How do pilots know when to descend?

In modern aircraft with modern avionics, the descent profile is automatically calculated by the computers. When prevailing winds are entered the flight management system can accurately determine the top of descent and the rate of descent that is required.



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Modern flight management systems have vertical navigation planning, where the pilot simply enters what altitude they want to be at, at a certain way point, or distance from a waypoint, and the system can automatically compute a time of descent point to begin their descent at.

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Many pilots refer to this as the 1-2-3 rule: Plus or minus 1 hour from arrival, ceilings at least 2,000 feet and visibility at least 3 statute miles.

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During the takeoff roll, the pilot monitoring the displays (PM) will call out the two important speeds: V1 and rotate. This indicates to the pilot flying the aircraft (PF) when they are beyond the safe stopping speed and when to rotate the aircraft into the air.

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Do pilots always land planes manually? Yes. Virtually every single airline pilot manually lands every single flight.

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If the plane doesn't crash, the descent rate generally can't hurt you. If the plane crashes, the horizontal deceleration is likely to do far more harm than the vertical deceleration. That said, 18,000 feet per minute is pretty fast, like 180 knots, so unpressurized it could cause possibly ear & sinus damage.

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If any problems occur with the engine or wings, the crew can see it out of those tiny round windows in a cabin. If the aircraft needs to be evacuated, passengers and the whole crew is able to see which side of the aircraft is safer for evacuation.

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Do pilots always walk-around the plane? Before each flight, in addition to the checks the engineers complete, one of the pilots will always conduct an exterior walk-around of the aircraft to ensure that they are happy with its condition.

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The callout from the pilots like LOC blue serves to remind themselves of the current flight guidance modes, and to maintain awareness of mode changes. This is also to ensure that their mental idea of what the aircraft will do next is up to date and fits to the current flight situation.

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Discussion: In some cases pilots may need to reject a landing due to rapidly deteriorating weather conditions which reduce the visibility required for a safe landing.

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If every flight took the same trajectory, the traffic would be harder to manage. Another reason why planes fly in an arc is that since it is impossible to fly in a straight line on an airplane, an arc is actually the shortest distance between two points.

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Planes have headlights so that pilots can see what is in front of them. Unfortunately, they are only effective during takeoffs and landings. Even with the slight illumination offered by the headlights, only darkness is visible when looking out the front window of a cockpit.

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Airline pilots take turns using the bathroom nearest the cockpit during a flight. There are no bathrooms installed in the cockpit. For airplanes with a single pilot, diapers, catheters, or collection devices are used if they are unable to land to use the airport bathroom.

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Standard takeoff minima are one statute mile for aircraft having two engines or less and one-half statute mile for aircraft having more than two engines. Specified ceiling and visibility minima will allow visual avoidance of obstacles during the initial climb at the standard climb gradient.

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  • instrument approaches.
  • H. Holding procedures.
  • I. Intercepting courses.
  • T. Tracking courses.
  • S. use of navigational electronic System.
  • If not current within 6 months. you can log required time with a safety pilot, examiner, or instructor.
  • If not current within 12 months. ...
  • To carry passengers as PIC (day)


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If a usable precision approach is available: 600' ceilings AND 2 SM of visibility. If only a non-precision approach is useable: 800' AND 2 SM of visibility. If no instrument approaches are available: Descent from the MEA and landing must be conducted under basic VFR.

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