VFR flight planning checklist

Most VFR mishaps don't happen because the airplane fell apart. They happen because a chain of small omissions on the ground — a weather check that was a little rushed, a fuel calculation that didn't budget for wind, a runway that looked fine on the diagram but was wet and shorter than the printout assumed — lined up. A repeatable checklist is the cheapest way to break the chain.

This is a working checklist for a typical VFR cross-country in a light single. It is not a substitute for 14 CFR §91.103 or the FAA training handbooks; it is a way to make sure nothing they require slips through the cracks.

1. Weather

• Get a full preflight briefing from Flight Service (1-800-WX-BRIEF / 1800wxbrief.com). Read it; don't just file it.
• Check METARs and TAFs at the departure, destination, and one or two alternates.
• Look at the area forecast (or GFA), AIRMETs, SIGMETs, and any convective products.
• Pull winds and temperatures aloft (FB/FD) at altitudes close to your cruise.
• Check NOTAMs along the route, especially for runway closures, lighting, and TFRs.
• Sun position and dusk/dawn times against your ETA — VFR at night isn't the same flight.

2. Aircraft

• Confirm the aircraft is airworthy: inspections current (annual, 100-hour, AD compliance, transponder, pitot-static, ELT).
• Required documents on board: ARROW (Airworthiness, Registration, Radio licence as required, Operating limitations / POH-AFM, Weight & balance).
• Fuel quantity confirmed visually if practical; fuel grade matches the POH/AFM.
• Oil within range.

3. Weight, balance, and performance

• Compute weight and balance against the POH/AFM moment envelope at the planned ramp, takeoff, and landing weights.
• Takeoff and landing distance with the actual surface, slope, and pressure altitude. Add the POH/AFM safety factor (often 1.5×) for short or contaminated fields.
• Density altitude — especially if you're departing a high-elevation field on a warm day.
• Climb performance to clear obstacles, with current weight, winds, and density altitude.

4. Route

• Draw a tentative route. Check airspace (Class B/C/D, MOAs, Special Use Airspace, restricted areas).
• Identify checkpoints every 10–20 NM with hard-to-misidentify features (lakes, towers, towns, paved roads at known angles).
• Look for terrain along the route and pick a cruise altitude that gives margin above the highest obstruction.
• Decide where you'll not be: VOR/MOA/restricted areas, prohibited airspace, ADIZ.
• Plan glide-safety. The glide-aware VFR flight planner projects the wind onto each candidate landing field's glide ring and shows where you're inside (green) or outside (red) glide range.
• Identify real alternates — runways long enough for the aircraft, with a reasonable surface, lit if you may arrive after sunset.

5. Fuel

• Compute time enroute against winds aloft for each leg, then add taxi, climb, and reserve.
• VFR day reserve: at least 30 minutes at normal cruise. VFR night: 45 minutes. Personal minimum may be higher.
• Confirm a fuel stop is planned wherever the math gets thin, and that the stop has the grade you need and is open at your ETA.

6. Runways at departure and destination

• Length: at least the POH/AFM ground-roll plus the safety factor you committed to above.
• Surface: paved, turf, gravel — match the aircraft's certification and your comfort.
• Crosswind: compute the crosswind at the steady and gust wind speed. Compare to the POH/AFM demonstrated value and your personal minimum. The runway crosswind calculator does this for every nearby runway.
• Tailwind: most light singles limit landings to about 10 knots; check the POH/AFM.
• NOTAMs for runway closures, displaced thresholds, and lighting outages.

7. Personal minimums

• Ceiling and visibility minimum (probably higher than the regulatory minimum).
• Crosswind component, gust component, and tailwind component.
• Maximum density altitude.
• Daylight buffer — e.g. land at least 30 minutes before sunset.
• Day-of-flight personal IMSAFE (Illness, Medication, Stress, Alcohol, Fatigue, Emotion / Eating).

8. Cockpit setup

• Charts (current sectional and any TAC for the destination area) — paper or EFB, with backups.
• Frequencies: ATIS, ground, tower, approach, FSS, the destination ATIS, any en-route flight watch.
• Squawk codes: 1200 VFR, 7500/7600/7700 memorised.
• Aircraft profile loaded in your EFB or chosen tool. The Aero Companion flight planner can export the route as GPX or KML for ForeFlight or Garmin Pilot.
• File a VFR flight plan if you intend to use Flight Service for flight following or position reporting.

9. Go/no-go decision

Walk through the checklist once more and stop at the first item that fails your personal minimum. Common go/no-go traps:

• "Get-there-itis." A commitment on the ground at the destination is not a reason to depart into weather you wouldn't fly otherwise.
• Marginal VFR forecasts that "should clear by ETA" — re-read the TAFs and AIRMETs and confirm the trend.
• Crosswind at the gust value that exceeds the demonstrated crosswind or your personal minimum.
• Density altitude that erodes takeoff or climb performance below acceptable margins.
• Fuel reserve that depends on a tailwind that the winds-aloft forecast no longer supports.

10. After takeoff

• Open your VFR flight plan with FSS if you filed.
• Request flight following from approach/centre — it gives you another set of eyes for traffic and weather.
• Re-check the destination ATIS and any en-route weather products as you approach the destination.
• If you cancel a VFR flight plan in the air, do it before you land or it stays open.

Related guides and tools

• Glide distance planning guide — how to think about glide range across a cross-country.
• Flight diversion planning guide — pre-decided diversion logic that holds up in flight.
• Zulu time converter for pilots — UTC, local, and destination times on a single line.
• Glide-aware VFR flight planner — wind-aware route planning that respects glide range.
• Runway crosswind calculator — pick a runway by crosswind component.