✈️ Aviation Brief — Issue #39
Weekly insights for student pilots and the instructors who train them.
THIS WEEK'S TOPIC
PA.VI.B — S-Turns (Private Pilot ACS)
### 1. ACS STANDARDS SUMMARY
For Private Pilot certification (PA.VI.B: S-Turns), the FAA Airman Certification Standards require you to demonstrate knowledge of the maneuver's purpose (to correct for wind drift and develop wind correction skills), procedures, and completion criteria. Risk management includes identifying hazards like improper wind corrections, collision risks, or low-altitude operations. Skills-wise, the examiner expects you to: select a straight-line ground reference (like a road); enter and complete coordinated, symmetrical S-turns with banks not exceeding 30° (±10°); maintain altitude ±100 feet, airspeed ±10 knots; apply proper wind corrections for a constant-radius ground track; divide attention between airplane control, traffic scan, and ground references; and exit with no appreciable change in heading or airspeed.
### 2. THREE COMMON STUDENT MISTAKES
- **Asymmetrical ground tracks**: Students often fail to adjust for wind properly, making one S-turn leg much wider or shallower than the other, resulting in a drifting overall path—examiners notice this immediately on checkrides.
- **Altitude deviations during banks**: Losing 100-200 feet on the downwind side due to back pressure changes or distraction from looking outside, especially in crosswinds.
- **Uncoordinated turns (skidding/slipping)**: Over-controlling rudder without matching aileron, leading to the ball staying off-center—common when fixating on the ground reference instead of using coordinated flight instruments.
### 3. CFI PRO TIP
Pick a straight highway or road as your reference line, then visualize each S-turn as two perfect half-circles on the ground: crab into the wind on the straight legs to maintain the radius, and peak your 30° bank exactly halfway across the road (use a landmark like a billboard). Practice calling out "halfway, 30 degrees, ball centered" on each turn—it builds muscle memory and forces you to divide attention perfectly every time.
### 4. SAFETY SPOTLIGHT
S-turns teach wind drift correction at low altitudes (typically 600-1,000 AGL), but poor execution has contributed to real-world accidents—NTSB data (e.g., WPR20FA128) shows cases where pilots practicing maneuvers lost situational awareness, descended into terrain, or collided with obstacles during uncoordinated low turns. ASRS reports highlight over 50 incidents annually involving "maneuvering" flights below 1,000 feet, often due to wind-induced drift pulling pilots off course into wires or rising ground—always prioritize a 1,000-foot buffer and constant traffic scans.
### 5. DID YOU KNOW
S-turns originated from early airmail pilots in the 1920s who used them to follow rivers or roads while scanning for signal fires from ground crews—today, FAA mandates them in training to build the same drift-correction skills needed for emergency landings over unfamiliar terrain.
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