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Private pilot · ACS PA.II.F · lesson pack

Before Takeoff Check

Why this one matters

The run-up is the last chance to find a problem while you're still safely on the ground. Engine failures right after takeoff are among the most dangerous emergencies; a real before-takeoff check and a briefed plan make it far more likely you never face one, and handle it if you do.

1 · Know these cold

  • •Do the run-up by the POH checklist, and know why each item is there.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Ground Operations)
  • •Magneto check: three numbers within the POH limits (the drop on the left, the drop on the right, and the difference between them), with the engine smooth. No drop at all is also a no-go (a magneto that isn't grounding); so is an excessive drop or roughness.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Ground Operations)
  • •Flight controls through full travel in every direction, watching the surfaces move correctly, trim set for takeoff, fuel selector and mixture set, doors and belts secure.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Ground Operations)
  • •Point the nose into the wind for engine cooling, and away from other aircraft and buildings.(Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.II.F.S3)
  • •Keep your eyes outside too: an airplane at run-up power can creep forward.(Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.II.F.S4)
  • •Brief the takeoff: abort point, what you'll do if the engine fails on the runway, at low altitude and higher up.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Ground Operations)
  • •Wake turbulence is your responsibility, even with a clearance: wait at least 2 minutes behind a large or heavy departure (3 behind a super), and ask for more if you want it.(AIM 7-4-9)

2 · The lesson

The checklist, item by item
  • Position first: a firm surface clear of the taxiway and debris, nothing behind you the prop blast could damage, nose as nearly into the wind as possible, rolled forward a little so the nosewheel is straight, cowl flaps as the POH says, brakes held firmly (don't trust the parking brake alone). Check the oil temperature is at least the POH minimum before applying run-up power.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Ground Operations)
  • Engine run-up at the POH RPM: magnetos (the left drop, the right drop and the difference, each within limits, engine smooth; if a drop is excessive or rough, use only the POH clearing procedure, recheck, and taxi back if it won't clear), oil temperature and pressure, suction, ammeter or loadmeter, cylinder head temperature if fitted on a long run-up. Exercise a constant-speed propeller per the POH if equipped. Then the idle check.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Ground Operations)
  • Carburetor heat (if equipped): expect an RPM drop. If there is ice, the engine may run rough and then the RPM rises as it melts; leave the heat on until it runs smoothly. Then return it to cold per the POH and check the RPM comes back: taking off with carb heat on costs power.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Ground Operations)
  • Flight controls: move each through its full range (full aileron, elevator and rudder both ways) while looking outside to see the surfaces move the right way, with no binding and the control lock gone. A partial wiggle isn't a check. Then set flaps and trim per the POH.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Ground Operations)
  • Fuel selector on the correct tank, fuel pump as required, mixture set (leaned for high density altitude if the POH says so).(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Ground Operations)
  • Instruments set: altimeter to the local setting, heading indicator aligned with the compass.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Ground Operations)
  • Doors and windows latched, belts and harnesses fastened, lights set. Avionics set for the departure: communication and navigation frequencies, navigation sources and courses or the GPS flight plan, autopilot preselects if used, and the transponder code.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Ground Operations)
Attention and changes
  • Divide your attention as a technique: one item inside, one look outside. The airplane can creep (the parking brake alone can slip), and other traffic moves around you. If the checklist is interrupted or you lose your place, don't assume it's done: go back to the last item you verified and resume from there.(Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.II.F.S4)
  • Takeoff performance is a calculation: from the POH charts for the actual weight, density altitude, wind, surface and slope, get the takeoff distance and the distance over a 50-foot obstacle, compare both with the runway actually available, and decide go or no-go with a margin. If ATC changes your runway, redo all of it before accepting: distances, wind, surface and obstacles, configuration and speeds, the departure path, and the full abort and engine-failure brief.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Ground Operations)
Wake turbulence
  • Wake vortices trail from the wingtips of every airplane and are strongest behind heavy, slow, clean airplanes. They sink and drift with the wind.(AIM chapter 7, Wake Turbulence)
  • Departing behind a larger airplane: wait at least 2 minutes (3 behind a super, and 2 after a larger airplane's low approach, missed approach or touch-and-go), and ask ATC for more time if you want it; avoidance is your responsibility even on a clearance. Note where it rotated and lift off before that point only at your normal rotation speed with performance to spare (never force an early, slow liftoff), then climb above its path and turn away until clear. Don't cross below and behind it, and don't assume you can outclimb a jet.(AIM 7-4-3, 7-4-4, 7-4-6, 7-4-9)
Planning for a failure
  • Brief the takeoff out loud with numbers: confirm the runway and direction, the type of takeoff, the wind, rotation and climb speeds, and the initial heading and altitude. Then three cases: (1) a problem before rotation: throttle idle, brake, stop ahead; (2) a failure after liftoff with runway left: lower the nose, land and stop straight ahead; (3) a failure with no runway left: lower the nose promptly to best glide and land in the most suitable area ahead or within small turns, with no turn back below a specific turn-back altitude you have set for this airplane, weight and wind.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Ground Operations)
  • Cover other failures too: a rough engine on the roll, a door opening, no airspeed indication, low oil pressure; and the factors behind your abort point: the airplane, runway and takeoff path length, surface, wind, density altitude and obstacles.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Ground Operations; Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.II.F.R4)
  • Engine failure soon after takeoff: lower the nose to maintain airspeed and land straight ahead or within small turns. Don't try to turn back to the runway without enough altitude.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Ground Operations)
  • Consider the runway length, surface, density altitude and obstacles when you set the abort point.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Ground Operations)

