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Before the flight

Who may fly, what must be airworthy, and what has to be settled before the airplane moves.

Written by Jacqualynn Watson, CFII · Aviation advisor, from her own flight instructor curriculum.

Preflight preparation

• Pilot Qualifications How medical certificates step down instead of expiring, what 61.3 makes you carry, the privileges and limits of each certificate from student to CFI, and why currency is not proficiency.
• Pre-Solo and Cross-Country Training The rules behind first solo and solo cross-country: eligibility, the pre-solo knowledge test, the 61.87 maneuver list, the 90-day endorsement clocks, the medical and possession rules, Class B under 61.95, and the 61.89 limits.
• Airworthiness Requirements What airworthy actually means, the inspections and documents that keep it true, and the 14 CFR 91.213 decision you make when something aboard the airplane is broken.
• Weather Information for the Preflight Decision A preflight weather briefing under 14 CFR 91.103: where the weather comes from, what a standard briefing contains under AIM 7-1-4, what each product cannot tell you, and the go or no-go.