Version 3.0, 26 June 2011
Flight Briefing
Stage 1, Module 1
Copyright © 2011 Ted Dudley
Which airplane are you flying?
 Hit the esc key
 Click on “Slide Show”
 Click on “Custom Slide
Show”
 Select your aircraft
Preflight Inspection
 Your instructor will demonstrate this; hands-on
experience beats a PowerPoint briefing
Preflight: Aircraft Documents
 Required Documents:
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Preflight: Aircraft Documents
 Required Documents:
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Airworthiness Certificate
Preflight: Aircraft Documents
 Required Documents:
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Airworthiness Certificate
Preflight: Aircraft Documents
 Required Documents:
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Airworthiness Certificate
Registration
Radio License (if crossing an international border)
Operating Limits
Weight & Balance
Preflight: Aircraft Logbooks
 Not required to carry aircraft logbook, but pilot in
command must ensure the following is recorded:
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Annual inspection within last 12 months
100- hour inspection within last 100 hours (for aircraft used
for hire)
ELT battery replaced within 50% of its useful life (usually
about 24 months)
Transponder checked by authorized facility within last 24
months
Special Emphasis Areas
 From FAA Practical Test Standards (PTS)
 Your Examiner will ask about/require knowledge of this
stuff on your checkride:
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Positive aircraft control
Positive exchange of flight controls
Stall/spin awareness
Collision avoidance
Wake turbulence avoidance
Land and hold short operations (LAHSO)
Runway incursion avoidance
Controlled flight into terrain
Aeronautical decision making
Checklist usage
Positive Aircraft Control
 During flight training, there must always be a clear
understanding between the student and flight
instructor of who has control of the aircraft
 Prior to any dual training flight, a briefing should be
conducted that includes the procedure for the
exchange of flight controls
 There should never be any doubt who’s flying!
 If you’re not sure, ask!
Positive Exchange
 Normally a three-step process
 “You have the flight controls”
 “Roger. I have the flight controls”
 Visually verify and say again “you have the flight controls”
 In critical situations, instructor may take control
immediately with an announcement saying so
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It probably won’t be a big surprise when it happens
Acknowledge, relinquish controls, and visually verify
 You may (rarely) feel a nudge on the flight controls.
You’re still flying if the instructor hasn’t taken
control using one of the above procedures
Stall/Spin Awareness
 We’re going to beat this to death in training, but key
points are:
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A stall is caused by excessive angle of attack
Excessive angle of attack can occur at other than the slowest
speed or at other than a very high pitch attitude
You should always have a sense of your current angle of attack
and how it’s changing
A spin is an aggravated form of a stall; if you’re not stalled, you
can’t be in a spin
Collision Avoidance
 Running into other airplanes is bad for everyone
 We use the “see and avoid” concept for all flights, no
matter what we’re doing
 Requires a knowledge of physiology and proper scan
technique
 Clearing turns prior to each maneuver
Wake Turbulence Avoidance
 Particularly dangerous in and around the traffic
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pattern
Large, heavy, aircraft, particularly when slow, make
wing vortices that can roll you rapidly on your back,
which makes a safe landing difficult
Plan to remain above the heavy’s glide path
Give plenty of space behind a heavy
Beware of crosswinds which may hold a vortex on
your runway
Read AC 90-23F for more info
LAHSO
 Land and Hold Short Operations
 ATC may clear a pilot to land and hold short of an
intersecting runway, an intersecting taxiway, or
some other designated point on a runway
 The pilot in command has complete authority to
accept or decline a LAHSO clearance
 A pilot who accepts a LAHSO clearance must adhere
to it
 FAA regulations prohibit student pilots from
accepting a LAHSO clearance
Runway Incursion Avoidance
 A runway incursion is any occurrence at an airport
involving an aircraft, vehicle, person, or object on the
ground that creates a collision hazard or results in a
loss of separation with an aircraft taking off, landing,
or intending to land
 Contributing factors are
 Communications
 Airport knowledge
 Cockpit procedures for maintaining orientation
Controlled Flight into Terrain
 Being surprised when your aircraft impacts the
planetary surface
 For VFR flying, primarily a result of
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Flying into a cloud that contains mountains, or
