Cross-Country Planning, Fuel, and Diversions
- Episode: 19
- Version: 0.3.1
In this episode
In the days and hours before a fictional daytime VFR flight from Meadow Ridge to Harbor Field, current route, weather, airport, and airplane information supports a go decision with margin and a prepared Pine Valley option. The pilot manually completes a route-planning navigation log from verified inputs, uses it to calculate trip fuel and the legal predeparture fuel load, sets a separate personal landing-fuel floor, compares actual checkpoint progress, fuel use, and weather with the plan, and diverts when Harbor crosses the weather trigger while Pine Valley remains suitable.
Study materials and visual aids
- Private Pilot ACS Cross-Country Flight Planning task
- Private Pilot ACS Performance and Limitations task
- Private Pilot ACS performance-chart skill
- Private Pilot ACS Diversion task
- 14 CFR 91.103 preflight action
- 14 CFR 91.151 VFR airplane fuel requirements
- 14 CFR 91.153 VFR flight-plan information
- PHAK cross-country navigation introduction
- PHAK true-course to magnetic-course conversion
- PHAK time, distance, groundspeed, and fuel calculations
- PHAK flight-planning materials and airport information
- PHAK aircraft data and route-charting sequence
- PHAK planning sheet and visual flight-log example
- PHAK in-flight plan adjustment
- PHAK AFM/POH performance-data overview
- PHAK climb and cruise planning charts
- PHAK cruise and range performance example
- PHAK fuel-quantity and selector checks
- PHAK personal-minimum decision references and alternatives
- PHAK situational-awareness and workload management
- FAA Safety Briefing fuel-trend and totalizer examples
- AIM VFR flight-plan guidance
- AIM closing VFR flight plans
Fact-check and source material
| Topic | Source type | Authoritative source | Locator | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cross-country, performance, and diversion outcomes | FAA standard | FAA-S-ACS-6C | PA.I.D, PA.I.F, and PA.VI.C; PDF viewer pp. 13–15 and 48 | Two-pass formal source review completed 2026-09-21 |
| Preflight information, VFR fuel, and VFR flight plans | Regulation | 14 CFR 91.103, 91.151, and 91.153 | Exact eCFR sections | Two-pass formal source review completed 2026-09-21 |
| Route charting, navigation-log calculations, time, fuel, and in-flight updates | FAA handbook | PHAK Chapter 16 | pp. 16-1, 16-7, 16-11, and 16-17–16-21 | Two-pass formal source review completed 2026-09-21 |
| Aircraft performance inputs | FAA handbook | PHAK Chapter 11 | pp. 11-1, 11-21, and 11-24 | Two-pass formal source review completed 2026-09-21 |
| Fuel-quantity cross-check | FAA handbook | PHAK Chapter 7 | p. 7-26 | Two-pass formal source review completed 2026-09-21 |
| Personal-minimum decision references and alternatives | FAA handbook | PHAK Chapter 2 | p. 2-17 | Two-pass formal source review completed 2026-09-21 |
| Diversion workload | FAA handbook | PHAK Chapter 2 | p. 2-24 | Two-pass formal source review completed 2026-09-21 |
| ETA trends and fuel-totalizer comparisons | FAA safety publication | FAA Safety Briefing, July/August 2018 | printed p. 22, PDF viewer p. 24 | Two-pass formal source review completed 2026-09-21 |
| VFR flight-plan activation and closure | FAA operational guidance | Aeronautical Information Manual | 5-1-5 and 5-1-14 | Two-pass formal source review completed 2026-09-21 |
Correction status
Corrections and source updates are recorded in the episode production log before a revised version is published. Submit a source correction through the repository issue form or email [email protected]. Do not send credentials, private documents, or personal flight information.