### Introduction Now that you've soloed, we're going to start working on cross-country ([[XC]]) flying.  "Cross country" just refers to a flight that starts at point A and ends at point B.  Point B could be a lunch stop a half hour away, or a vacation destination where you're carrying friends and luggage.  In all these cases, cross-country flights add a new dimension to flying, and require the pilot to be familiar with many more subjects and procedures. **Schedule:** Ground 0.5 hr ### Lesson Elements #### Cross Country Overview - Essentially means flying from point A to point B^[Official definition in [[FAR 61.1 Applicability and Definitions]]] - Adds a new dimension to flying, and requires pilot to be familiar with more subjects and procedures - Logging time: For [[PPL]]/[[CPL]]/[[IRA]] experience requirements, different than more general definition - Importantly, must include *"a point of landing that was at least a straight-line distance of more than 50 nautical miles from the original point of departure"*^[[[FAR 61.1 Applicability and Definitions]] and [[Keller 2009]]]^[Note though, how you break up a flight log is up to you, and this can allow certain flights to count partially as xc time -- see [[Van Zanen 2009]]] - Good habit to note the furthest straight-line distance from original point of departure for each xc flight - [[PPL.C When to Acquire Various Equipment|XC equipment]] #### Lesson Structure and Flow - Lessons PPL4.2-PPL4.7^[May be helpful to review flow from [[~ PPL Blocks of Learning.png]] and [[XC Syllabus Topics On Flight Plan.pdf]]] cover key requirements to plan and execute a successful cross-country flight. These subjects include: - More detail on airport procedures, including non-towered airports - Planning and plotting a course, keeping in mind obstacles and airspace restrictions, and making use of radio navigation aids - Computing and adjusting weight & balance with more passengers, luggage, and fuel - Computing fuel requirements based on weather and your aircraft's performance - Getting briefings with key information ([[NWKRAFT]]) on your origin, destination, and points along the way - Using pilotage and dead reckoning to fly without radio navigation aids - Go/no-go decisions - Lessons PPL5.1-PPL5.4 cover handling the unexpected - Resolving things that can go wrong - Flying by reference to instruments, Emergency operations, Lost procedures and diversion to an alternate #### Flight Planner - Pilots often use [a planner like this one](https://www.dauntless-soft.com/products/Freebies/VFRFlightPlanner/).  - There are other versions^[You can find others in [[PPL4.6 Pilotage and Dead Reckoning]]], but we'll use this one during training. - Each of the XC lessons will teach you how to fill out one section of the planner. ![[XC Syllabus Topics On Flight Plan.pdf]] - One approach is to keep the same printed navlog to fill out across multiple lessons, as a way of learning each new topic without starting again from scratch #### Goals during XC flights - You do not need to complete all ground topics to start flying XC trips^[For instance, after [[PPL4.3 Flight Planning, Navigation Systems, and Other XC Equipment]], flying a trip using [[GPS]] to navigate there and [[VOR]]s to navigate back would be beneficial.] - Your CFI can cover the parts of the trip you haven't yet learned (e.g. fuel, W&B, xc weather). - See [[PPL.E Suggestions for XC Activities and Destinations]] for ideas, or plan a trip you're excited about with your CFI ### Completion Standards Learner understands scope and flow of XC lessons. ### Resources > [!tip] Pre-Lesson Reading/Homework here: [[~ PPL Pre-Lesson Reading]] ### Required Homework - [ ] Purchase items from [[PPL.C When to Acquire Various Equipment]] *Return to [[~ PPL Lesson Plan Outline|Table of Contents]]^*