PLT134: Takeoff Performance
What code PLT134 covers, why the FAA tests it, and how to study Takeoff Performance before your checkride.
Recall aircraft performance - takeoff
What this means for your checkride
Takeoff performance is the ground roll and the distance to clear a 50-foot obstacle, read from the POH charts for weight, pressure altitude, temperature, wind, and runway surface and slope. High density altitude, a tailwind, or a soft or upsloping runway all lengthen it.
Whether the airplane will get off and clear obstacles is a preflight go/no-go, so the FAA tests reading the takeoff charts and the factors that lengthen the distance.
Pilots use the ground-roll number and forget obstacle clearance. The distance to clear a 50-foot obstacle is much longer than the ground roll, and that is the number that matters at a short or tree-lined field.
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.