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Commercial pilot · ACS CA.V.D · lesson pack

Lazy Eights

Why this one matters

Lazy eights train coordination at every combination of airspeed and bank, including low speed in a climbing turn where an uncoordinated pull can stall a wing. The habit they build, smooth anticipation and a centered ball while everything changes, is what keeps a pilot in control in a busy, maneuvering approach.

1 · Know these cold

  • •The purpose: coordination at constantly changing airspeed, pitch and bank, and planning ahead through a long maneuver.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Performance Maneuvers)
  • •Clear the area and keep the whole maneuver at or above 1,500 feet AGL; enter clean, at the manufacturer's recommended power and speed, no faster than VA (or VO) for your actual weight.(Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.V.D.S2-S3)
  • •Reference points at 45°, 90° and 135°, a symmetrical set: maximum pitch up at 45° with about 15° of bank; at 90°, the nose passing through level, about 30° of bank and minimum speed (about 5 to 10 knots above the stall); maximum pitch down at 135° with about 15° of bank; wings level at entry speed and altitude at 180°.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Performance Maneuvers)
  • •Pitch, bank and airspeed change constantly: no straight or level moments except the 180° points.(Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.V.D.S5)
  • •At each 180° point: altitude ±100 feet of entry, airspeed ±10 knots of entry, and heading ±10° of the reciprocal of the entry heading.(Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.V.D.S5)
  • •Rudder changes constantly with speed, power and roll direction: rolling right at low speed, adverse yaw adds to P-factor, so a lot of right rudder; rolling left, they partly cancel. Fly the ball in each half.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aerodynamics of Flight)
  • •Fly the specified number of symmetrical loops, then resume straight-and-level.(Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.V.D.S6)

2 · The lesson

The phases
  • Entry: level, at the recommended speed and power, on a heading with prominent horizon references at 45°, 90° and 135° for each 180° turn, and a new set for the turn the other way. Use the wind and references so you don't drift out of the cleared area.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Performance Maneuvers)
  • 0° to 45°: begin a climbing turn, pitch increasing faster than bank; maximum pitch up at 45° with bank about 15°.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Performance Maneuvers)
  • 45° to 90°: pitch decreasing, bank increasing; at 90° the nose crosses the horizon at about 30° of bank and minimum airspeed. There the overbanking tendency may need a little opposite aileron to hold 30°, while you keep rudder against the left-turning tendencies.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Performance Maneuvers)
  • 90° to 135°: descending turn, bank decreasing, maximum pitch down at 135°.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Performance Maneuvers)
  • 135° to 180°: roll out and raise the nose to arrive level at the entry altitude and speed, then begin the turn the other way.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Performance Maneuvers)
Coordination and limits
  • Rudder pressure changes continuously with airspeed, power and roll direction; fly the ball rather than a memorized pressure.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aerodynamics of Flight)
  • Enter at or below VA (lower at lighter weights) and use smooth control pressures; abrupt pulls near the top risk an accelerated stall.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aerodynamics of Flight)
  • Power stays set once established; altitude and airspeed return to entry values at each 180° point if pitch and bank are symmetrical.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Performance Maneuvers)
Energy
  • Each half trades speed for height and back again; a symmetrical lazy eight returns to the same energy at each 180° point.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Performance Maneuvers)
  • Ending high and slow, or low and fast, means the climb and descent weren't symmetrical; adjust pitch rates on the next loop.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Performance Maneuvers)
Doing it safely
  • Clear the area with clearing turns before every maneuver, and keep scanning: you're turning, climbing and descending through other airplanes' airspace.(AC 90-48, Pilots' Role in Collision Avoidance)
  • Keep the whole maneuver at or above 1,500 feet AGL.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Performance Maneuvers)
  • Divide attention: outside references for attitude and orientation, quick glances inside for altitude and airspeed. Fixating on one instrument is how errors grow.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))
  • Keep the ball centered. Uncoordinated flight at high angles of attack is the setup for an accelerated or cross-controlled stall and a spin.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aerodynamics of Flight)
  • Distraction, poor task priorities, lost situational awareness and disorientation: fly the airplane first, re-establish orientation on outside references and the instruments, and abandon the maneuver if you lose it.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))

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

On the flight

ACS standards

  • About 30° of bank at the steepest point; constant change of pitch, roll rate and airspeed; coordinated throughout.(Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.V.D.S4-S5)
  • At each 180° point: altitude ±100 feet and airspeed ±10 knots of entry, heading ±10° of the reciprocal of the entry heading; no lower than 1,500 feet AGL.(Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.V.D.S2, S5)

What your instructor is watching for

Your instructor watches the reference points, a nose that never stops moving, the bank peaking at the 90° point, rudder changing with speed, and altitude, speed and heading back within tolerance at each 180° point.

3 · Say it out loud

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

  1. Remember Recall it

    “Where is the bank steepest in a lazy eight, and about how steep?”

  2. Understand Explain why

    “Why must the rudder pressure keep changing?”

  3. Apply Use it on a flight

    “After the first 180° you're 150 feet high and 15 knots slow. What do you change?”

4 · Common mistakes

  • Pausing the pitch or bank.

    The maneuver is a continuous change.

    Instead: Keep the nose moving through the reference points.

  • Asymmetrical loops.

    Altitude and speed won't return to entry values.

    Instead: Mirror the pitch and bank rates in the climb and descent.

  • Not adjusting rudder.

    Slips and skids as speed changes.

    Instead: Watch the ball, especially at the low-speed top.

5 · Quick check

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

  1. 1. What reference points do you use?

  2. 2. Where is the maximum pitch up?

  3. 3. Where is airspeed lowest?

  4. 4. What are the tolerances at the 180° point?

  5. Scenario5. You end each loop low and fast. What do you change?

Trained it? Now prove it: practice lazy eights 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 · Performance Maneuvers

A practice session: steep turns at 50°, a steep spiral, then chandelles.

What do the three have in common in load factor and energy, and what limits each? Decide, then see the worked answer

All three are about load factor and energy, but each trades it differently. The steep turn holds altitude, so you add power to hold airspeed against the extra drag; a level 50° bank is about 1.56 G, with the stall speed about 25% higher. The steep spiral is flown at idle, trading altitude for a constant gliding airspeed around a point at a constant radius, steepest bank when the groundspeed is highest (downwind), never more than 60°. Fly at least three 360° turns, finish no lower than 1,500 feet AGL unless it's an actual emergency landing, and clear the engine periodically with brief power so it stays warm and the plugs stay clean. The 60° figures (2 G, stall speed about 41% higher) are for a level turn; in the descending spiral the load is close to that but slightly less. The chandelle trades airspeed for altitude in a 180° climbing turn at a fixed power setting: about 30° of bank, entered at or below the recommended entry speed, never above VA. In the first 90° the bank stays constant and the pitch increases; in the second 90° the pitch stays constant and the bank comes out, rolling out at 180° ±10° just above the stall. Hold that attitude briefly, then lower the nose to regain airspeed without losing altitude. Coordination doesn't prevent an accelerated stall; only reducing the angle of attack and the load factor does. What coordination does is make a stall under load break evenly, not by one wing first.

Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), Area V; AFH (FAA-H-8083-3C), Performance Maneuvers; PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Load Factor

Brings together: Steep Turns · Steep Spiral · Chandelles

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); AC 90-48; Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B); Your airplane's POH/AFM. Checked against current sources 2026-11-13.