Cruise Flight

Once in the air, navigation radios setup, communications active, altitude and course set, it can get a little monotonous on a long cross-country flight.  Because of this, a pilot can forget to monitor the aircraft's engine and other things that are necessary for a safe flight.

I've come up with the ABC's (actually, ABCDEFGH's) of cruise flight that might help to remind you what to do throughout your flight.

 

A - Altitude

  • Watch your altimeter and make sure you are at the correct altitude for your direction of flight or that altitude assigned to you

  • Set your altimeter setting to the closest reported pressure measurement - listen to the AWOS/ASOS or ATIS nearest to your current position.

B - Bearing

  • Are you on the right course?  Double check your position and your current course as it relates to your flight plan.

  • Check your flight plan and make sure you know where you are.

C - Checklists

  • Have you gone through all of the appropriate checklists for your current flight situation (cruise, climb, descent, etc.)?  Even if you have, it doesn't hurt to double check everything.

D - Dials

  • If you are keeping track of your position using navigational aids, make sure you dial in the correct settings (navigational aid frequencies, OBS indicators for VOR navigation, ADF indicators for NDB navigation, GPS settings, etc.)

E - Engine

  • How do the engine instruments look?  Is oil pressure within limits?  Oil temperature?  Exhaust gas temperature? Cylinder head temperature?  Vacuum pressure?

F - Frequencies

  • Are your COM radios set to the correct frequencies?  Are your radios working?  Double check!

G - Gas

  • Double check your fuel quantities using your fuel gauges.  Also double check your time in the air and your navigation log to make sure that your fuel gauges match your planned fuel consumption.

  • Is your fuel/air mixture correct for your current altitude?  Double check this as you can foul your spark plugs and cause your flight to end early.

H - Hazards

  • Don't forget to look for traffic in the area.  You, as the pilot, are responsible for all aspects of the flight including air safety.

  • Is there any weather in the area?  Does everything still look good?

  • Are there any ground obstructions that might cause your flight to become too difficult or uncomfortable?

A kneeboard version of the ABC's

This page was last modified on 12/03/2006