Cross Country Flight Planning

Question 1

Route Selection

Answer 1

1. Airspace avoidance
2. Obstacle avoidance- like a mountain
3. Weather avoidance and performance
   Ex: High pressure system wind

Question 2

Altitude Selection

Answer 2

1. VFR Cruise Altitude- above 3000 MSL (91.159)
   - 0-179 = odd thousand +500
   - 180-359 = even thousand +500
2. Obstacle Clearance- OROCA- off-route obstruction clearance altitude
   - Provides obstruction clearance with 1000ft buffer (2000 in mountainous areas) and
   within 4 NM of course
   - Aircraft must maintain an altitude of at least 1000ft above the highest obstacle within
   2000ft horizontal of a congested area (91.119)
   - Aircraft must maintain an altitude of at least 500ft AGL over non-congested areas except
   for over open water or in sparsely populated areas where aircraft must be at least 500ft
   from any persons, vehicles, vessels, or property (91.119)
3. Airspace Avoidance- watch out for special use airspace and Class B
4. Glide Distance- you want to be higher in the event of an engine failure

Question 3

Types of Course/Heading

Answer 3

True North- points where Earth’s axis would be

Magnetic North- point where all lines of the magnetic field cross

Variation- angular difference between true and magnetic north
- Isogonic lines help prevent errors

True Course- direction measured on chart from true north

True Heading- true course +/- wind correction

Magnetic Course- true heading corrected for variation

Magnetic Heading- magnetic course corrected for deviation

Question 4

Types of Airspeed

Answer 4

• Indicated (IAS)- speed shown on ASI
• Calibrated (CAS)- indicated corrected for instrument error
• True (TAS)- calibrated corrected for non-standard temperature and pressure altitude
• Groundspeed (GS)- true corrected for wind

Question 5

NWKRAFT- Required Preflight Info
Explained

Answer 5

NOTAMs- Notice To Air Missions
Weather
Known ATC Traffic Delays- Call FSS or ARTCC
Runway Lengths
Alternates
Fuel Requirements: destination +30 minutes VFR day, +45 VFR night ( 91.151, 91.167)
- Auburn 2X^
Takeoff and Landing Distances

Question 6

Pilotage vs Dead Reckoning

Answer 6

Pilotage- determining present position based on landmarks

Dead Reckoning- only using heading and distance
^we use combination of both

Question 7

Categories of Flight Rules

Answer 7

VFR (Visual Flight Rules)- Ceiling greater than or equal to 3000ft AGL, Vis 5+ SM

MVFR (Marginal Visual Flight Rules)- ceiling 1000-3000, Vis 3-5 SM

IFR (Instrument Flight Rules)- ceiling 500-1000, Vis 1-3 SM

LIFR (Low Instrument Flight Rules)- ceiling less than 500, Vis less than 1 SM

Question 8

ATC Deviation

Answer 8

• Allowed in an emergency or to avoid other traffic when responding to a collision avoidance system warning
• You must notify ATC AS Practical
• If given priority by ATC in an emergency you must submit a report upon request to the
  ATC facility manager in 48 hours

Question 9

VFR Flight Following

Answer 9

It is great for safety and required for Auburn VFR XC flights
- ATC and FSS are not guaranteed to separate us from other traffic, the PIC has primary responsibility for collision avoidance

Question 10

Diversion Procedure

Answer 10

Diversion:
1. Figure out where you are
2. Pick diversion airport
3. Pick appropriate heading and altitude
4. Turn towards airport and note time
5. Calculate new heading and groundspeed with wind dot
6. Determine ETE, ETA, fuel consumption
7. Use ground references to help find alternate and when to begin descent
8. Contact FSS to amend flight plan (Must tell them alternate, ETE, new FOB)

Question 11

Lost Procedures

Answer 11

5 C’s
Circle- stay where you are, don’t fly aimlessly

Confess- tell ATC or local frequency you are lost

Climb- you can see more, you don’t know the highest obstacle, and better radio coverage

Conserve- note how much fuel you have and fuel burn and lean the mixture accordingly

Comply- follow ATC directions

Question 12

Special VFR

Answer 12

Tower Clearance Only
- Allows operations under VFR with conditions less than standard
- Must have 1 SM of visibility and remain clear of clouds (Private- Day Only)
- Aircraft is rated and equipped for instrument flight

Question 13

Filing FAA Flight Plan

Answer 13

122.2 universal FSS frequency

Ways to File:
- Call 1800wxbrief or use website - Foreflight
- File in air via FSS

To Open:
- Contact FSS: “Tail#, opening VFR flight plan, takeoff time XXXX Zulu”
- FSS will hold VFR flight plans for one hour after being filed and cancel if no departure
call or amended departure time is received

To Close:
- Call FSS in the air
- Call 1800wxbrief - Foreflight
FSS will come looking for you (calling around) if you do not close 30 minutes after ETA

Why file?
A. Safety someone knows where we are and can assist in case of an emergency