Improper planning for night VFR
Aeronautical Decision Making
 A systematic approach to the mental process used by
aircraft pilots to consistently determine the best
course of action in response to a given set of
circumstances
 It’s in Advisory Circular 60-22; give it a read
Aeronautical Decision Making
Use of Checklists
 We got them; we’ll teach you to use them
 Checklists will become part of your habit pattern
 They’re a critical part of not forgetting important
stuff
 Use them properly, they’ll keep you alive
 Our way is not the only way, but it will prepare you
for further growth in aviation
Checklists
 Two schools of thought for checklists:
 Used as “to do” lists; read item – do item – next item; or
 Used as a check on your work: do the tasks you know must be
done, then use checklist to make sure you didn’t miss any
 In practice, checklists may be used either way
 Some checklists may be memorized using a
mnemonic; e.g., CIGARTIPS or GUMP
 For normal operations, Vermont Flight Academy
uses “Flows” that are memorized, and “Checklists”
which are followed up to assure compliance
Example : Before Start Flow
 Practice this and
understand the steps
and their order
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To the point where you
don’t need this page to know
what to do next
Example: Before Start Checklist
 In the airplane, after
completing the flow,
read out loud each item
in the checklist to
confirm its completion
 Say “XXXX checklist
complete” when all items
are completed
Checklists
 Some flows and checklists
are split into two parts at
logical points
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Preflight : interior and
exterior inspection
Engine Starting: before and
after start
And others
 These may be read
“Complete to the line,”
and later the rest may be
read and completed
Seat Adjustment
 It’s important to adjust the seat height the same each
time, particularly in initial training
 You should sit high enough to see at least some of the
cowl over the dashboard without rising up in the seat
 Adjust seat forward far enough to comfortably
operate the rudder pedals
Engine Start
49R, 93L
Engine Start
8ZD
Engine Start
43T
Engine Start
 Both feet holding brakes
 Left hand on ignition switch key
 Right hand on throttle – crack open 1/8 inch
 Check propeller arc clear; yell “Clear!” out open
window
 Turn key all the way right to START position; hold
until engine catches
 Release key
 Check engine instruments
Before Takeoff Flow
49R, 93L
Before Takeoff Checklist
49R, 93L
Before Takeoff Flow
8ZD
Before Takeoff Checklist
8ZD
Before Takeoff Flow
43T
Before Takeoff Checklist
43T
Taxi
 Clear left/right, then add power to start rolling
 Check brakes immediately; shut down engine if one
or both aren’t working
 Decrease power once you’re going; adjust as required
for a moderate speed; slow for congested areas
 Steer with your feet! Turning the yoke doesn’t turn
the airplane and makes you look silly
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Heels on floor for nosewheel steering
Heels off floor; toes pushing tops of rudder pedals for braking
Brakes are independent of each other
Taxi Route
 Controller will give you instructions, e.g., “taxi to
runway 33 via Kilo and Juliet” – ALWAYS write
them down, make sure you understand
Taxi Route
 Recent change - instructions to taxi to a runway do
not imply clearance to cross any other runway
 If ever in doubt on a taxi clearance,
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STOP!
Ask for clarification
Airport Signs and Markings
 Pay attention to them; they’re very helpful
Where you’re at
What’s coming up next
Runway hold position
 Runway paint is white; taxiway paint is yellow
Control Effects - Ground
 Fly into; dive away from wind
 Idea is to not allow strong,
gusty winds to tip you over
 If you can feel the wind on the
control yoke, you should be
positioning yoke like this
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But in training, we’ll make you do
this every time
 Reposition yoke as required
every time you turn
Takeoff
Takeoff
 Get and acknowledge clearance; line up on centerline
 Aileron into any crosswind
 Full power and hold throttle in
 Steer with rudder; anticipate tendency to turn left
 Slight back pressure to fly at 60 MPH
49R, 93L
Takeoff
 Get and acknowledge clearance; line up on centerline
 Aileron into any crosswind
 Full power and hold throttle in
 Steer with rudder; anticipate tendency to turn left
 Slight back pressure to fly at 55 KIAS
8ZD
Takeoff
 Get and acknowledge clearance; line up on centerline
 Aileron into any crosswind
 Full power and hold throttle in
 Steer with rudder; anticipate tendency to turn left
 Slight back pressure to fly at 50 MPH
43T
Control Effects - Flight
 Relative to the pilot…
 Moving the yoke forward or back pitches the airplane down or
up
 Turning the yoke left or right rolls the airplane left or right
 Pushing the rudder pedals left or right yaws the airplane left or
