✈️ Aviation Brief — Issue #43
Weekly insights for student pilots and the instructors who train them.
THIS WEEK'S TOPIC
PA.VII.C — Diversion (Private Pilot ACS)
### 1. ACS STANDARDS SUMMARY
For Private Pilot (PA.VII.C — Diversion), the ACS requires you to demonstrate the ability to select and fly to a suitable alternate airport during a flight. Specifically, you must:
- Determine reasons for the diversion (e.g., weather, mechanical issue).
- Select an appropriate alternate airport and determine direct heading, groundspeed, wind correction angle, time en route, and fuel requirements.
- Complete a lost communications checklist if applicable.
- Select a safe altitude, divert without autopilot, and complete appropriate checklists (e.g., engine, pre-landing).
The examiner expects you to explain your decisions, maintain aircraft control, scan for traffic, and comply with airspace while managing risks like fuel exhaustion or terrain. Use pilotage, dead reckoning, or navigation aids—no GPS for primary reference.
### 2. THREE COMMON STUDENT MISTAKES
- **Poor airport selection or situational awareness**: Students pick the closest airport without checking for terrain, runway length, or current weather/ATIS, leading to rushed decisions or go-arounds on checkrides.
- **Inaccurate en route calculations**: Forgetting to adjust for wind (e.g., not using crab angle properly) or miscalculating fuel burn/time, resulting in headings that drift off course and unnecessary stress.
- **Rushing the checklist flow**: Diving straight into the diversion without climbing to a safe altitude first or briefing passengers/ATC, which skips critical risk management like "confess" (declare the issue) and leads to overlooked items like carb heat.
### 3. CFI PRO TIP
Teach the "CLIMB" mnemonic early and drill it on every cross-country: **Climb** to a safe altitude, **Look** for suitable airports (using your nav log and sectionals), **Inform** ATC/pax if needed, **Math** out heading/GS/fuel/time, **Brief** the approach. Practice unscheduled diversions mid-flight in the Cessna 172—start with nearby Vegas-area fields like Henderson or Boulder City—to build muscle memory so it becomes automatic, not a panic scramble.
### 4. SAFETY SPOTLIGHT
NTSB data shows diversions often lead to fatal accidents when pilots fixate on the new destination and neglect fundamentals like fuel management or weather. For example, in a 2022 Cessna 172 crash (NTSB ERA22FA128), the pilot diverted for weather but descended into IMC without updating fuel calcs, exhausting reserves short of the alternate—highlighting the need to always recompute burn rates (about 9 GPH at 75% power) and add generous reserves before turning.
### 5. DID YOU KNOW
FAR 91.3 gives you ultimate authority as PIC to divert anytime for safety, even overriding ATC—use it wisely, as ASRS reports show over 200 annual pilot/ATC conflicts resolved by timely diversions in busy airspace like Las Vegas Class B.
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