Preflight planning is a very important element of any flight and, especially cross country flights. There are a number of items to be done in preparation for a VFR cross country flight so that nothing is overlooked and the intended flight is done as safely as possible.

The important parts of preflight planning involve checking flight information publications, aviation weather reports and determining airplane performance, including the computation of weight and balance and fuel requirements. Things as influence of altitude, temperature and wind should not be ignored and you should know the pressure and density altitudes and the effect that they have on airplane performance. Know also the runway length as compared to your takeoff requirements and the rotational and initial climb speeds recommended in your airplane's manual (POH).

The checklists presented here can be used as a guide for this phase of preflight planning and we have divided it into two sections. Part one is what we call the preliminary preflight phase which can be done at any time. Part two is the final preflight and is done on the day the flight will actually take place, and in this part the weather briefing takes a prominent role.

Final Preflight Checklist

Items that have to be completed on the day of the flight:

• Obtain a thorough weather briefing, see our weather section for more information
1. When requesting weather information from a weather office please provide the following information:
a. Type of aircraft, VFR or IFR
b. Departure airport and time and or date, mention if local or UTC time
c. Intended route, Altitude and Speed
d. Destination airport and if applicable: time of return
e. Any other pertinent info about your flight (previous received wx info, endurance, etc etc)


It sure makes a difference for the briefer to know if you fly with a C-150 or a King Air C-90, or even heavier iron, in terms of turbulence and its effect on your flight.

2. Be sure to get at least the following information

a. Forecast conditions, destination and departure airport, TAF
b. Current conditions, destination and departure airport, METAR
c. Winds aloft forecast
d. Pilot reports
e. Any other weather data: AIRMET, SIGMET etc

Windchill table

Determine the windchill factor when flying in winter conditions. Click the table to the right for greater detail.

• Calculate true air speed (TAS)
1. Determine pressure altitude, check density altitude
2. Use performance charts to estimate TAS



• Determine compass heading using formula: TC+/-WCA+/-VAR+/-DEV=CH
1. Determine wind correction angle WCA

a. Need TAS & wind direction and velocity at altitude
b. Calculate WCA on flight computer, byproduct: ground speed GS



• Calculate estimated time enroute ETE, Time = Distance/Speed
1. Leg distance divided by GS equals ETE for that leg
2. Add individual leg ETE's to obtain total ETE



• Calculate estimated fuel required
1. Determine fuel burn per hour (POH)
2. Determine fuel burn per leg and add to get total fuel consumption required

To complete step two of the preflight planning: Make a call to the destination airport for the latest information, check for the latest NOTAMs with an AIS, if needed submit an ICAO flight plan (ICAO Doc 4444 - ATM/501/14 app 2) or a FAA flight plan and do not forget to close it when the flight is completed!

And finally: complete the aircraft performance form with weather data to calculate wind components which will affect your headings.