Time: 90 min  |  Format: the FAA Practical Test Standards task layout (References / Objective / numbered elements), as carried into the Jeppesen maneuvers manuals (numbered procedures, common errors, PTS standards alongside) and the Embry-Riddle standardization manual (Description / Objective / Procedures / References)

Why this document exists

The grading standard is the instrument that makes ten instructors grade the same flight the same way. Without it, “qualified” means whatever the last instructor thought it meant. Every flight task in PQS-HL-01 gets an entry in this format. Two worked entries follow; the full grading standard covers all Area V–VII tasks.

On the Common Errors lists: items marked (manual) come directly from cautions in the Herelink GCS manual. The others are instructor judgment derived from the procedures and are labeled as such; in production they are validated and revised by the field instructor cadre against evaluation data before release — the same way Jeppesen and the FAA handbooks build theirs.

MANUAL LANDING (PQS HL.V.7)

DESCRIPTION: A controlled descent from hover to touchdown, terminating in motor disarm and a confirmed-safe aircraft.

OBJECTIVE: To develop the ability to land the aircraft with no horizontal drift, correct control technique, and full crew procedure, every time.

PROCEDURES:

  1. Navigate to the target landing location and announce “landing.”
  2. Establish a stable hover; control horizontal movement before beginning descent.
  3. Descend at a slow, controlled rate; as the aircraft passes below 5 m AGL pause slightly and verify landing gear extension.
  4. Control horizontal movement to less than 0.2 m/s before touchdown.
  5. At touchdown, pull the throttle stick straight back to full down — no yaw input.
  6. Hold throttle full down and yaw full left for 3 seconds to disarm.
  7. Wait for “Disarmed” from DGCS and visually confirm propellers stopped; announce “Clear.”

STANDARDS: Q — all steps unprompted; drift within limit; gear verified; callouts complete. F — safe outcome but prompted, drift above limit, or a callout omitted. U — instructor intervention, yaw input during throttle reduction, or approach to the aircraft before disarm confirmed.

COMMON ERRORS: Curling the throttle stick into yaw at touchdown, causing rotation or tip-over (manual, GCS 3.4); announcing “Clear” before propellers have stopped (manual, GCS 4.6); chasing position during descent instead of stabilizing first (instructor judgment); failing to pause at gear extension (instructor judgment).

REFERENCES: Herelink GCS Manual 4.6, 3.4; PQS-HL-01 HL.V.7.

EMERGENCY LANDING (PQS HL.VII.2)

DESCRIPTION: An immediate, pilot-initiated landing at an unplanned location in response to an abnormal condition.

OBJECTIVE: To develop the judgment to select a safe area quickly and the technique to execute a maximum-rate controlled descent without converting an abnormal into a crash.

PROCEDURES:

  1. With the VO, identify a clear area safe for personnel.
  2. Announce “Emergency Landing, Emergency Landing, Emergency Landing.”
  3. Toggle to Attitude mode; maintain stable position and attitude.
  4. Reduce throttle to descend, not exceeding the 2.5 m/s maximum descent rate.
  5. VO continues monitoring airspace and the landing area throughout.
  6. On touchdown, perform standard motor shutdown; then post-crash procedure as applicable.
  7. Report to the aviation authority as required; flight operations are suspended until the cause is identified and resolved.

STANDARDS: Q — area selection reasonable and prompt; Attitude mode confirmed; descent controlled; callouts verbatim; suspension rule stated in debrief. F — excessive delay selecting an area, or descent poorly controlled but recovered. U — descent in an automated mode, area unsafe for personnel, or callouts absent.

COMMON ERRORS: Single callout instead of three (manual, GCS 5.7); treating the landing as the end of the procedure and skipping the reporting and suspension steps (manual, GCS 5.7); hunting for a perfect field while altitude and battery burn (instructor judgment); leaving an automated mode engaged instead of toggling to Attitude (instructor judgment).

REFERENCES: Herelink GCS Manual 5.7; PQS-HL-01 HL.VII.2.

Provenance note: this is the format used in the Embry-Riddle standardization manual from my own Part 141 training there, and the approach we used at SUNY Farmingdale when the Chief Pilot and I wrote the maneuvers guide that put all instructors on one grading standard as the program built toward Part 141 certification.

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