Commercial pilot · ACS CA.IV.M
Power-Off 180° Accuracy Approach and Landing
The power-off 180 is a precision glide: throttle closed abeam the touchdown point, a gliding 180° turn, and a touchdown within 200 feet of the point without adding power.
Why this one matters
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.
Can’t miss
- •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)
What you should know
Purpose and energy K1 · K4
- 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 K2 · K3 · R1
- 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 R7
- 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 R2
- 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 R3
- 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 R4 · R5 · R6
- 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))
On the flight
ACS standards
- Plan and follow a flightpath to the landing area considering altitude, wind, terrain and obstructions; configure correctly.(Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.IV.M.S3, S6)
- Touch down at a proper pitch attitude within 200 feet beyond or on the specified point, with no side drift, aligned with the centerline.(Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.IV.M.S8)
What your instructor is watching for
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.
Scenarios
Decide what you would do first, then see the worked answer.
A strong headwind on final today.
How do you adjust the 180? See the worked answer
Turn base earlier and closer, and keep flaps up longer: the headwind steepens the glide over the ground.
Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings
On final with full flaps you're clearly high, and your POH prohibits slips with flaps.
What do you do? See the worked answer
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.
Your airplane's POH/AFM
In the turn to final, low, you feel the urge to tighten the turn with rudder.
What's the risk? See the worked answer
A skidding, low, slow turn is the classic stall-spin setup. Keep the bank moderate and coordinated, accept a wider turn, or go around.
Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings
Common mistakes
Stretching the glide.
Raising the nose below best glide shortens the glide and invites a stall.
Instead: Hold best glide; adjust the path instead.
Flaps too early.
They steepen the glide before you've made the field.
Instead: Add flaps only when sure of reaching the point.
Adding power to fix it.
On the checkride that's unsatisfactory; in an engine-out there is none.
Instead: Manage energy early with the path, flaps, slip and speed.
Now train it
Say it out loud, hear it asked, and take the quick check in this lesson’s practice pack. It tracks your shaky spots.
Got it?
When it feels solid, practice power-off 180° accuracy approach and landing out loud with our examiner.
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Teaching this? The instructor lesson plan →
Sources
- 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
Study aid, not FAA guidance. Regulations change; check the current text at eCFR and the ACS. Checked against current sources 2026-11-13.