Private pilot · ACS PA.I.D · Instructor lesson plan

Cross-Country Flight Planning

Student pack: Train: Cross-Country Flight Planning · Full lesson: Prepare guide

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1 · Objective

By the end of this lesson your student can explain cross-country flight planning in their own words and apply it to a realistic flight, to the ACS standard for PA.I.D.

Why it matters for safety: Fuel exhaustion, weather the pilot flew into, and airspace or TFR violations all trace back to planning. A complete plan with real margins (fuel, altitude, an alternate, a turn-back point) is what keeps a cross-country from turning into a string of bad options in the air.

2 · Assign before the lesson

Pre-work: the free Train pack, Cross-Country Flight Planning. Route, altitude, fuel, time and a flight plan: plan the trip so the flight has margins.

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Pack: pilotprep.pro/train/ppl/cross-country-flight-planning · Full lesson: pilotprep.pro/prepare/ppl/cross-country-flight-planning

3 · Teach sequence

Key points to land

Before every flight, know all available information: for any flight, runway lengths and takeoff and landing distances (for elevation, slope, weight, wind and temperature); for a flight away from the airport, also weather, fuel requirements, alternatives and known ATC delays.(14 CFR 91.103(a)-(b))
VFR fuel: you may not begin a flight unless, considering wind and forecast weather, you have enough fuel to reach the first point of intended landing plus 30 minutes at normal cruise by day, 45 minutes at night.(14 CFR 91.151(a))
VFR cruising altitudes, in level cruise more than 3,000 feet AGL and below 18,000 MSL (unless ATC authorizes otherwise): magnetic course 0-179°, odd thousands plus 500; 180-359°, even thousands plus 500.(14 CFR 91.159)
Pick an altitude that clears terrain and obstacles, keeps you within gliding distance of somewhere to land, and uses the winds.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Navigation)
Check the route for airspace, special use airspace, TFRs and NOTAMs, and the destination in the Chart Supplement.(14 CFR 91.103; AIM chapter 5)
A VFR flight plan is voluntary for most flights (required for some, such as DVFR into an ADIZ) and protects you only once activated. For the best protection, file to your first landing or fuel stop and refile for the next leg; if it isn't closed, the search starts about 30 minutes after your ETA.(AIM 5-1-4; 6-2-6)
If intercepted: follow the interceptor's instructions, try 121.5 MHz, and squawk 7700 unless ATC tells you otherwise.(AIM 5-6)

Route and navigation

Lay out the route on a current sectional: checkpoints you can see, airspace along the way, special use airspace and obstacles.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Navigation)
Choose navigation and communication you'll actually use: pilotage and dead reckoning as the base, GPS and VOR as aids, and the frequencies along the way.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Navigation)
ATC services like VFR flight following are workload-permitting: they may not be available, and they don't make weather or terrain decisions for you.(AIM 4-1)
An EFB is a great tool, but have a backup (paper chart, second device, battery) and keep it current.(AC 91-78 (EFBs for Part 91))

Altitude

VFR cruising altitudes apply in level cruising flight more than 3,000 feet above the surface and below 18,000 feet MSL, unless ATC authorizes otherwise (not while turning, or holding for 2 minutes or less). They follow the magnetic course: 0-179°, odd thousands plus 500; 180-359°, even thousands plus 500.(14 CFR 91.159; AIM 3-1-5)
Minimum safe altitudes: high enough everywhere to land without undue hazard after an engine failure; over congested areas or open-air assemblies, 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle within 2,000 feet horizontally; elsewhere, 500 feet above the surface, except over open water or sparsely populated areas, where you stay at least 500 feet from any person, vessel, vehicle or structure.(14 CFR 91.119(a)-(c))
Higher altitudes give more glide range and radio coverage; the winds aloft decide whether higher is faster or slower.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Navigation)

The numbers

Work each leg through to the heading you fly: true course ± wind correction = true heading; ± variation = magnetic heading; ± deviation = compass heading. Add true airspeed, groundspeed, distance, time and fuel, and budget the climb and descent separately using the POH climb and descent rates.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Navigation)
Flight plans and ETAs are in UTC (Zulu): Eastern Standard Time is UTC minus 5, Eastern Daylight Time UTC minus 4.(AIM 5-1)
Fuel: the regulation is a minimum. Plan your own reserve on top (many pilots use one hour), and check fuel burn against the POH for the altitude and power you'll use.(14 CFR 91.151)
In flight, compare actual times and fuel to the plan at each checkpoint; recalculate when they differ.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Navigation)

