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When a performance chart value falls between two printed lines, what should the pilot do?
Choices
Round down to the lower line for a smaller number
Rounding down understates the required distance and is unsafe.
✓ Interpolate between the two printed valuescorrect
Interpolation gives the most accurate predicted value between chart lines.
Always use the sea-level column
Ignoring altitude and temperature produces a wrong answer.
Skip the chart and estimate from memory
Estimating from memory defeats the purpose of the chart.
Why
Charts should be read by interpolating between the printed values rather than rounding, and a safety margin should be applied because real results can be worse than book figures.
FAA source: FAA-H-8083-25 (performance charts)browse the reference library →
Original study question written for this course — representative of FAA knowledge-test topics, not an actual current FAA exam question.