PLT012: Time, Speed, and Distance
What code PLT012 covers, why the FAA tests it, and how to study Time, Speed, and Distance before your checkride.
Calculate aircraft performance - time/speed/distance/course/fuel/wind
What this means for your checkride
Dead-reckoning math ties together true course, wind, heading, groundspeed, time, distance, and fuel. You correct the true course for wind to get a heading and groundspeed, then use groundspeed to find time en route and fuel burned.
Cross-country planning depends on this arithmetic, so the FAA tests whether you can solve the wind triangle and derive time, distance, and fuel for a leg.
Pilots plan groundspeed as if it equals true airspeed. A head or tailwind can change time en route and fuel required substantially, so wind must be worked into every leg.
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.