Commercial pilot · ACS CA.I.D · lesson pack
Cross-Country Flight Planning (Commercial)
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Why this one matters
Fuel exhaustion and continued flight into worsening conditions are planning failures that show up in the air. A commercial pilot plans with real margins and a backup for every link (fuel, route, weather and electronics) because a customer’s schedule makes it tempting to accept a plan that only works if everything goes right.
1 · Know these cold
- •VFR fuel: considering wind and forecast weather, enough to fly to the first point of intended landing and then, at normal cruising speed, 30 more minutes by day or 45 at night (reserve gallons at the normal cruise fuel burn). That is a legal floor, not a plan.(14 CFR 91.151(a))
- •VFR cruising altitudes, in level cruise more than 3,000 feet above the surface and below 18,000 MSL: magnetic course 0-179, odd thousands plus 500 MSL; 180-359, even thousands plus 500 MSL (unless ATC authorizes otherwise, or while holding or turning).(14 CFR 91.159(a))
- •Pick the altitude by constraints first (minimum safe altitudes, cloud clearances, oxygen, the airplane's performance), then the hemispheric rule, then winds and glide distance to landing sites.(14 CFR 91.119, 91.155, 91.211; PHAK, Navigation)
- •A VFR flight plan is three separate acts: file it, activate (open) it with Flight Service after departure, and close it when you land. A filed plan that was never activated starts no search; an active one not closed starts the search 30 minutes after your ETA.(AIM, Chapter 5, Section 1 (preflight and flight plans))
- •If intercepted: follow the interceptor’s signals, squawk 7700 (unless told otherwise), call on 121.5, and comply.(AIM 5-6-13, Interception Procedures)
- •Flight following is workload permitting: ATC may drop you or miss traffic. You still see and avoid.(AIM, Chapter 4, Section 1 (ATC services))
- •An EFB needs a current database. A backup (a second device or paper) is a sound risk control the AC recommends, not a regulation for Part 91.(AC 91-78A)
2 · The lesson
Route and altitude
- Choose a route with current charts, the Chart Supplement for every airport you might use, NOTAMs (not just TFRs), the airspace and special use airspace, and the navigation and communication facilities you need, with alternates along the way. 91.103 asks for all of it.(14 CFR 91.103; PHAK, Navigation)
- The cruising rule is keyed to magnetic course, not heading, and to MSL altitudes; the 3,000 feet is above the surface.(14 CFR 91.159)
- An EFB is a great tool if the database is current. Battery, heat and mounting failures happen, so carry a backup as your own risk control.(AC 91-78A)
The numbers
- For each leg: true airspeed from the POH, true course, wind correction angle, groundspeed, distance and time; climb and descent rates, times and fuel; cruise fuel; then the total with the reserve.(Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25C), Navigation)
- The heading chain: true course ± wind correction = true heading; ± variation (east subtract, west add) = magnetic heading; ± deviation = compass heading.(Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25C), Navigation)
- A worked leg: true course 090°, wind from 180° at 20 knots, true airspeed 140. Wind correction about 8° right, true heading 098°; variation 10° W, magnetic heading 108°; deviation +2°, compass heading 110°. Groundspeed about 139 knots; 120 nm takes about 52 minutes. At 10 gallons per hour that is about 9 gallons plus climb fuel, and the day reserve adds 5 gallons.(Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25C), Navigation)
- Convert to UTC for the flight plan: Eastern Standard Time is UTC minus 5, but Eastern Daylight Time is UTC minus 4. Watch daylight time and time-zone crossings, or work the whole plan in Zulu.(AIM, Chapter 5, Section 1 (preflight and flight plans))
- Plan a reserve well above the legal minimum, and recompute in flight from actual groundspeed and fuel flow.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))
- Set a divert (bingo) fuel on the ground: if the fuel you project at the destination falls below your personal minimum, land at the nearest suitable airport for fuel.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))
Flight plans and intercepts
- A VFR flight plan includes the aircraft identification, type and equipment, true airspeed, departure airport and proposed time (UTC), cruising altitude, route, destination and estimated time en route (ETE), fuel on board in hours and minutes, an alternate, the pilot's information and the number on board.(AIM, Chapter 5, Section 1 (preflight and flight plans); FAA Form 7233-4)
- Activate it with Flight Service after takeoff, and close it when you land. Search and rescue begins if an active plan isn’t closed 30 minutes after your ETA; a plan you filed but never activated protects nothing.(AIM, Chapter 5, Section 1 (preflight and flight plans))
- If intercepted: follow the interceptor’s visual signals, try 121.5, squawk 7700 unless instructed otherwise, and comply.(AIM 5-6-13, Interception Procedures)
PAVE and ATC
- Run PAVE: Pilot (current, rested, proficient), Aircraft (airworthy, fuel, performance), enVironment (weather, terrain, airspace), External pressures (schedule, customer).(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))
- External pressure is the commercial pilot’s biggest hazard. Decide your bottom lines before you talk to the customer.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))
- ATC radar services are workload permitting; they don’t clear you of terrain or weather on VFR. You remain responsible.(AIM, Chapter 4, Section 1 (ATC services))
Want it all on one page, with scenarios? Read the full lesson.
