VFR cross country planning question

[PPL747]

I'm working on my cross country plannings, and one area I'm struggling to figure out, I hope the fellows here could help a bit.
When drawing a course we usually do it from airport A to airport B, but you never know in advance which runway you'll actually be taken off and specific traffic pattern exit requirements, as well your climb performance etc. And at tower fields which runway and heading the controller will assign you.
How can/should you get back on course? Should I be circling to my desired altitude and then fly back to departure airport to intercept my pre planned course (non towered)? Since all my pilotage checkpoints have been planned on a straight course. What is the correct way to do it, as well what is the way the DPE will expect it to be done? Thank you in advance

 

[AlleyCat67]

Don't overthink it. The XC plan should get you within visual range of the airport, then you'll follow whatever instructions the tower gives you to set up for landing. But that is one purpose of reserve fuel - in case the tower gives you some extended vector for spacing, or you need to switch runways, etc. If you wanted to be conservative, and and 5 minutes to your flight plan to account for maneuvering at the destination, I doubt the DPE would object.

 

[LanceS]

You can often predict the departure runway based on wind direction and plan accordingly. Also, pick your first checkpoint a relatively short distance from the airport (~ 5 miles) so it will be visible regardless of which direction you depart. Unless you're departing from a busy airport you should be able to turn on course relatively soon after departure and turn to your nearby first checkpoint.

 

[PaulS]

Your flight plan near the airport is more of an estimate than a hard line you need to follow. You should just keep in mind nearby airspace, such as controlled airspace and of course obstacles, like towers and mountains. This applies to departure and arrival airports. All this is much easier with gps, but for your purposes, if you are flying without gps, just plan the flight point to point with required jogs for obstacles, airspace and necessary landmarks. Before take off, figure out where you will be going and how to get on your planned course. If ded reckoning, find a landmark/ checkpoint to aim for, and know the course turn you will need to get to to arrive at that check point, then continue from there. This check point should be at least a few miles from the place where you departed. For the arrival airport, fly straight to it. Adjust for the pattern you pick or are required to enter a few miles out or when you see the airport.

 

[Ravioli]

As @LanceS said, put your first visual checkpoint "closer than normal" to your departure airport. Then when you get there follow your straight line.

In reality your mostly going to rely on DirectTo and the magenta line, but it's important to know how to verify that magenta isn't squirreled up.


[edit: everyone is typing faster than me this morning ]

 

[Matthew]

Sometimes you just have to visualize in your head where things are. if you want to go west, but take off south, you may want to turn slightly n/w to slowly intercept that course line you've drawn. If you have a checkpoint sort of in that general area, you'll be able to get there smoothly. The answers above generally recommend picking a landmark about 5 miles away, that seems about right for this exercise. Plus, by then you may also be at cruise speed and altitude, so your ground speed estimations will start being valid for calculating your next checkpoint.

 

[bobmrg]

I'm working on my cross country plannings, and one area I'm struggling to figure out, I hope the fellows here could help a bit.
When drawing a course we usually do it from airport A to airport B, but you never know in advance which runway you'll actually be taken off and specific traffic pattern exit requirements, as well your climb performance etc. And at tower fields which runway and heading the controller will assign you.
How can/should you get back on course? Should I be circling to my desired altitude and then fly back to departure airport to intercept my pre planned course (non towered)? Since all my pilotage checkpoints have been planned on a straight course. What is the correct way to do it, as well what is the way the DPE will expect it to be done? Thank you in advance

Almost everything about cross country flight planning is based on estimates, forecasts, or data of questionable accuracy, and the examiner knows that. Winds aloft forecasts are notoriously unreliable, climb angles vary depending on the wind encountered, and the variation on the sectional probably has not been updated for several years. The only thing you can rely on is the accuracy of the pencil line on the chart and the resulting true (not magnetic) course.

The purpose of the exercise is twofold: Ensuring that your flight path will not encounter terrain or special use airspace and that you will have enough fuel (inluding reserves) if the winds aloft forecasts are, through some miracle, close to accurate. Once you are airborne and at cruise altitude, comparing the actual time between checkpoints with the estimated time calculated on forecast winds will be the true measure of whether or not you have enough fuel to complete the mission. There will not be anyone at the destination airport with a stopwatch to check the accuracy of your pre-flight calculations.


