Need your vote plz

Consider the flight being VFR. Before going to an airport where do you obtain pertinent information?

  • Always study the Chart supplements and A/FD

  • Always look up and study Airport website

  • Always do both of the above

  • Never use the airposrt website

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ahmad

ahmad

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Midwest Aviator
I would like to get some opinions on how others preflight and get information regarding his/her VFR flight.

Do you routinely read up the charts and maps and A/FD? Do you routinely Google and look up the airport/FBO website for pertinent information about the flight? Do you routinely do both?

Again, the information gathered is strictly about conducting the flight itself.

Thank you for your participation
 
Thank you. Keep em coming. I am really trying to figure out how many (if any) routinely rely on airport website to gather information regarding the flight.
 
I only use the airport website if I am looking for a menu for an onsite restaurant. Even then it is hit or miss. Outside of that, I generally find the airport websites to be somewhat less than useless.
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If I have real question about the airport that is not immediately obvious to me via other means than I will call the FBO and ask them.
 
trying to remove the word always. not sure I can edit that. disregard the word always until I figure out how to remove it.
 
Rarely look at the airport website unless I'm trying to find if they have a service on the field, like a restaurant. Or is suspect a noise abatement procedure ( some are not notam'd like at my home airport). If there are hills/mountains in the area, or other concerns, I may check it out on Google Earth. Of course, I always get a weather briefing, If its a new airport, or larger one, I haven't been to I will go to AOPA Airports and print out the kneeboard of the airport information. Then I mark it up for easy reference as I get close.

When I was working on my IFR I started a blog just to record my learning experiences so I could review them later. No one ever reads them. At the time I wrote something titled "PreFlighting Airports". It was my way of recording everything I needed to know about flying to an airport. Years later it seems like over-kill, but at the time I was taking the IFR training very seriously. You can read it here:

http://garysflyingadventures.blogspot.com/2010/05/pre-flighting-airport.html
 
Ignoring “always”, then ‘Both’ …

-Chart Supplement (f.k.a. A/FD): whether the data is obtained/displayed in Foreflight, Garmin Pilot, AOPA Airport Directory, etc., it’s from same source: A/FD
-Airport website: for noise abatement, local procedures/tips, extra FBO info, etc.
While not official/regulatory, the extra info allows/informs transient pilots of expectations; how to be a good neighbor when sharing airspace/airport facilities.
 
Chart Supplement, via foreflight or skyvector. Usually an airport diagram if it's at all complex.
 
Maybe a Google-earth image if I am having a hard time understanding where the fuel/FBO is located? Seldom need this extra step.

I’m with the others in that your use of “Always” made it nearly impossible for me to want to cast a vote.
 
ahmad said:
Thank you. Keep em coming. I am really trying to figure out how many (if any) routinely rely on airport website to gather information regarding the flight.
Click to expand...
I'll look at an airport webite if the area is new to me or I'm aware there is special information availalbe. A good example is KTRK Truckee. They have particular noise abatement requirement with mountain terrain. The website has brilliant flight path animations which make the text explainations much easier to appreciate and understand.

Procedures | Truckee Tahoe Airport District

LIke others I always check the chart/supplemnet via Foreflight. Airport webite for greater explaination of services or facilities beyond the chart or supplement if totally new to me airport.
 
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Depends on my mission. If I'm just tooling around the local area burning fuel, boring sky holes, and visiting familiar fields, I rarely do any of that--just get in the plane and go. Might check TFRs if it's fire season.

If I'm traveling overnight, I do it all. And I do it all every morning before takeoff checking weather, fuel stops, destinations, and accommodations.
 
ahmad said:
I would like to get some opinions on how others preflight and get information regarding his/her VFR flight.

Do you routinely read up the charts and maps and A/FD? Do you routinely Google and look up the airport/FBO website for pertinent information about the flight? Do you routinely do both?

Again, the information gathered is strictly about conducting the flight itself.

Thank you for your participation
Click to expand...
Both the first time I go to that airport. After that, Foreflite for weather and Notams.
 
I use the airport website only to get information about available FBOs and amenities. Flight info comes from the chart supplement on my EFB.
 
The responses are great thank you. I'd like to get 100 votes. I'm really interested in knowing how many look up the airport website for gathering information for planning the flight itself.
 
ahmad said:
The responses are great thank you. I'd like to get 100 votes. I'm really interested in knowing how many look up the airport website for gathering information for planning the flight itself.
Click to expand...

