Private pilot · ACS PA.I.D
Cross-Country Flight Planning
A cross-country plan answers: which way, how high, how long, how much fuel, and what if.
You'll be expected to plan a trip and explain it, including the risks and how you'd handle them.
Why this one matters
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.
Can’t miss
- •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)
What you should know
Route and navigation K1 · R5 · R7
- 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 K2 · R3
- 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 K3 · R6
- 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 K4 · K5
- 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 K6
- 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 R1 · R2 · R3 · R4
- 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))
Scenarios
Decide what you would do first, then see the worked answer.
Your magnetic course is 255°, and you want to cruise more than 3,000 feet above the ground.
Which altitudes can you use? See the worked answer
Even thousands plus 500: 4,500, 6,500, 8,500 and so on, depending on terrain, clouds and winds.
14 CFR 91.159
You land at your destination, tie down, and head to lunch. Two hours later your phone rings.
What did you forget, and what happened? See the worked answer
You didn't close your flight plan. About 30 minutes after your ETA, Flight Service started search procedures. Close it right after landing.
AIM 5-1
The night before, a NOTAM shows a TFR over a stadium near your route for the afternoon.
How do you plan? See the worked answer
Route around it with margin, note its times and altitudes, and check again right before departure: TFRs can change.
14 CFR 91.103, 91.145
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? See the worked answer
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.
Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A)
Common mistakes
Planning to land with exactly the legal reserve.
Headwinds, a go-around or a diversion use it up quickly.
Instead: 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.
91.159 uses magnetic course.
Instead: Convert to magnetic course before picking an altitude.
Opening a flight plan and assuming it was activated.
A filed flight plan isn't active until you open it.
Instead: Activate it with Flight Service after departure and confirm.
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 cross-country flight planning out loud with our examiner.
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Sources
- 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
Study aid, not FAA guidance. Regulations change; check the current text at eCFR and the ACS. Checked against current sources 2026-11-12.