Private Pilot Cross Country Procedures




Home; Aviation; Cameras; Fiction; Health&Safety; Military; MS-Apps; Non-Fiction; Submarine; Technical; Trains; Watches; Transportation


Private Pilot Cross Country Procedures

Written April 6, 2008 by David Barth.

This information is out dated. It was current in 2002. Persons desiring information of this type should contact a local flight instruction establishment.




  • Carefully plan the flight.
    Draw the proposed track of the aircraft on a chart. Sectional charts are better than WAC charts because they provide more detail.


  • Call Flight Service to get weather and other information at the departure and destination airports and the weather conditions along the route of flight during the times at which the airplane is to be on the cross country flight. The following items should be included in the briefing. If the briefer does not offer information you desire, ask him or her. Here is a short list, but not a complete list, of information you will need:

    • Notices to Airmen (NOTAMS) which provide any important information about the airports or the route you plan to fly (for example: airport or runway closures).


    • Winds aloft at your proposed flight altitude. Adhere to the hemispheric rule which states that you should fly odd thousands, plus 500 feet if heading east, or even thousands plus 500 feet if heading west.


    • Any known Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) along your proposed flight path. These restrictions can be placed any time by Air Traffic Control to protect the area around a President visiting a city, a forest fire, an area where an emergency occurred, etc. You need to know about these because flying through one can result in penalties.


  • Based on the weather information provided in the briefing, make a "go" or "no-go" decision with the advice and agreement of your instructor.
    If the decision is "no-go" go home and consider flying on a different day. If the decision is "go," continue to the next step.


  • Carefully plan the flight using the information provided by the briefing.
    Draw the proposed track of the aircraft on a chart. Sectional charts are better than WAC charts because they provide more detail.
    Use a standard planning sheet, or make your own, and write in checkpoints, estimated time of departure from the airport, estimated time over each checkpoint, and estimated fuel usage, depending on estimated winds, for each leg of the flight. Have your instructor inspect and approve your flight plan.


  • Calculate the weight and balance.
    Each airplane should carry the appropriate, updated weight and balance information for your use in calculating the weight and balance for your particular flight.
    Use this weight and balance information to calculate the weight and balance for your flight including fuel, persons on board (including yourself), and baggage.
    Make certain that the center-of-gravity is within limits and the aircraft will not weigh in excess of the maximum allowed. Have your instructor inspect and approve your weight and balance data.


  • Carefully check the plan for the flight and fill out a flight plan sheet that contains information that you will provide to Flight Service when you file your flight plan.


  • Call Flight Service back and file a flight plan after confirming that the weather situation has not changed from the earlier briefing.


  • After takeoff, note the takeoff time.


  • After you are clear of the airport traffic area, open your flight plan through flight service on 122.2. Call (the name the local flight service station is located in, for example, "COLUMBUS RADIO, CESSNA 12345, ON 122.2". Wait for flight service to respond, then request that your VFR (Visual Flight Rules) flight plan be opened as of your takeoff time given in minutes past the hour (unless you convert local time to Universal (GMT) time.)


  • While enroute, monitor Flight Service on 122.0, Flight Watch. Call on 122.2 if you have a problem or need assistance. Use 122.0 for weather information.


  • If you want to get weather information, , call the name of the Flight Watch station on 122.0, (for example, when near Columbus): "COLUMBUS" FLIGHT WATCH, CESSNA 12345". After a Flight Watch representative acknowledges your call and asks you to go ahead with your request, you ask him or her for the weather that you want. If you do not know the name of the Flight Watch station you are calling, then leave out the city name: "FLIGHT WATCH, CESSNA 12345". If there is no response on this frequency, then try 122.2 to get weather.


  • Pilot reports (PIREPS) regarding weather you encounter that is different from reported or forecast weather is appreciated by Flight Watch on 122.0 (or Flight Service on 122.2 if you can't contact Flight Watch).


  • Remember to switch fuel tanks each hour (or on the interval recommended by the airplane flight manual or your instructor) if you are flying a plane that has more than one selectable fuel tank.


  • If you are intercepted by an aircraft or helicopter flying off of your wing, go to 121.5 and report on that frequency for instructions. This rarely happens, but it can happen if an unplanned Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) pops up along your route. The intercepting aircraft will advise you where to fly.


  • Before you get within 25 miles of the destination airport, plan your descent, approach, landing, and radio use.


    • You may close your flight plan with Flight Service from the air on 122.2 or by phone after you are on the ground. Closing your flight plan from the air is the best option, if you can do it, because after you are on the ground, it is easy to forget to close it.


    • Listen to the Automatic Terminal Information Service (ATIS) or other automated weather information recording if the chart indicates that one is available.


    • After listening to the recording, call approach control, the tower, UNICOM (monitored by an FBO at the airport), or MULTICOM (air to air to notify other aircraft that might be in the area), depending on what type of airport it is. The approach control, tower, and unicom frequencies are either shown on the chart or on the recording.


  • After landing, close your flight plan by phone if you did not do so in the air. Normally, you cannot close it with the tower because they are a different entity from Flight Service.


  • Be sure to refuel the airplane even if you believe it has enough fuel to return or go to your next destination. Better to be safe than sorry. You never know if, during your next leg, if you will have to deviate from your planned track which may use fuel that you had not planned on using.


  • Check the weather with Flight Service again and file a flight plan for the return trip (or next leg). (If there is not a Flight Service station on the airport, then find a telephone to contact Flight Service.)


  • The return trip procedure is similar to the procedure used to go to the destination. Refer to the above information.


I hope that this has provided some ideas and helped increase your interest in the exciting world of aviation. For more information contact a flight school or a flight instructor. Check the Yellow Pages of the telephone directory for flight schools in your area.

Disclaimer:
The contents of this document reflect the author's experience. The author is not engaged in rendering any legal or professional advice within this document. The services of a professional person are recommended if advice or assistance is needed. The author disclaims any personal loss or liability caused by utilization of any information presented herein.