✈️ Aviation Brief — Issue #92
Weekly insights for student pilots and the instructors who train them.
THIS WEEK'S TOPIC
CA.IV.K — Go-Around (Commercial Pilot ACS)
1. ACS STANDARDS SUMMARY
The Commercial Pilot ACS (CA.IV.K) requires the applicant to recognize when a go-around is necessary and execute it promptly and positively. The examiner expects the pilot to apply full takeoff power without delay, establish a positive rate of climb while maintaining directional control and proper wind-drift correction, configure the airplane (flaps and gear) in the correct sequence while managing airspeed, complete the appropriate checklist, and comply with any ATC instructions or noise-abatement procedures. The maneuver must be flown without altitude or airspeed excursions that would compromise safety.
2. THREE COMMON STUDENT MISTAKES
- Delaying the decision or power application until the aircraft has already floated too far down the runway, leaving insufficient altitude or airspeed margin.
- Pitching up aggressively immediately after adding power, which causes a rapid airspeed decay and risks a stall at low altitude.
- Retracting flaps all at once instead of in stages while climbing, resulting in a sudden loss of lift and a sink that can put the airplane back on the runway.
3. CFI PRO TIP
Teach students to verbalize a simple, repeatable sequence out loud the first few times: “Full power—pitch for climb—positive rate—flaps up in stages.” Saying the steps reduces the tendency to react emotionally and helps them manage pitch and configuration in the correct order rather than rushing everything at once.
4. SAFETY SPOTLIGHT
NTSB data and ASRS reports consistently show that loss-of-control accidents during go-arounds often occur because pilots allow airspeed to drop below Vx or Vy while trying to climb too steeply at low altitude. In several runway-excursion and stall events, the airplane was otherwise serviceable but entered an aerodynamic stall during the transition from descent to climb because the pilot did not maintain the correct pitch attitude after adding power.
5. DID YOU KNOW
The FAA’s Stabilized Approach Concept recommends initiating a go-around if the aircraft is not stabilized by 500 feet AGL in VFR conditions; many operators have made this a hard company policy rather than a suggestion.
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