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CA.V.E.K3FAA-S-ACS-7B · Nov 2023Knowledge

Pivotal altitude and factors that affect it.

ACS element text (the applicant demonstrates understanding of)

Pivotal altitude and factors that affect it.

Bottom line

The pivotal altitude is the altitude at which, for a given groundspeed, the projection of the visual reference line to the pylon appears to pivot.

Key numbers

Key numbers for Pivotal altitude and factors that affect it.
NumberWhat it means
groundspeed squared divided by 15 (mph), plus MSL altitude of the ground referenceMPH rule
groundspeed squared divided by 11.3 (knots), plus MSL altitude of the ground referenceKnots rule

FAA references

  1. AFH ch. 7 (pp. 7-14–7-17) — FAA-H-8083-3C
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