Most people when asked would tell you that the first phase of flight is take-off. Some may tell you that its the taxiing portion. However very few non-pilots know that the first phase of a flight can be miles from the cockpit and days before the flight.
The planning phase is the first and most important part of the flight. First and foremost it determines whether the aircraft can even takeoff from your departure, or land at your destination. It determines if the aircraft can handle the weight, or if will need to stop somewhere for fuel. Second, it allows the pilot to be able to accurately and reliably navigate to the destination. You don't start driving without first knowing where you are going, and the same ought to be true with flying. A navigational plan allows you to track your progress, maintain good communications with ATC, and be more prepared if something were to go wrong. Inadvertent IMC is a common killer of VFR pilots, however a navigational plan would allow a pilot to survive this, and if they are rated, switch to an IFR flight plan. Don't be mistaken, good preflight planning is no substitute for a competent and practiced pilot. However a good flight plan allows a good pilot to be more accurate, efficient, and safer for themselves and others.
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One of the most vital pieces of equipment, beyond the basic flight planning equipment is a thing called a brain-book. This book is the second most important book in my flight bag, second only to my logbook.
What is a brain-book? It is simply a journal, used explicitly for flight. At the debrief for every flight, this is used to write down lessons learned, and areas of improvement, or even notes for the next flight. It should be written with enough detail that you can remember each noted situation clearly, and know how it happened, and how to prevent it from happening again. Why is it so valuable? It (should) contain every piece of flight knowledge you have ever learned while flying. By the end of your career, the goal should be for someone to able to have basic control of an airplane and manage the flight by reading and referencing to the brain-book. Is it a special book? Only if you make it special. There is no FAA administered brain-book; the FAA doesn't even mention it in any documents. This is something that should be initiated by the pilot, with the purpose of learning from it, and having something to study off of. Make it a book that will be memorable though, for example mine is bright yellow and says 'wake up and be awesome' on the cover. No one is going to force you to start a brain-book, and rarely will anyone even ask to see it. But for that day when you are an instructor, and you need to reference a situation, the brain-book is an amazing tool for that. Or when it comes time for the biannual flight review, the brain-book has tracked every weak point all through your flight career. The brain-book is by far my best piece of extra gear. l highly recommend picking up a small journal and starting a brain book BEFORE you start to fly. As a first post, I will simply explain the working order of this blog. While many blogs may be based around general life experiences, this blog will be focused on experiences based in aviation. As I go through my training, I will be posting regularly about the lessons I learn along the way. The main purpose of all of this is that you all can learn, without having to make the same mistakes I do. If you have requests as to concepts that you would like me to explain, please leave a comment, or go to the contact me page, I will do my best to get those answered as quickly as possible. Also, this blog is just starting out, so any support is deeply appreciated.
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Photo used under Creative Commons from C. P. Ewing