PLT089: Takeoff Speeds and Distance Chart
What code PLT089 covers, why the FAA tests it, and how to study Takeoff Speeds and Distance Chart before your checkride.
Interpret Takeoff Speeds Chart
What this means for your checkride
A takeoff chart in the AFM/POH gives takeoff speeds and the distance to lift off and to clear a 50 foot obstacle for various weights, pressure altitudes, temperatures, and winds. You enter with weight and then read the takeoff speed column, cross into the correct pressure altitude and temperature, and read the ground roll and total distance, interpolating between rows as needed. Lift-off and 50 foot obstacle speeds are listed alongside the distances.
Reading the correct lift-off speed and required distance for the conditions is how you confirm the runway is long enough and rotate at the right speed.
Rotating below the charted takeoff speed or ignoring the density altitude and wind corrections underestimates the distance actually needed.
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.