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Commercial pilot · ACS CA.II.A · Instructor lesson plan

Preflight Assessment

Student pack: Train: Preflight Assessment · Full lesson: Prepare guide

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1 · Objective

By the end of this lesson your student can explain preflight assessment in their own words, apply it in a realistic situation, and fly it to the ACS standard for CA.II.A.

Why it matters for safety: A commercial pilot is often flying someone else's airplane, on someone else's schedule, with people who assume it's been checked. Fuel contamination, a gear or propeller defect, frost, or a tired pilot are all found on the ramp or not at all. The professional preflight is the one that's done fully even when the client is waiting.

2 · Assign before the lesson

Pre-work: the free Train pack, Preflight Assessment. Yourself, the airplane, the environment and the pressures, assessed to a professional standard before every flight.

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Pack: pilotprep.pro/train/cpl/preflight-assessment · Full lesson: pilotprep.pro/prepare/cpl/preflight-assessment

3 · Teach sequence

Key points to land

  • Before every flight, assess the pilot, the aircraft, the environment and the external pressures (PAVE); for a commercial flight, the pressure to complete the job is part of the assessment.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))
  • The pilot in command decides whether the airplane is in condition for safe flight, whoever is paying for the flight.(14 CFR 91.7)
  • Use the POH checklist for the walkaround every time, and know why each item is checked and what a defect looks like.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Ground Operations)
  • In a complex airplane, look at the retractable gear (tires, struts, actuators, doors, squat switch) and the constant-speed propeller (blades, hub, oil leaks) as carefully as the fuel.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Transition to Complex Airplanes)
  • The airplane must conform to its type design: placards and markings in place, no unapproved modifications, required documents on board.(14 CFR 91.9, 91.203)
  • Remove all frost, ice and snow from wings, tail and control surfaces before takeoff.(Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25C))
  • Keep assessing the weather, terrain, airports and airspace through the flight, not only at the airplane.(Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.II.A.S4)

The pilot

  • Run IMSAFE honestly: Illness, Medication, Stress, Alcohol, Fatigue, Emotion (eat and drink well too, but that isn't part of the acronym). Alcohol has hard limits: not within 8 hours of drinking, not under the influence, not at 0.04 or more (91.17). Duty days and early starts make fatigue the usual commercial threat.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A); 14 CFR 91.17)
  • Hold personal minimums for weather, wind and your recent experience in this airplane, and decide by them before you arrive at the airplane.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))
  • Don't act as PIC or a required crewmember with a known condition, or while taking medication for it, that would make you unable to meet the medical standards for the certificate you're using.(14 CFR 61.53)

The right airplane, airworthy

  • Is this airplane right for the flight: performance, range, equipment for the conditions, and your experience in its systems?(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))
  • Documents on board: the airworthiness certificate (displayed) and the registration (91.203), plus the approved flight manual, markings and placards, and current weight and balance (91.9).(14 CFR 91.9, 91.203)
  • In the maintenance records (not the cabin), with return-to-service entries: the annual, the 100-hour when it applies, AD compliance, the ELT (12 calendar months), the transponder (24 calendar months), the altimeter, static system and altitude reporting (24 calendar months, for IFR) and the VOR check (30 days, for IFR). The owner or operator keeps those records (91.417).(14 CFR 91.207, 91.409, 91.411, 91.413, 91.171, 91.417)
  • Inoperative equipment, without an MEL: if it is required by the VFR-day type certificate, the equipment list or kinds-of-operation list, 91.205 or another rule for this flight, or an AD, you don't go. Otherwise remove it, or deactivate it and placard it "Inoperative", with a maintenance record, and a pilot or mechanic decides it isn't a hazard. With an MEL, follow it.(14 CFR 91.213)
  • The 100-hour inspection applies when the airplane carries any person other than a crewmember for hire, or when the person giving flight instruction for hire provides the airplane (not when the student provides it). An annual counts as a 100-hour only if it was done within the last 100 hours. The limit may be exceeded by up to 10 hours only to reach a place where the inspection can be done (not to carry passengers for hire on the way), and the overage comes off the next 100.(14 CFR 91.409(b))