3 · Say it out loud
Answer each one out loud, then check yourself and mark how it went.
Remember Recall it
“What is the VFR fuel requirement for a day flight in an airplane?”
Understand Explain why
“Why is the legal fuel reserve not a good plan?”
Apply Use it on a flight
“Halfway through a charter, your groundspeed is 25 knots below plan and you’re now landing with 35 minutes of fuel. What do you do?”
4 · Common mistakes
Planning to the legal reserve.
One headwind and you’re short.
Instead: Plan a real margin, set a bingo fuel, and recompute in flight.
Not converting time to UTC.
The flight plan times are wrong.
Instead: Convert every time on the plan.
Relying on flight following for terrain and traffic.
ATC is workload permitting.
Instead: Keep your own picture and look outside.
5 · Quick check
Answer, then reveal. Flag anything you want to see again.
1. Night VFR fuel reserve in an airplane?
2. VFR cruising altitude for a magnetic course of 090°, above 3,000 AGL?
3. When does search and rescue start for an open VFR flight plan?
4. What squawk if intercepted (unless told otherwise)?
5. What does PAVE stand for?
Scenario6. Your EFB overheats and shuts down mid-flight on a charter. What’s your plan?
Trained it? Now prove it: practice cross-country flight planning (commercial) out loud with our examiner.
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Connect it
One situation that runs across this lesson and its neighbors in the same ACS area. Decide first, then check.
Connect it · Preflight Preparation
A week after your checkride, a friend's company offers to pay you to fly three employees to a meeting in a rented 172. They want to leave at 6 a.m.; you have a full workday before.
Can you take the job, and what else matters? Decide, then see the worked answer
It turns on who provides the airplane and who has operational control. If you rent the 172 and provide the company pilot plus airplane, that's carrying persons for compensation, and offering it (holding out, under AC 120-12A) makes it common carriage. That needs an operator certificate under Part 119, with the flight run as an on-demand Part 135 operation, so decline. The lawful version is the company renting or leasing the airplane in its own name, holding operational control, and paying you only to fly it. That's a Part 91 flight, and your commercial certificate lets you be paid as its pilot (the FAA's Green (1993) and Ferris (1990) interpretations draw this line). None of the 119.1(e) exceptions, such as student instruction, nonstop commercial air tours under 91.147, ferry or training flights, or aerial work like banner towing, covers flying a company's employees to a meeting. 91.409(b) requires a 100-hour inspection for an aircraft carrying any person, other than a crewmember, for hire, or used for flight instruction for hire in an airplane the instructor provides. Company employees flown on the company's own business, without being charged, aren't passengers for hire in that sense, so it doesn't automatically apply to the Part 91 version; check the airplane's inspections either way. Then check yourself: a second-class medical for commercial privileges, a current flight review, and three takeoffs and landings in the last 90 days to carry passengers. Without an instrument rating, 61.133(b)(1) bars carrying passengers for hire on cross-countries over 50 NM or at night. Part 91 has no duty or rest limits, so fatigue is yours to manage: run IMSAFE honestly, and a 6 a.m. report after a full workday needs a real sleep opportunity first. If you won't get one, decline or move the departure. Pressure to please a client makes the call harder, not different.
14 CFR 61.23, 61.56, 61.57, 61.133, 91.409(b), 119.1; AC 120-12A; Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A)
Brings together: Pilot Qualifications · Airworthiness Requirements · Human Factors
Teaching this? The instructor lesson plan →
Study aid, not FAA guidance. Sources: Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25C); Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM); Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A); AC 91-78A; 14 CFR; Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B). Checked against current sources 2026-11-13.