Flight plans

A VFR flight plan includes aircraft information, departure point and time, route, cruising altitude, destination, time en route, fuel on board, alternate, pilot information and number aboard.(AIM 5-1)
File with Flight Service or an EFB; activate it with Flight Service by radio or online after departure; close it when you land.(AIM 5-1)
If you don't close it, search and rescue starts: Flight Service begins looking for you about 30 minutes after your ETA.(AIM 5-1)

Intercept procedures

If intercepted: follow the interceptor's visual signals, notify ATC if you can, and call on 121.5 MHz (or 243.0) giving your identity, position and the nature of your flight; squawk 7700 unless instructed otherwise. Acknowledge the interceptor's signals by rocking your wings.(AIM 5-6)
Check TFRs and NOTAMs before every flight; most intercepts follow an airspace violation.(AIM 5-6)

Risk: pilot, aircraft, environment, external pressures

Pilot: are you rested, current and proficient for this trip and these conditions?(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))
Aircraft: is it airworthy, equipped for the flight, and capable at the weights and density altitudes involved?(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))
Environment: weather, terrain, airspace, airports (runway length, services, NOTAMs).(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))
External pressures: schedules, passengers, the "I have to be there" feeling. Plan an alternate and a time you'll decide by, so pressure doesn't decide for you.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))

4 · Ask your student

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

Recall · How much fuel does a VFR flight need by day?
A strong answer: Enough to fly to the first point of intended landing and then 30 minutes at normal cruise. At night, 45 minutes.
Understand · Why might you choose a lower cruising altitude than you planned?
A strong answer: Headwinds may be weaker lower down, or the cloud bases are low. But lower means less glide range and radio coverage, so I weigh both.
Apply · Halfway through, your groundspeed is 15 knots slower than planned. What do you do?
A strong answer: Recalculate time and fuel to the destination with the new groundspeed. If the reserve gets thinner than my minimum, I divert to an airport on the way for fuel.

Scenarios to talk through

Your magnetic course is 255°, and you want to cruise more than 3,000 feet above the ground. Which altitudes can you use?
Sound decision: Even thousands plus 500: 4,500, 6,500, 8,500 and so on, depending on terrain, clouds and winds.
You land at your destination, tie down, and head to lunch. Two hours later your phone rings. What did you forget, and what happened?
Sound decision: You didn't close your flight plan. About 30 minutes after your ETA, Flight Service started search procedures. Close it right after landing.
The night before, a NOTAM shows a TFR over a stadium near your route for the afternoon. How do you plan?
Sound decision: Route around it with margin, note its times and altitudes, and check again right before departure: TFRs can change.
Your passengers need to be at a wedding at 4 p.m. The forecast shows marginal weather building in the afternoon. How do you keep the pressure from making the decision?
Sound decision: Set your go/no-go time and minimums now, plan an alternate (driving, an earlier departure, a different airport), and tell the passengers in advance that the flight might not happen.

5 · Common student errors

Planning to land with exactly the legal reserve.
Why it matters: Headwinds, a go-around or a diversion use it up quickly.
How to correct it: Set a personal reserve above the minimum (many use an hour) and land for fuel when you'd dip into it.
Using true course for the cruising altitude rule.
Why it matters: 91.159 uses magnetic course.
How to correct it: Convert to magnetic course before picking an altitude.
Opening a flight plan and assuming it was activated.
Why it matters: A filed flight plan isn't active until you open it.
How to correct it: Activate it with Flight Service after departure and confirm.

6 · Completion standard

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 PA.I.D: pilotprep.pro/exam?exam=PPL&focus=PA.I.D

7 · References

14 CFR Part 91, 91.103, 91.119, 91.145, 91.151, 91.159
AIM, Chapter 4 (ATC services), 5-1 (flight plans), 5-6 (interception)
Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25C), Navigation
Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A)
Chart Supplement and sectional charts, current editions
Airman Certification Standards, task PA.I.D

PilotPrep instructor lesson plan, from the Cross-Country Flight Planning lesson (checked against current FAA sources 2026-11-12). A study and teaching aid, not FAA guidance; teach to your own judgment and the current ACS.