Flight Performance and Planning
Performance questions ask you to compute, not recall. Understand the four forces in the take-off, climb, cruise, and landing phases, and how mass, altitude, temperature, wind, and runway conditions shift the numbers. Learn to read performance charts: identify the entry axis, follow the reference lines in the correct order, and apply the correction factors at the end. Density altitude is central - compute it from pressure altitude and temperature, then use it to adjust take-off distance and climb rate.
Weight and balance requires locating the centre of gravity from the moment equation: total moment divided by total mass. Know forward and aft CG limits and how each affects stall speed, controllability, and cruise performance. Fuel planning must include taxi, trip, contingency, alternate, and final reserve; be ready to convert between mass, volume, and density.
Worked example
A chart gives a take-off ground roll of 600 m at sea level and 15 °C. At 2,000 ft pressure altitude and 25 °C, apply the altitude correction (say +25%) then the temperature correction (say +10%): 600 × 1.25 × 1.10 = 825 m. Apply corrections multiplicatively, not additively.
Traps include using indicated rather than true airspeed, forgetting wind components, and applying corrections in the wrong sequence.