right
 Think in terms of control pressures, not large
movements
 No death grip on the yoke; you’ll feel the airplane
better with a light touch
Attitude Flying
 Pitch control: control of the airplane in pitch by
using the elevator to raise and lower the nose in
relation to the natural horizon
 Bank control is control of the airplane in bank by use
of the ailerons to attain a desired bank angle in
relation to the natural horizon
 Power control is used when the flight situation
indicates a need for a change in thrust
 Trim is used to relieve control pressures held after a
desired attitude has been attained
Integrated Flight
 Set an attitude using outside
references (90%)
 Check performance with
numerous quick glances at
instruments (10%)
Straight and Level Flight
 Set power
 Select some portion of the airplane’s nose as a
reference point, and then keep that point in a fixed
position relative to the horizon
 Crosscheck against altimeter and vertical velocity,
adjust nose position and trim as required
Straight and Level Flight
 Of course, if you want to fly straight, wings must be
level
Climbing Flight
 Advance the throttle to full, apply back elevator
pressure to raise the nose of the airplane and right
rudder to center the ball
 As power is increased, the airplane’s nose will rise
due to increased download on the stabilizer
 As pitch attitude increases and the airspeed
decreases, progressively more right rudder must be
applied to compensate for propeller effects and to
hold a constant heading
 Climb speed is 80-90 MPH; establish the
appropriate attitude and trim for 80-90 MPH
49R, 93L
Climbing Flight
 Advance the throttle to full, apply back elevator
pressure to raise the nose of the airplane and right
rudder to center the ball
 As power is increased, the airplane’s nose will rise
due to increased download on the stabilizer
 As pitch attitude increases and the airspeed
decreases, progressively more right rudder must be
applied to compensate for propeller effects and to
hold a constant heading
 Climb speed is 70-85 KIAS; establish the appropriate
attitude and trim for 70-85 KIAS
8ZD
Climbing Flight
 Advance the throttle to full, apply back elevator
pressure to raise the nose of the airplane and right
rudder to center the ball
 As power is increased, the airplane’s nose will rise
due to increased download on the stabilizer
 As pitch attitude increases and the airspeed
decreases, progressively more right rudder must be
applied to compensate for propeller effects and to
hold a constant heading
 Climb speed is 75-80 MPH; establish the appropriate
attitude and trim for 75-80 MPH
43T
Level Off
 Initiate the level-off at approximately 10 percent of
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the rate of climb
Retain climb power temporarily so that the airplane
will accelerate to cruise airspeed more rapidly
Trim as you accelerate
Good way to remember: PITCH-POWER-TRIM
When speed reaches the desired cruise speed, set
throttle to cruise power setting and trim for cruise
speed
Descending Flight
 Descend with partial power; retard throttle to a lower
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power setting
Carb heat on if RPMs below the green arc
As power is decreased, the airplane’s nose will fall due to
decreased download on the stabilizer
Maintain cruise airspeed if desired; no trim change
required if no change in airspeed
Initiate the level-off at approximately 10 percent of the
rate of descent
Return throttle to cruise setting after level-off
Again, it’s PITCH-POWER-TRIM
Level Turns
 Ailerons in the direction you want to go
 While rolling, rudder to overcome adverse yaw
 A little opposite aileron when you’re happy with the
bank angle to stop the roll
 A little less rudder when bank
angle is set
 A little more power and
elevator back pressure,
especially in turns greater
than 30 degrees bank
Turn Coordination
 Keep the ball centered – step on the ball
You should scan
slowly. Focus on
small sections of
the sky at a time,
no more than 10
degree sections.
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Prior to any
maneuver, visually
scan the entire
area for collision
avoidance.
Any aircraft that
appears to have no
relative motion is
likely to be on a
collision course.
If a target shows
no lateral nor
vertical motion,
but increases in
size, take evasive
action.
When climbing
or descending
in VFR, execute
gentle banks,
right and left.
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Atmospheric
haze reduces
the ability to
see traffic or
terrain.
81% of
incidents
occurred in
clear skies and
unrestricted
visibility.
At night, avoid
bright white
lights for at
least 30
minutes before
the flight.
Collision Avoidance
 Vermont Flight Academy policy is to do two 90-
degree clearing turns prior to any flight maneuvers
Crosswind
Downwind
Takeoff
(Up Wind)
Base
Final
60
After Landing
49R, 93L
After Landing
8ZD
After Landing
43T
Shutdown
49R, 93L
Shutdown
8ZD
Shutdown
43T