Are you gathering these votes to help the pilot involved in that KSQL clusteroo recently?

 
schmookeeg said:
Are you gathering these votes to help the pilot involved in that KSQL clusteroo recently?

Click to expand...


No. I am gathering these votes to figure out how others compile their preflight data for the flight.
 
I look up the information on F Flight. I even make a page for my spiffy in flight note book listing the frequencies, the pattern altitude, default pattern for the runways (left or right), and a simple sketch of the runways, taxiways, etc. (easy enough to print off).

IF it's a new airport that I'll be staying at OR something interesting (like a grass strip on a slope) I'll call and ask the FBO for hints / suggestions (updated fuel availability, etc.). The one that was very helpful was the grass strip airport (GA2 - Peach State). Very helpful hints on best landing practices, etc.
 
Never used an airport website for flight planning. If I'm encouraged to do that then I'd say something with the system is broken. I should be able to get all the information I need for safe operation from official, published sources.

If I'm making an unscheduled stop I'll just take a quick peek at the NOTAMs and A/FD page in ForeFlight while in transit. Then fly the pattern and make sure there's no X's over the runways and then land.
 
I agree that the airport website if often a waste of time.

But before I always do any of that, I look at Airnav.com to see who has the cheapest fuel . . .

Then I'll often call them to see if it's really a current price.
 
Jeff Oslick said:
Senator, are you familiar with what yellow "X"'s mean?
;)
Click to expand...

so there I was… looking at those big yellow “x”s.

hmmm, HUGE grass field, land there. A lot safer as more into the wind, like 25 kts (still a lot of cross) in a very squirrely Piet. Grass manicured, could spot all the storm drains, nary a person or vehicle in sight. Good landing, taxi to buds hangar.

Airport manager (not a pilot) hot on my tail. Mad as a hatter! Chews my arse a while, calls me names, gets my info, threatens to turn me in.

Turns out I was totally in the right, she was not, and long story short was told by the FSDO she was gonna get in trouble for frivolous reporting if there wasn’t a substantiated unsafe situation (which there was not, AND she didn’t even see me).

But still, thought my goose was cooked, she was M A D… wow!
 
I never use the airport website for flight information. I have used the airport website to get a phone number to call to check on landing fees. I don't trust info on an airport site as being current.

I do check the airport website to see if there is a place to eat there. I try to check that with food review sites to see if it's a place I'm interested in going. To me this is information about the flight, because I'm way more likely to go someplace that has chow...because I'm just flying for fun.

When on vacation, I have driven to airports and talked w/ FBO staff, along the lines of sorting out whether or not it would be simple/good to fly there in the future.
 
Very interesting discussion. So far, most comments state that the airport websites aren't all that helpful and not looked up. The votes, however, are saying that more people look up the website and find it helpful?!?.

I need more votes on this. This will be a good aviation topic to discuss. More so after watching that video someone posted above about SQL.
 
ahmad said:
I would like to get some opinions on how others preflight and get information regarding his/her VFR flight.

Do you routinely read up the charts and maps and A/FD? Do you routinely Google and look up the airport/FBO website for pertinent information about the flight? Do you routinely do both?

Again, the information gathered is strictly about conducting the flight itself.

Thank you for your participation
Click to expand...

In most cases I am looking for hour of operation, whether there is self-serve fuel, and if I there is local transportation from the airport etc.. I rarely find this information on airport websites. The only thing useful there is the contact phone number.
 
30 votes so far. Another 70 and we can debate some things.
 
ForeFlight briefing and comments on FBO and airport, AFD (via FF) if a new airport to me as it has special instructions (eg 15° requirements at SNA), and airport websites for noise abatement procedures and info on the FBO I plan to use.
 
Fore flight is kept up to date a lot more than a web site that may have been built when someone at a small FBO had some free time.
 
Don’t assume equal weighting. Of those who picked both maybe they get 95% of what they get from fore flight and go to the website for extra information they isn’t flight critical.
 
Generally speaking, I only use my EFB (GarminPilot in my case). I do sometimes look at Airnav to get a feel for the FBOs as there's typically comments posted that aren't available on my EFB. That said, what does it matter what we all do? You do what makes you feel comfortable -- there's no right or wrong here.
 
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