Take-off and Landing Performance
Take-off and landing performance test your ability to use AFM/POH charts with the correct corrections and compare the result with the declared distances. The exam focuses on TORA, TODA, ASDA, LDA, V speeds, obstacle clearance and contaminated-runway factors.
Core rules
- Take-off must satisfy field length, climb, obstacle, brake-energy and tyre-speed limits.
- Use TODA for take-off distance available, ASDA for accelerate-stop and TORA for ground run.
- Landing dispatch requires LDA and, under many operators, a factored landing distance, often 1.15× the dry chart distance.
- Correct chart figures for pressure altitude, temperature, wind, slope, runway condition, flaps, anti-ice and packs.
Worked example
Chart: 2,000 ft PA, 15°C, zero wind, dry, flaps 15 → TODR 1,850 m. Headwind 10 kt correction −5% → 1,758 m. Upslope 1% correction +5% → 1,846 m. TODA is 1,900 m, so the take-off is legal with 54 m margin. If engine anti-ice adds 8%, TODR becomes 1,994 m, which exceeds TODA; reduce mass, change flap setting or wait for cooler conditions.
Traps
- Applying wind and slope corrections in the wrong order or to the wrong base.
- Comparing TODR with TORA rather than TODA.
- Using the unfactored landing distance for dispatch.
- Ignoring contaminated-runway penalties and reverse-thrust credit restrictions.
- Using the wrong QNH or temperature for pressure altitude.