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Private pilot · ACS PA.I.D · lesson pack

Cross-Country Flight Planning

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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.

1 · Know these cold

  • •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)

2 · The lesson

Route and navigation
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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))

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.

  1. Remember Recall it

    “How much fuel does a VFR flight need by day?”

  2. Understand Explain why

    “Why might you choose a lower cruising altitude than you planned?”

  3. Apply Use it on a flight

    “Halfway through, your groundspeed is 15 knots slower than planned. What do you do?”

4 · 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.

5 · Quick check

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

  1. 1. What is the VFR fuel reserve at night?

  2. 2. Magnetic course 090°, above 3,000 AGL: odd or even thousands plus 500?

  3. 3. When does search and rescue begin if you don't close a VFR flight plan?

  4. 4. If intercepted, what code do you squawk?

  5. Scenario5. You land at your fuel stop by day and the pumps are closed. You have 40 minutes of fuel; the next airport with fuel is 25 minutes away. Can you go?

  6. 6. Over a congested area, what is the minimum altitude?

Trained it? Now prove it: practice cross-country flight planning 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 July afternoon. You plan a 90 NM trip from a 2,800-foot runway at 1,500 feet elevation; it's 33 °C. The destination TAF has a TEMPO for thunderstorms starting about when you'd arrive.

How do the weather, the airplane's performance and your fuel plan change one another, and what do you decide? Decide, then see the worked answer

Work the density altitude first. Standard temperature at 1,500 feet is about 12 °C, so 33 °C is about ISA +21 °C and the density altitude is roughly 4,000 feet (more if the pressure is low). Enter the POH takeoff and climb charts at the actual pressure altitude and temperature, never the field elevation, and compare the ground roll, the distance over a 50-foot obstacle and the climb with the 2,800 feet and the obstacles, with a margin. If it's tight, cut payload and baggage first. Never cut fuel below trip fuel plus fuel to divert to an alternate plus the 91.151(a)(1) day VFR reserve of 30 minutes at normal cruise. After any load change, recompute the weight and balance and the CG, and check the landing distance at the destination too. The TEMPO puts thunderstorms over the destination at your arrival. Don't plan to beat the TEMPO window or to divert closely around cells: avoid thunderstorms with severe or intense radar echoes by at least 20 miles, never take off or land in the face of an approaching thunderstorm, and wait storms out on the ground. With thin performance margins and storms at the far end, the better answer is the cooler, calmer morning.

PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aircraft Performance and Weather Theory; AC 00-24C, Thunderstorms; 14 CFR 91.103, 91.151

Brings together: Weather Information · Cross-Country Flight Planning · Performance and Limitations

Teaching this? The instructor lesson plan →

Study aid, not FAA guidance. Sources: 14 CFR Part 91; AIM; Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25C); Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A); Chart Supplement and sectional charts. Checked against current sources 2026-11-12.