NCAA CPL Flight Performance & Planning study guide
NCAA CPL Flight Performance & Planning · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
Flight Performance and Planning is the subject area of the NCAA Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) theoretical examinations that tests whether you can operate an aeroplane legally, safely and economically on paper before you do it in the air. It is aimed at student commercial pilots who have completed private pilot training and are preparing for the CPL ground examinations, and it rewards candidates who can work methodically through numerical problems rather than recall facts. The NCAA CPL Flight Performance & Planning study guide has 5 sections and about 1,631 words.
01Mass and Balance
The Mass and Balance domain tests whether you can build a legal loading from basic empty mass to take-off mass, place the centre of gravity (CG) inside its forward and aft limits, and explain how loading affects performance and handling. The exam expects correct use of datum, arm, moment and the structural mass limits, not merely arithmetic.
372 words, about 2 min02Performance - Aeroplanes
The Performance - Aeroplanes domain tests your ability to use the AFM/POH to predict take-off and landing distance, climb performance and limiting speeds, and to decide whether a runway, obstacle and mass combination is legal. Questions often combine declared distances, density altitude and chart corrections.
308 words, about 2 min03Flight Planning and Monitoring
Flight Planning and Monitoring tests the practical paperwork and in-flight discipline of a CPL flight: preparing an ATC flight plan and a navigation log, calculating ETA and fuel, choosing alternates, and revising the plan when actual wind or fuel burn differs. An ATC flight plan normally includes aircraft identification, type and wake category, equipment, departure and destination, route, cruising level and speed, total EET, alternate aerodrome, fuel endurance and persons on board.
307 words, about 2 min04Fuel Planning
Fuel Planning tests the legal fuel figure you must carry and the order in which the components are built. The exam expects a defensible fuel plan, not a single 'trip fuel plus a bit' number, and it checks that you know which fuel is usable for diversion and which is protected.
339 words, about 2 min05Operational Flight Plan and Fuel Management
Operational Flight Plan and Fuel Management tests the operator's flight plan as a working document and the commander's fuel decisions once airborne. It covers OFP content, fuel uplift and tankering, in-flight fuel checks, and the meaning of minimum fuel and emergency fuel.
305 words, about 2 min