In this lesson you'll learn to plan and control your descent from cruise altitude to reach a specific location at an assigned altitude.

ESTIMATED TIME TO COMPLETE

30 minutes

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS

You should complete all Student, Private, Commercial, and Instrument lessons before beginning this lesson. Reading the Ground School material before starting this lesson will help you better understand the skills being taught and terminology used in the lesson.

THE WEATHER

The skies have layered clouds and the wind is calm.

RECOMMENDED CHARTS

None

ABOUT THE FLIGHT

In this lesson you will become familiar with flying the Boeing 737 from a cruise altitude to a specific altitude and location. You will start in-flight at FL280 and fly outbound from the Spokane VOR on the 255 radial starting at about 90 DME at 300 KIAS. At the WITRO intersection, you will slow the airplane to 250 knots. At the SWAUK intersection, you will begin a descent to cross the PAE VOR at 8000 feet within +500 feet. During the descent, you will be taught how to anticipate the required descent rates and how to monitor progress during the descent. If you want to complete the approach into KSEA, you will be allowed to, but you will not be required to fly the approach in order to complete the lesson; you will receive minimal assistance from your instructor in this portion of the flight. (This is a good opportunity to practice your landing skills.)

You can either hand-fly the lesson or use the autopilot for the entire lesson. This lesson does not teach using the autopilot, so you must bring those skills to the lesson if you choose to use the autopilot.

KEY COMMANDS TO REMEMBER

None unique to this lesson

FLIGHT CRITERIA

You'll be asked to maintain:

• Airspeed within 15 knots as assigned
• Altitude within 300 feet as assigned
• Course within 5 degrees as assigned
• Headings within 10 degrees as assigned