CP.I.D — Cross-Country Flight Planning
CP.I.D for the Commercial Pilot Powered Lift ACS: official objective, references, and 22 exact knowledge, risk-management, and skill descriptions.
FAA-S-ACS-2, November 2023. This study page does not replace the current FAA publication or an examiner's plan of action.
Official task context
| Certificate or rating | Commercial Pilot |
|---|---|
| Aircraft category | Powered Lift |
| Area of operation | Area of Operation I. Preflight Preparation |
| Task | Task D. Cross-Country Flight Planning |
| Task code prefix | CP.I.D |
| Official references | 14 CFR part 91; AIM; Chart Supplements; FAA-H-8083-2, FAA-H-8083-25; NOTAMs; VFR Navigation Charts |
| FAA document | FAA-S-ACS-2 — Commercial Pilot for Powered-Lift Category Airman Certification Standards |
| FAA source library | Open the official ACS library |
Official task objective
To determine the applicant exhibits satisfactory knowledge, risk management, and skills associated with cross-country flights and VFR flight planning.
What the ACS code means
- CP identifies the ACS standard family used for this Commercial Pilot Powered Lift document.
- I identifies Preflight Preparation, the Area of Operation.
- D identifies Cross-Country Flight Planning, the Task within that Area.
- K, R, and S identify knowledge, risk-management, and skill elements. The number selects the item; a trailing lowercase letter identifies a listed sub-element.
Knowledge elements
| ACS code | Official description | How a mock oral can probe it |
|---|---|---|
| CP.I.D.K1 | Route planning, including consideration of different classes and special use airspace (SUA) and selection of appropriate and available navigation/communication systems and facilities. | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| CP.I.D.K1a | a. Use of an electronic flight bag (EFB), if used | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| CP.I.D.K2 | Altitude selection accounting for terrain and obstacles, glide or autorotative distance of the aircraft, VFR cruising altitudes, and the effect of wind. | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| CP.I.D.K3 | Calculating: | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| CP.I.D.K3a | a. Time, climb and descent rates, course, distance, heading, true airspeed, and groundspeed | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| CP.I.D.K3b | b. Estimated time of arrival, including conversion to universal coordinated time (UTC) | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| CP.I.D.K3c | c. Fuel requirements, including reserve | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| CP.I.D.K4 | Elements of a VFR flight plan. | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| CP.I.D.K5 | Procedures for filing, activating, and closing a VFR flight plan. | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
| CP.I.D.K6 | Inflight intercept procedures. | Explain the element, apply it to a scenario, and connect the answer to current references or aircraft information when relevant. |
Risk management elements
| ACS code | Official description | How a mock oral can probe it |
|---|---|---|
| CP.I.D.R1 | Pilot. | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| CP.I.D.R2 | Aircraft. | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| CP.I.D.R3 | Environment (e.g., weather, airports, airspace, terrain, obstacles, including wire strike hazards). | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| CP.I.D.R4 | External pressures. | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| CP.I.D.R5 | Limitations of air traffic control (ATC) services. | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| CP.I.D.R6 | Fuel planning. | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
| CP.I.D.R7 | Use of an electronic flight bag (EFB), if used. | Work through a scenario by identifying the hazard, evaluating the risk, and explaining a practical mitigation or decision. |
Skills elements
| ACS code | Official description | How a mock oral can probe it |
|---|---|---|
| CP.I.D.S1 | Prepare, present, and explain a cross-country flight plan assigned by the evaluator, including a risk analysis based on real-time weather, to the first fuel stop. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| CP.I.D.S2 | Apply pertinent information from appropriate and current aeronautical charts, Chart Supplements; Notices to Air Missions (NOTAMs) relative to airport/heliport/helipad/landing area, runway and taxiway closures; and other flight publications. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| CP.I.D.S3 | Create a navigation log and prepare a VFR flight plan. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| CP.I.D.S4 | Recalculate fuel reserves based on a scenario provided by the evaluator. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
| CP.I.D.S5 | Use an electronic flight bag (EFB), if applicable. | Describe the procedure, interpretation, or decision process that can be discussed during an oral. Physical aircraft performance remains part of the practical test. |
Difficulty data
Difficulty calibration is ongoing for this Task. A difficulty estimate is published only with a sufficiently large, privacy-preserving first directly recorded assessment sample. Any observed difficulty comes from Checkride AI mock-oral practice assessments and is a practice-data proxy, not an FAA practical-test pass or fail rate.
Difficulty calibration remains ongoing until an item clears the private reporting threshold. Percentages, when available, describe the share who needed review on their first directly recorded assessment. Underlying sample sizes are never published, and historical final states are not backfilled into this measure.
Official task notes
- Preparation, presentation, and explanation of a computer-generated flight plan is an acceptable option.
How to use this in a mock oral
A mock examiner can ask you to explain the published elements, apply them to the configured aircraft and airport scenario, identify risks, and defend a decision. The prompts are practice scenarios; they are not claimed to be actual FAA examiner scripts or a prediction of the questions you will receive.
Related ACS tasks
- All Commercial Pilot Powered Lift ACS tasks
55 task-level resources from FAA-S-ACS-2.
- CP.I.C — Weather Information
Area of Operation I. Preflight Preparation
- CP.I.E — National Airspace System
Area of Operation I. Preflight Preparation
- CP.I.A — Pilot Qualifications
Area of Operation I. Preflight Preparation
- CP.I.B — Airworthiness Requirements
Area of Operation I. Preflight Preparation