decision: A skidding, low, slow turn is the classic stall-spin setup. Keep the bank moderate and coordinated, accept a wider turn, or go around.

5 · Common student errors

Stretching the glide.
Why it matters: Raising the nose below best glide shortens the glide and invites a stall.
How to correct it: Hold best glide; adjust the path instead.
Flaps too early.
Why it matters: They steepen the glide before you've made the field.
How to correct it: Add flaps only when sure of reaching the point.
Adding power to fix it.
Why it matters: On the checkride that's unsatisfactory; in an engine-out there is none.
How to correct it: Manage energy early with the path, flaps, slip and speed.

6 · Completion standard

Plan and follow a flightpath to the landing area considering altitude, wind, terrain and obstructions; configure correctly.
Touch down at a proper pitch attitude within 200 feet beyond or on the specified point, with no side drift, aligned with the centerline.
Your student answers each "Ask your student" question in their own words, up to the Apply level, without prompting.
They talk through the scenarios and reach a safe, legal decision, explaining why.
They complete the pack’s quick check and can say what they flagged.

Area trained? Close out with a practice oral focused on CA.IV.M: pilotprep.pro/exam?exam=CPL&focus=CA.IV.M

7 · References

Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Takeoffs and Departure Climbs; Approaches and Landings; Transition to Complex Airplanes
Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aircraft Performance; Aerodynamics of Flight
Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM), 4-3-11 (LAHSO) and Chapter 7 (wake turbulence)
AC 91-73, Single Pilot Procedures During Taxi Operations
Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), Area IV
Your airplane's POH/AFM, normal procedures, performance charts and speeds
Airman Certification Standards, task CA.IV.M

PilotPrep instructor lesson plan, from the Power-Off 180° Accuracy Approach and Landing lesson (checked against current FAA sources 2026-11-13). A study and teaching aid, not FAA guidance; teach to your own judgment and the current ACS.