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Commercial pilot · ACS CA.II.B · lesson pack

Flight Deck Management

Why this one matters

Passengers who don't know when to stay quiet, a tablet with expired charts, an autopilot in a mode you didn't expect, or a bag against a control: each one adds workload when it matters most. A professional flight deck is set up before the engine starts so the flight itself has your full attention.

1 · Know these cold

  • •Brief every passenger before takeoff on fastening and unfastening the seat belt and shoulder harness (if installed); tell them to fasten them before surface movement, takeoff and landing; and make sure each one is in an approved seat with the belt (and harness, if installed) fastened for those phases.(14 CFR 91.107(a)(1)-(3))
  • •A full briefing covers who the pilot in command is, belts and harnesses, doors, passenger conduct, the sterile cockpit, propeller avoidance and emergency procedures.(Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.II.B.S2)
  • •Use the checklists for every phase; in a complex airplane they catch the gear, propeller and fuel-pump items that memory misses.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Transition to Complex Airplanes)
  • •Use current charts and navigation data: check the EFB charts and the GPS database dates before you fly, and know what an expired database still allows.(14 CFR 91.103; AC 91-78A)
  • •Secure all items and cargo, within the baggage and weight-and-balance limits.(Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.II.B.S1)
  • •Program the avionics and autopilot on the ground, know what mode they're in, and know how to disconnect them.(Advanced Avionics Handbook (FAA-H-8083-6))
  • •Know what's inoperative and how it limits the flight before your passengers board.(14 CFR 91.213)

2 · The lesson

Passengers
  • The pilot in command ensures each person is briefed on fastening and unfastening the seat belt and harness and is told to fasten them before taxi, takeoff and landing.(14 CFR 91.107(a))
  • Each person occupies an approved seat with the belt, and the shoulder harness if installed, fastened during movement on the surface, takeoff and landing. A child under 2 may be held by an adult occupying an approved seat.(14 CFR 91.107(a)(3))
  • Brief who is pilot in command, belts, doors and exits, emergency equipment, propeller avoidance and passenger conduct. Paying passengers deserve the same briefing every time.(Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.II.B.S2)
  • Part 91 has no sterile-cockpit rule; brief it anyway, as the ACS asks. The airline model: no nonessential conversation or activity during taxi, takeoff and landing, and below 10,000 feet except in cruise. Tell passengers what to speak up about (traffic, smoke, a problem).(Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.II.B.S2; 14 CFR 121.542 (as a model))
Checklists, current data and cargo
  • The POH checklist is the authority. Read-do (read each item, then do it) and do-verify (a flow, then the checklist to confirm) are both accepted on the ground and in flight. GUMPS (gas, undercarriage, mixture, propeller, and switches or seat belts, depending on the source) is a before-landing memory check that never replaces the POH checklist, and it includes confirming three green.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Transition to Complex Airplanes; Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Ground Operations)
  • You must know all available information for the flight, including current charts and airport data.(14 CFR 91.103)
  • Check the EFB charts and the GPS database. VFR has no database-currency rule. Under IFR, an expired database may be used en route and in the terminal area only after you verify the data against a current source (as the AFM supplement allows); for an approach it must be current, or you must verify the procedure hasn't been amended.(AC 91-78A; AIM 1-1-17)
  • Secure bags and cargo against shifting, within the compartment and weight-and-balance limits; nothing loose near the controls or pedals.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Ground Operations)
Automation, devices and inoperative equipment
  • Set up radios, transponder, GPS and autopilot on the ground; verify every mode change on the annunciator and be ready to hand-fly.(Advanced Avionics Handbook (FAA-H-8083-6))
  • Portable electronic devices: 91.21 applies to air carriers and certificate holders, and to any aircraft operated under IFR; there, the operator (for a Part 91 airplane, the PIC) decides which devices won't interfere. It doesn't regulate a VFR Part 91 flight, but you still make sure nothing interferes with navigation or communication.(14 CFR 91.21)
  • Inoperative equipment: with an approved MEL, follow it. Without one (91.213(d)), the item can't be inoperative if it's required by the type certification VFR-day rules, the equipment list or kinds-of-operation list, 91.205 or another rule for the flight, or an airworthiness directive.(14 CFR 91.213)
  • Otherwise remove it, or deactivate it and placard it "Inoperative", with a pilot or mechanic determining it isn't a hazard; then brief what it means for the flight. The placard records the decision; it doesn't replace it.(14 CFR 91.213(d)(3)-(4))
  • Single-pilot resource management: use every resource (ATC, passengers for simple tasks, automation) and keep deciding with the 3P or PAVE model.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))

