ACS Alignment

FAA-S-ACS-16 — Commercial Pilot, Rotorcraft–Helicopter · Area of Operation I. Preflight Preparation · Task: D & E — Cross-Country Flight Planning & National Airspace System

CH.I.D.K1 — route, fuel, performance & W&B planning CH.I.E.K1 — airspace classes, entry & equipment requirements CH.I.E.R1 — airspace & special-use area incursions CH.I.D.S1 — build a complete navigation plan

⚑ FLAG (Walter): this lesson combines ACS Tasks D (Cross-Country Flight Planning) and E (National Airspace System) — confirm whether Walter wants them taught as one lesson and verify the exact codes.

Cross-Country Planning & the National Airspace System

Build a complete plan — route, fuel, weight & balance, performance — and know the airspace you will cross.

By the end of this lesson you can:

Plan a cross-country: route, checkpoints, headings, groundspeed, time, and fuel with reserves.
Compute weight & balance and performance for the planned conditions.
Identify airspace classes, their entry/equipment requirements, and special-use airspace.
Use current charts, NOTAMs, and an EFB to keep the plan legal and current.

1 · Building the navigation plan

Select a route appropriate to terrain and airspace, mark checkpoints, and compute true course, wind correction, heading, groundspeed, time, and fuel for each leg. Apply the fuel rule and a sensible reserve; for helicopters, plan landing/refuel options because endurance is short. Verify weight & balance for every phase and confirm the hover/climb performance for the departure and any high-DA stops.

2 · Airspace at a glance

Class	Key points
B / C / D	Surrounding busy/towered airports; require communication (and clearance for B); know entry rules and equipment.
E	Controlled airspace not A–D; common en route and near non-towered fields.
G	Uncontrolled; helicopter VFR minimums can differ — verify.
Special use	Prohibited, restricted, MOAs, warning, alert — check status & NOTAMs.

Helicopters get some specific allowances (e.g., certain operations and visibility provisions) — verify the current rules rather than assuming airplane values.

3 · Equipment & currency

Confirm transponder/ADS-B requirements for the airspace (91.215/91.225), carry current charts and the Chart Supplement, and review NOTAMs and TFRs along the route. An EFB streamlines this but verify data currency and have a backup.

4 · Watch

Curated reference clip — “Cross-Country Flight Planning Step by Step — Nav Log Example” · FlightInsight (YouTube), verified via oEmbed. Embedded with the creator’s player; we don’t host or alter it.

5 · Reference sources

Use the authoritative references

📄 Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25) — Airspace & Navigation 📄 AIM — Airspace (Chapter 3)

Your aircraft: fuel burn, usable fuel, and weight & balance arms/limits are aircraft-specific — note the R44 POH figures (Weight & Balance, Performance) for your planning.

✍️ Fill in for the aircraft you fly your R44 usable fuel, cruise burn/endurance, and the W&B envelope for today’s loading — look these up in the R44 POH and confirm with your CFI.

⚑ FLAG (Walter): the R44 is a VFR-certificated piston helicopter; confirm the aircraft/figures the student actually flies and that all numbers come from the current R44 POH.

Risk management (the “Consider”): the planning trap is an optimistic fuel/performance plan and an airspace or TFR surprise. Plan conservative reserves and refuel stops, recheck NOTAMs/TFRs just before departure, and know exactly where each airspace boundary is so you do not stray into Class B or a restricted area.