Bob Gardner

 

[eman1200]

take a xc with ur cfi, it'll all make sense pretty quickly

 

[midlifeflyer]

I'm working on my cross country plannings, and one area I'm struggling to figure out, I hope the fellows here could help a bit.
When drawing a course we usually do it from airport A to airport B, but you never know in advance which runway you'll actually be taken off and specific traffic pattern exit requirements, as well your climb performance etc. And at tower fields which runway and heading the controller will assign you.
How can/should you get back on course? Should I be circling to my desired altitude and then fly back to departure airport to intercept my pre planned course (non towered)? Since all my pilotage checkpoints have been planned on a straight course. What is the correct way to do it, as well what is the way the DPE will expect it to be done? Thank you in advance

Great question. When I was doing primary, here is what I taught about the selection of the first and last checkpoints with exactly your question in mind. Keep in mind this was basically pilotage.

Your first and last checkpoints are important. Your first should be an extremely obvious one and ideally within 10 NM the airport so that you know that you are on the right course and can find it easily if you have to maneuver in the area when departing. Your last should also be about 10 NM away and just as obvious. We use it the same way we use a landmark in the practice area where you might say to yourself, “If I fly over this and follow that road or turn in that direction I will be pointed directly at the airport.”​

The idea is that the the course is not from airport A to Airport B. It's from the first checkpoint to the last checkpoint.

 

[dtuuri]

Your question took me back to September 24, 1964. My instructor taught me to climb to altitude and come over the airport, level at cruise altitude, using the runway alignment to verify your on-course heading and aim at your first checkpoint about three miles away. Double check your DG with the compass and with the runway. We were departing Meadville, PA enroute to Newcastle in a C-172. For somebody new, I always recommend the same trick. I was just 17 at the time, so I've recommended it often.

Oh, and I've used the same technique at tower fields too. Just let them know what you want to do.

 

[Shawn]

What is the purpose of the flight planning? To make sure weather will be good, you have enough fuel, terrain is clear, and you won't get lost. That is what is most important to communicate to the DPE in the exercise, not demonstrating a rigid course you have to fly.

In reality...you are VFR, once those above things are assured you will take off and fly dat-a-way.

Don't overthink it, you ere not IFR that has a defined route. Absent ATC instructions there is no course you are restricted to to get back in the direction you wanna go.

 

[kath]

The plan you make the night before or morning-of: <-- CFI and DPE will want to see this
-- Airport A
-- Checkpoint 1
-- Checkpoint 2
....
-- Checkpoint N-1
-- Checkpoint N
-- Airport B

What actually happens:
-- Get to Airport A, start engine, find out (or figure out) departure runway and departure procedure, get airborne, avoid traffic, etc.
-- Figure out how to get on course to Checkpoint 1
-- Checkpoint 2
.....
-- Checkpoint N-1
-- Checkpoint N
-- Figure out arrival runway and arrival procedure, how to approach for landing at Airport B. Look for it out window.
-- Maneuver for landing

So, there's a few minutes of "slop" on both ends. The plan isn't going to be perfect, it's a guideline. Knowing winds and runways, you can anticipate some of the "figuring out" bits, but it's expected that there will be some "winging it" and "figuring out" at the very beginning and end. Don't sweat it!

 

[dmspilot]

I'm working on my cross country plannings, and one area I'm struggling to figure out, I hope the fellows here could help a bit.
When drawing a course we usually do it from airport A to airport B, but you never know in advance which runway you'll actually be taken off and specific traffic pattern exit requirements, as well your climb performance etc. And at tower fields which runway and heading the controller will assign you.
How can/should you get back on course? Should I be circling to my desired altitude and then fly back to departure airport to intercept my pre planned course (non towered)? Since all my pilotage checkpoints have been planned on a straight course. What is the correct way to do it, as well what is the way the DPE will expect it to be done? Thank you in advance

You can circle around and fly over the airport, though this is not always practical, especially at controlled airports.

Otherwise, just maneuver so you can turn on course and have the departure airport at your 6:00.

 

[frfly172]

Have a plan in your head for when the controller says resume own navigation.

 

[PPL747]

Thank you all for your valuable advice and guidance. It is very helpful and appreciated

 

[bflynn]

Have a plan in your head for when the controller says resume own navigation.

and remember that the fallback for that is to ask what direction to fly.

As a student, I was flying to Fayetteville NC on a day when there was parachute jumping at Ft Bragg. Typical NC day, hazy and vis at 10.01 miles, just enough for my instructor to ok the solo. I got vectors about 20 miles out to the East to avoid the parachutes and despite trying to find landmarks, I frankly only had a general idea where I was. Told to resume own navigation and the only thing I knew was to fly w/sw - no landmarks except farms in visual range. Rather than guess, I asked for a vector and in about 10 minutes I could pick out the 3 airports and I was heading to the correct one.