Want it all on one page, with scenarios? Read the full lesson.

On the flight

ACS standards

  • Secure all items; conduct a complete passenger briefing (PIC, belts and harnesses, doors, conduct, sterile aircraft, propeller avoidance, emergency procedures).(Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.II.B.S1-S2)
  • Program and manage the automation; manage risk with ADM, including SRM/CRM.(Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.II.B.S3-S4)

What your instructor is watching for

Your instructor watches for a natural, complete passenger briefing, a cockpit set up before engine start, current data, automation programmed and verified, and checklist use without prompting.

3 · Say it out loud

Answer each one out loud, then check yourself and mark how it went.

  1. Remember Recall it

    “What must every passenger be briefed on under the regulations?”

  2. Understand Explain why

    “Why program the avionics and autopilot before taxi?”

  3. Apply Use it on a flight

    “Your passenger, a client, keeps talking on short final. What should you have done, and what do you do now?”

4 · Common mistakes

  • A rushed briefing for passengers who "have flown before".

    Every airplane's doors, belts and exits are different.

    Instead: Give the full briefing every time.

  • Head-down programming during taxi or climb.

    It causes incursions and altitude busts.

    Instead: Program on the ground; if a change is needed in flight, keep flying and do it in short steps.

  • Assuming the autopilot will do what you expect.

    Mode confusion causes deviations.

    Instead: Verify each mode on the annunciator and be ready to disconnect.

5 · Quick check

Answer, then reveal. Flag anything you want to see again.

  1. 1. Must passengers wear seat belts during taxi?

  2. 2. Who decides which portable electronic devices may be used in IFR flight in a Part 91 airplane?

  3. 3. What does GUMPS stand for, and what is it for?

  4. 4. Why check your EFB chart and database dates before flight?

  5. Scenario5. The autopilot starts a turn you didn't command. What's the first action?

Trained it? Now prove it: practice flight deck management 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 Procedures

A retractable-gear airplane with a constant-speed propeller. During preflight you find fresh hydraulic fluid near the nose gear. Three passengers are boarding.

How do the preflight finding, the passenger briefing and the before-takeoff check connect? Decide, then see the worked answer

Stop the boarding and keep the passengers clear of the airplane until a mechanic has inspected the fresh fluid near the gear and you, as PIC, have determined the airplane is airworthy. A failed gear system changes every landing. Once it's cleared, review the POH emergency gear-extension procedure before departure: a check on the ground proves only that the gear is down and indicating down now. Brief the passengers as 91.107 requires: how to fasten and unfasten their seat belts and, where installed, shoulder harnesses, and that they must be fastened for movement on the surface, takeoff and landing. Add the exits and emergency equipment. Confirm the down-and-locked indications in the preflight, and check them again before takeoff per the POH. The run-up is for cycling the propeller and checking the engine instruments; it tells you nothing about how the gear will work in flight.

AFH (FAA-H-8083-3C), Transition to Complex Airplanes; 14 CFR 91.7, 91.107

Brings together: Preflight Assessment · Flight Deck Management · Before Takeoff Check

Teaching this? The instructor lesson plan →

Study aid, not FAA guidance. Sources: Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C); Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25C); Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A); Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B); Your airplane's POH/AFM; Advanced Avionics Handbook (FAA-H-8083-6); 14 CFR 91.21, 91.103, 91.107, 91.213; AC 91-78. Checked against current sources 2026-11-13.