✈️ Aviation Brief — Issue #26
Weekly insights for student pilots and the instructors who train them.
THIS WEEK'S TOPIC
PA.IV.A — Normal Takeoff and Climb (Private Pilot ACS)
### 1. ACS STANDARDS SUMMARY
For Private Pilot - Airplane ACS Task PA.IV.A (Normal Takeoff and Climb), the examiner expects you to demonstrate instructional knowledge, risk management, and skills in a Cessna 172 or similar. **Knowledge**: Describe runway markings, wind effects, airplane configuration (e.g., flaps up or as recommended, trim set), power settings, and climb procedures. **Risk Management**: Identify hazards like crosswinds, density altitude, and improper climb attitude leading to settling or stalls. **Skills**: Align on centerline, accelerate to rotation speed (typically 55 KIAS in a C-172), rotate smoothly to 7-10° nose-up, accelerate to Vy (74 KIAS best rate), maintain ±10° heading, wings level to ±5°, and climb at Vy ±10 KIAS. Complete a normal takeoff per the Pilot's Operating Handbook (POH), with no side drift and positive climb established.
### 2. THREE COMMON STUDENT MISTAKES
- **Lifting off prematurely**: Students often rotate too early (below 50-55 KIAS in a C-172), causing a mushy climb, excessive nose-high attitude, and potential settling back onto the runway—examiners ding this as poor airspeed control.
- **Poor directional control during rollout**: Without enough right rudder input to counter torque, P-factor, and spiraling slipstream, the airplane drifts left off centerline, risking a runway excursion—especially on checkrides with a light quartering tailwind.
- **Incorrect climb speed or attitude**: After liftoff, chasing Vy too aggressively leads to a tail-low pitch attitude or ballooning, or climbing at Vx (best angle, 62 KIAS) when Vy is needed, resulting in sluggish performance and ±10 KIAS deviations.
### 3. CFI PRO TIP
Teach the "sight picture scan" during rollout: Keep your eyes outside, focused 1,000 feet down the runway centerline—not on the airspeed indicator—while lightly holding forward pressure on the yoke. Call out "55, rotate" to build muscle memory, then immediately shift to a "thumbs-up" pitch attitude (yoke pulled so your thumbs point just above the horizon). This keeps rotations smooth and prevents staring inside, turning sloppy takeoffs into confident ones every time.
### 4. SAFETY SPOTLIGHT
Runway overruns and excursions during takeoff are a top killer, with NTSB data (e.g., 2022 stats) showing over 200 incidents annually in light GA aircraft, often due to poor directional control or delayed rotation in gusty winds. A classic ASRS report pattern: Pilots in C-172s lose centerline from insufficient rudder in 10-knot crosswinds, veer off at 40-50 KIAS, and collide with obstacles—always brief wind effects pre-takeoff and prioritize stopping if it feels wrong.
### 5. DID YOU KNOW
In a Cessna 172, Vy (best rate of climb, 74 KIAS at sea level) gets you up quickest over obstacles beyond 50 feet, while Vx (best angle, 62 KIAS) clears a 50-foot tree line fastest—but mixing them up in high density altitude (common in Vegas) can halve your climb rate. Check the POH chart for your specific weight and temp!
---
Exec Flight Services | execflightservices.com | [email protected]
Based in Las Vegas, NV
Follow Exec Flight Services on Facebook for weekly updates.
← Back to all issues