Preflight planning is a very important element of any flight and especially so when going on a cross country flight. There are a number of items to be done in preparation for a VFR cross country in such a way that nothing is overlooked and the intended flight is done as safely as possible.
The most 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.
The influence of altitude, temperature and wind must not be ignored and you should be familiar with the pressure and density altitudes and the effect that they have on aircraft performance. Verifying available runway lengths and comparing them 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 a couple of sections. Part one is what we call the preliminary preflight phase which can be done at any time.
This part is the navigation log and is completed on the day the flight will actually take place. Requirements are current weather and aeronautical information.
The pilot must be able to create a navigation log where he describes of all details from departure to destination in small (but not too many) legs, preferably in ten minutes / miles sections.
The log also contains Indicated/True airspeed, distances and fuel needed to complete the flight. During the flight the pilot regularly completes the log leg by leg and adjusts any ETA.
For the navigation log you will need to calculate the following items. Calculate True Air Speed (TAS) with:
Determine Compass Heading using this formula:
TC +/-WCA = TH +/-VAR = MH +/-DEV = CH
Determine Wind Correction Angle (WCA), Heading and GS for every leg on the route.
Calculate Estimated Time Enroute (ETE): Time = Distance / Speed
Calculate estimated fuel required:
Calculate takeoff and landing distances:
Complete your planning with aircraft weight & balance calculations including your calculated fuel requirements, passengers and baggage weight for the flight.
Make sure to have a look at our APP: WX/ NOTAMs & E6B Tools, see button above! Its a great help with your pre-flight.
To complete step two of the preflight planning: make a call to the destination airport for the most current information, check for the latest NOTAMs with an AIS, if required 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! The FAA flight plan is no longer in use and kept here for historical purposes.
Written by EAI.