PLT006: Aircraft Performance
What code PLT006 covers, why the FAA tests it, and how to study Aircraft Performance before your checkride.
Calculate aircraft performance - glide
What this means for your checkride
Glide performance is how far the airplane travels forward for each foot it descends with the engine at idle. It is set by the best glide speed, the airspeed that gives the most efficient lift-to-drag ratio, and that speed gives you the maximum distance over the ground in still air.
After an engine failure, flying the best glide speed is what stretches your options to a landing site, so the FAA tests whether you know the speed, how wind and weight change your reach, and how to read the glide from performance data.
Pilots think slowing down as much as possible extends the glide. Below best glide speed drag rises and you sink faster; the maximum distance comes from one specific speed, not the slowest one.
Where to study it
A code on your test report is an area of deficiency. An authorized instructor must review it with you and endorse that review before you take the practical test, and the examiner may revisit it during the oral. Study it until you can explain it out loud, not just recognize the answer.