Airplane Flying Handbook
The airplane flight-training handbook: how to fly the maneuvers, from takeoffs and landings to stalls, spins, and emergency operations.
About this document
The Airplane Flying Handbook is the FAA's primary reference for the actual skill of flying an airplane. Where the Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge explains theory, this book explains technique — how each maneuver is performed and why.
It walks through ground operations, takeoffs and departure climbs, basic and ground-reference maneuvers, traffic patterns, approaches and landings, performance (short- and soft-field) takeoffs and landings, night operations, transition to complex and high-performance airplanes, emergency procedures, and — importantly — stalls, spins, and upset prevention and recovery.
It supports the flight-training portion of the Private, Commercial, and Flight Instructor certificates for airplanes, and its maneuver descriptions map directly to the Airman Certification Standards a Designated Pilot Examiner uses on the practical test.
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Take a free practice test →FAA-H-8083-3 is an official FAA publication in the public domain. We host a copy so you can read it in-browser; always confirm you are reading the current edition on faa.gov. The description above is an original summary and is a study aid, not a substitute for the document or the regulations.