FLYING BEYOND YOUR LOCAL AIRPORT: CROSS COUNTRY PREP
One of the most exciting things for a new pilot is to fly to a different airport and enjoy the scenes of a new environment after beating up the pattern and the practice area for a majority of their flight time at their home airport. And one would want to get their pilot certificate to be able to fly their friends and family to different places without the hassle of going through a commercial airline or driving. Cross country flying is something that almost every pilot enjoys but it can be intimidating to student pilots, especially on their solo cross country. Whether you are flying for training purposes, business, or pleasure, cross country flight planning should be given utmost attention to detail.
Every good pilot knows that planning for a flight begins on the ground. Ensuring that you are looking at all the factors that would affect your safety of flight results in a successful flight from takeoff to touch down. A cross country flight plan presents a “grocery list” of items that you need to check off before your flight. A couple of the items that should be top of your list are as follows:
Weather: Check your forecasts and reports (Textual and graphical), PIREPS, Winds Aloft, Weather briefing, etc.
Airspace: Special Use Airspace, TFRs
Landmarks and Terrain: Look for prominent landmarks and rising terrain and mark them on your sectional chart. Know the minimum safe altitudes over areas that would be flown over.
Altitude Rule: VFR and IFR Altitudes
Fuel Burn, Distance, and Flight Time: Though these calculations are made easy using an Electronic Flight Bag (Foreflight, Garmin Pilot, etc.), it is a good idea to know how these numbers are achieved using your aircraft’s POH and flight manuals. Ask your flight instructor for assistance, if you need it.
Weight and Balance: Location of CG (Fwd/Aft), weight shifts including fuel weight changes.:
Emergencies: Review your emergency procedures and safe landing sites along your route of flight. Take special consideration if you plan to fly at night.
Many more items can be added to the list such as checking NOTAMS, take-off and landing distance, runway lengths, alternates, etc. Think NWKRAFT.
Make sure you have the most current publication of charts and airport diagrams so as to avoid any surprises. Briefing through these resources will allow you to stay ahead of the airplane and allow for more seamless transitions. Look out for landmarks that will help locate your destination airport on your sectional. This would help reduce confusion, especially when there are multiple airports in close proximity with each other.
Cross country flying is seen as pretty simple as it does not involve maneuvers that you need to do for a check ride, but it can get very messy if improper planning is done. Remember to check all the items off your cross country “grocery list” in order enjoy the freedom of flight. Let’s go fly!