The walkaround

  • Follow the POH checklist in order; it's designed to walk around the airplane once without missing anything.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Ground Operations)
  • Fuel: check the quantity visually or with a dipstick (never the gauges alone), and sump every drain into a clear sampler for water, sediment and the wrong fuel. Color is only a clue (100LL blue, 100 green, Jet A clear to straw; mixed fuel loses its color): confirm the grade by the placard, the fuel order and the truck or pump marking. If the sample looks wrong, don't fly.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Ground Operations)
  • Landing gear on a retractable airplane: tires, struts at the right extension, hydraulic lines, actuators and gear doors secure, and the gear area free of debris.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Transition to Complex Airplanes)
  • Constant-speed propeller: blades free of nicks and cracks, no oil streaks from the hub, spinner secure.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Transition to Complex Airplanes)
  • Controls, hinges and attach points, pitot cover off, static ports and fuel vents clear, stall warning working; cowling and oil secure.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Ground Operations)
  • The regulations: you're responsible for the airplane's condition for safe flight, and it must meet its type design with required placards and markings.(14 CFR 91.7, 91.9)

Environment, pressures and security

  • Weather, terrain, route and obstructions, plus the airports (runway length, NOTAMs, services) and airspace you'll use.(Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.II.A.S4)
  • External pressures: the client, the schedule, the money already spent. Name them out loud, and make the no-go call on safety alone.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))
  • Security: lock the airplane, secure the keys, look for tampering, and report suspicious activity to airport management or 1-866-GA-SECURE.(TSA General Aviation Security; AOPA Airport Watch)

Watch for in the airplane: Your instructor watches for a checklist-driven walkaround done thoroughly, real attention to the gear and propeller on a complex airplane, a correct airworthiness and inspection review, and an honest self-assessment.

4 · Ask your student

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

  1. Recall · When does an airplane need a 100-hour inspection?

    A strong answer: When it carries any person other than a crewmember for hire, or when I give flight instruction for hire in an airplane I provide.

  2. Understand · Why are external pressures a bigger risk on a commercial flight?

    A strong answer: Someone is paying and expecting the trip, so canceling has a real cost. That pressure pushes toward going, so I have to name it and decide on safety, not on the schedule.

  3. Apply · Your client is waiting and you find an oil streak running back from the propeller hub. What do you do?

    A strong answer: I don't fly it. Oil from the hub can mean a propeller seal or governor problem, so maintenance looks at it first, and I tell the client plainly.

Scenarios to talk through

  • You're hired to fly two passengers. The airplane's annual is within 12 calendar months but was done 130 hours ago, and the logbook shows 104 hours since its last 100-hour inspection. Can you take the trip?

    Sound decision: No. Carrying passengers for hire requires a current 100-hour inspection. The 10-hour allowance only lets the airplane be flown to a place where the inspection can be done; get it inspected first.

  • Early morning, a thin coat of frost covers the wings; the client wants to leave now. What do you do?

    Sound decision: Remove all of it from the wings, tail and control surfaces, or wait. Even thin frost cuts lift and raises the stall speed; the departure time doesn't change the aerodynamics.

  • On the walkaround, one main gear strut is noticeably lower than the other. What do you do?

    Sound decision: Treat it as a possible strut or hydraulic problem and have maintenance check it before flight; a low strut can affect gear retraction and the landing.

5 · Common student errors

  • Shortening the walkaround because the airplane flew earlier today.

    Why it matters: Things change between flights, and the last pilot may have missed something.

    How to correct it: Do the full checklist every time; you're the pilot in command now.

  • Checking the annual but forgetting the 100-hour when flying for hire.

    Why it matters: Carrying passengers for hire requires it.

    How to correct it: Review both inspections, and the hours since, before any commercial flight.

  • Letting the client's schedule decide.

    Why it matters: External pressure is behind many accidents.

    How to correct it: Set go/no-go criteria in advance and say them out loud.

6 · Completion standard

  • Inspect the airplane with an appropriate checklist; verify it is in condition for safe flight and conforms to its type design.
  • Perform a self-assessment, and continue to assess the environment for safe flight.
  • 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.II.A: pilotprep.pro/exam?exam=CPL&focus=CA.II.A

7 · References

  • Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Ground Operations; Transition to Complex Airplanes
  • Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25C)
  • Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A)
  • Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), Area II
  • Your airplane's POH/AFM, normal procedures and checklists
  • 14 CFR 61.53, 91.7, 91.9, 91.203, 91.213, 91.409
  • Airman Certification Standards, task CA.II.A

PilotPrep instructor lesson plan, from the Preflight Assessment 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.