ACS tolerances

The Private Pilot Airplane ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C, effective May 31, 2024) anchors short-field landing tolerances around touchdown precision (the tightest in Area IV) and maximum braking. The 200-ft tolerance on touchdown closes the precision gap that the soft-field landing (D) left open in its TOL.

The tolerances at a glance

Parameter	Target	Tolerance	Reference
Approach airspeed	Manufacturer-recommended (or 1.3 V_SO)	±5 KIAS	V.F.S2
Touchdown location	At or within 200 ft beyond specified point	Within 200 ft	V.F.S3
Touchdown pitch	Proper landing attitude (mains first)	No flat / no nose-first	V.F.S3
Braking	Maximum, within manufacturer limits	Smooth, controlled	V.F.S4

Plus structural requirements:

• Stabilized approach in the recommended configuration — V.F.S1, S2
• Touchdown at or within 200 ft of the specified point — V.F.S3
• Maximum braking technique within manufacturer limitations — V.F.S4

Approach airspeed ±5 KIAS

Same standard as the normal landing (B). Some POHs publish a slightly slower short-field V_REF (1.2 V_SO instead of 1.3) — use the POH value if it differs.

On a short-field landing, the 5-knot fast end of the tolerance is the most dangerous — fast on final produces float, which carries the touchdown past the 200-ft window. Err slow within the band, not fast.

Touchdown within 200 ft beyond the point

V.F.S3 is the defining tolerance of the maneuver. The airplane must touch down:

• At or beyond the specified point (not short of it — undershooting is a different failure).
• Within 200 ft past it (not 201 ft).

Total window: 200 ft of runway. On a typical 30-ft-wide runway, this is a narrow rectangle the DPE can mentally place on the surface.

Pre-picking the point matters. The runway numbers, an aiming-point marker (the white double-dashes at the 1,000-ft point on instrument-equipped runways), or a cone the DPE places — whichever the briefing specified.

Touchdown pitch

Mains first, nose still off, in the same proper landing attitude as the normal landing (B). A flat touchdown or nose-first touchdown busts both pitch and likely precision (the airplane lands at a different point than planned).

Maximum braking

V.F.S4 requires maximum braking within manufacturer limitations. The braking begins as soon as the nose is on the runway and continues until safe taxi speed.

Within manufacturer limitations is the rider. Some POHs warn against locking brakes on rollout (skidding). Some have anti-skid requirements. Brake hard, but not past the airplane's published limits.

What the maneuver does not require

• No published touchdown-distance window from the threshold — only from the specified point (which can be anywhere on the usable runway).
• No published rollout-distance target — the standard is the technique (max braking), not the distance result.
• No published flap requirement beyond "recommended configuration" — the standard defers to the POH.