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

On the flight

ACS standards

  • Review takeoff performance; complete the checklists; position the airplane for wind and other aircraft.(Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.II.F.S1-S3)
  • Divide attention inside and outside; verify engine parameters and configuration.(Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.II.F.S4-S5)

What your instructor is watching for

Your instructor watches your checklist discipline, your eyes outside during the run-up, how you interpret the magneto check, and a clear takeoff briefing including the engine-failure plan.

3 · Say it out loud

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

  1. Remember Recall it

    “What are you looking for in the magneto check?”

  2. Understand Explain why

    “Why do you brief an engine-failure plan before every takeoff?”

  3. Apply Use it on a flight

    “During the mag check, the RPM drops much more than the POH allows on the left magneto and the engine runs rough. What do you do?”

4 · Common mistakes

  • Rushing the run-up because of traffic behind you.

    It's your last chance to find a problem on the ground.

    Instead: Take the time; let traffic go around you if needed.

  • A takeoff briefing that skips the engine failure.

    You won't have time to decide later.

    Instead: Brief speeds, the abort point, and the engine-failure plan every time.

  • Gauges only, no outside view during the run-up.

    The airplane can creep into something.

    Instead: Divide attention between the instruments and outside.

5 · Quick check

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

  1. 1. Why do you check carburetor heat during the run-up?

  2. 2. Which way should the airplane point during the run-up?

  3. 3. Where are wake vortices strongest?

  4. Scenario4. ATC changes your departure runway to a shorter one. What do you do before taking off?

  5. 5. Engine failure shortly after takeoff at low altitude: what's the first action?

Trained it? Now prove it: practice before takeoff check 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

Your fuel sample shows water. Your passenger is in a hurry to make a dinner reservation. At the run-up, the left magneto drop is beyond the POH limit.

Walk through each decision and how the pressure connects them. Decide, then see the worked answer

Sample every drain point into a clear container. A little water that clears is drained until the samples come out clean. Water that keeps coming, or a large amount of it, means the fuel source may be contaminated: stop, keep the samples, report it, and don't fly until the system has been drained or purged and re-sampled clean. The rushed passenger is external pressure, the setup for a 'get it done' decision, so name it and tell them you leave when the airplane is ready. At the run-up, the magneto check fails on an excessive drop, an excessive difference between the two magnetos, roughness, or no drop at all (which can mean a magneto isn't grounding). A fouled plug is only one cause of a large drop: if the POH gives a clearing procedure, try it once, then re-check. If the check still fails, taxi back. You're responsible for the airplane being airworthy before every flight, whatever the schedule.

AFH (FAA-H-8083-3C), Ground Operations; PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aircraft Systems; Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A); 14 CFR 91.3, 91.7

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); Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C); Your airplane's POH/AFM; AIM. Checked against current sources 2026-11-12.