Free tool
Takeoff & Landing Performance
Enter field elevation, altimeter, temperature, and weight to get takeoff and landing ground roll and over-50-ft distances, then add a headwind and a safety margin and check whether it all fits on your runway. The method is the useful part: pressure and density altitude → chart interpolation → wind and safety-margin adjustment → runway-fit check.
Takeoff and landing numbers are inherently aircraft-specific, so the chart grid here is a clearly-labeled PA-28-140 worked example digitized from the 1964 Owner's Handbook (paved, level, dry, no wind). Every input is editable so the method is visible for any light single — but the numbers you fly must come from your own POH.
Short by 909 ft — the over-50-ft distance overruns 2,600 ft of runway. Add runway, reduce weight, or wait for cooler air.
| POH | Wind-adj | + margin | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ground roll | 1,484 | 995 | 1,492 |
| Over 50 ft | 3,126 | 2,339 | 3,509 |
Use YOUR POH. The chart grid here is a worked PA-28-140 example (1964 Owner's Handbook — paved, level, dry, no wind), illustrative for training only. The wind and safety-margin steps are estimates beyond the POH chart. Read your own aircraft's charts for the numbers you fly.
Source. FAA Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, Chapter 11, Aircraft Performance (FAA-H-8083-25C), p. 11-22, takeoff-distance chart notes — 10% less per 9 knots headwind; tailwind up to 10 knots, 10% more per 2 knots. Retrieved from faa.gov 2026-09-08 and frozen in this site’s repository, where a test checks every quoted phrase against that copy. The chart rule is a sample manufacturer's note the handbook reproduces, not a general law: the tool uses it as a floor on tailwind penalties and makes no estimate beyond 10 knots. Headwind credit still comes from the groundspeed-squared estimate, which is more generous than that note's 10% per 9 knots — see the register.
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Next step
- Density altitude sim
- Density altitude on the E6B
- Density altitude and performance — a verified checkride question
- Find your weak areas — the free 24-question Readiness Test, scored by knowledge area.
- Create a free account for the full bank: 2,074 verified questions with the FAA source on every answer, a timed practice exam, and a missed-questions drill.
The Private Pilot Quick-Review Study Guide covers this in chapter 4 (performance). It is in CFI review and not on sale yet; the guide page has the list for launch notes.