The published numbers — circuit profile, approach references, tolerances, limits and minima. Everything you are held to is on this page.
Every number this course marks you against is here. Nothing on a check ride is held to a figure that is not on this page, and nothing here changes during the semester.
Know them. Not as a reference you can look up — you will be at 300 knots when you need most of them.
Circuit profile#
| Point | Height | Speed |
|---|---|---|
| Upwind, climbing | to 1500 ft | 300 kt |
| Downwind | 1500 ft | 250 kt |
| Base turn | 1500 ft descending | 200 kt |
| Final, configured | on profile | on AOA |
Speeds are targets until the base turn. After it there is no target speed, because after it you are flying angle of attack.
Approach reference#
| Reference | Value |
|---|---|
| On-speed angle of attack | 13° |
| Indexer indication | centre light only |
| Airspeed on final | whatever results |
The last row is not a joke. The speed that keeps the wing flying changes with weight and fuel state; the angle at which it stops flying does not. Fly the angle and accept the speed.
Tolerances#
Applied to the week 8 progression check and the week 12 check ride, and to nothing else.
| Item | Tolerance |
|---|---|
| Circuit height | ± 100 ft |
| Downwind speed | ± 10 kt |
| Angle of attack on final | ± 1 unit |
| Centreline at touchdown | ± 10 ft |
| Touchdown zone | first 1000 ft past threshold |
Enforced limits#
The aircraft will not exceed these. You do not need to remember them under load, and they are listed so you can tell them apart from the next section.
| Limit | Value |
|---|---|
| Symmetric G | +9.0 / −3.0 |
| Angle of attack | 25° |
| Roll rate | system limited |
Restrictions#
The aircraft will do all of these. Unlike the limits above, the system will not stop you — holding to these under load is on you.
- No flight below 500 ft AGL outside the published pattern
- No approach continued past a gate that is not met
- No sortie started inside twelve hours of crew rest
- No recovery attempted below your stated decision altitude
Week 3 asks you to tell this section from the one above it. This page is the answer key, and the distinction is the most consequential thing on it.
Weather minima#
| Sortie | Ceiling | Vis | Xwind |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simulator | — | — | — |
| First solo | 2500 ft | 8 km | 10 kt |
| Check ride | 1500 ft | 5 km | 15 kt |
Minima are floors, not targets. A sortie legal on these numbers may still be cancelled by the convenor or declined by you, and neither decision needs the other’s agreement.
Fuel#
| State | Action |
|---|---|
| Committed to the approach | no diversion remains |
| Bingo | return now, whatever is incomplete |
| Emergency | declare it, land straight in |
Bingo is a number computed before each sortie for that day’s aircraft and destination. It is not a suggestion, and it does not move because you are one circuit from finishing.
Your own numbers#
Two figures in this course are not issued by the school. You set them, you defend them, and they are marked.
- your decision altitude — below which you stop attempting a recovery
- your gates — in the form if not X by Y, then go around
Both are on your card before week 10. Neither is checked against a school answer, because there is not one.