Notes from the left seat
Practical writing on checklists, flows, and staying redundant — sourced, and updated when the guidance changes.
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Class B vs C vs D: The Clearance You Actually Need
Class Bravo needs the literal words 'cleared into the Class Bravo.' Charlie and Delta only need established two-way radio contact, not a clearance.
Engine Failure Memory Items: What to Drill Before Solo
The Aviate-Navigate-Investigate-Communicate flow, the engine failure memory items to drill cold before solo, and how to practice it safely with a CFI.
Passenger Briefing Checklist for a First-Time Flyer
The 91.107 seatbelt briefing, what else to cover before engine start, and how to fly a first-timer's flight gentler so they actually want to go again.
GUMPS Check: What It Stands For and How to Run It
GUMPS stands for Gas, Undercarriage, Mixture, Props, Switches: what each item means, when to run it, and why it exists to catch gear-up landings.
What Size Should a Kneeboard Checklist Be?
Half-letter, A5, or full Letter for a kneeboard checklist: sizing, type, folding, and lamination advice, plus when full-size pages belong in a binder instead.
Runway Incursion Prevention: Hold-Short Checklist
Avoid a runway incursion: brief the taxi route from the airport diagram first, read hold-short line geometry right, and read back every ATC instruction.
Rusty Pilot Checklist: Getting Back in the Air
Returning to flying after a break: medical or BasicMed, the flight review, currency rules, what changed in the airspace, and how many hours to expect.
Weight and Balance Checklist: Arm, Moment, and CG
A step-by-step weight and balance checklist: how to compute arm, moment, and CG with one worked example, plus the mistakes that put you outside the envelope.
Building a checkride binder: my private pilot checkride prep
What goes in a private pilot checkride binder: normal and emergency checklists, a weak-spot list, airport diagram, and W&B — plus how to print your own.
Private Pilot Oral Exam: What DPEs Actually Ask
What DPEs actually ask on the private pilot oral exam, plus a prep checklist organized by ACS area of operation so you study the right things first.
Non-Towered Airport Radio Calls: Copy-Paste CTAF Scripts
Word-for-word CTAF radio calls for taxi, takeoff, every pattern leg, and landing at a non-towered airport, plus the one phrase the FAA says never to use.
Density altitude: a preflight performance checklist
How to pull real takeoff and climb numbers from your POH on a hot, high day, then turn them into a go/no-go checklist you run before summer flights.
First solo prep: the checklist to run the night before
The night before your first solo: reread your endorsement limits, know how the airplane flies 180 pounds lighter, and write out your radio calls in order.
Flows first, then checklists
A flow is the memorized sequence your hands run; the checklist is the second pass that confirms it. Why keeping the two separate matters most solo.
Fuel Planning: A Reserve Checklist That Prevents Exhaustion
Legal VFR fuel reserves are 30 minutes day, 45 at night. Here is how to turn that floor into a real fuel planning checklist: tabs, gauges, and a bingo time.
The Go-Around Checklist: When to Bail on a Landing
Go around when the approach goes unstable below 300 feet, when you won't be down in the first third, or after a hard bounce. Plus the full go-around flow.
How to build a checklist for your aircraft
How to build an aircraft checklist you'll actually use: short sections, killer items marked, organized by phase of flight, verified against your POH.
3 Takeoffs and Landings: Day vs Night Currency
Day and night currency under 61.57, what counts as a full stop, why the rule no longer says passenger, and a currency page you can actually keep current.
Paper vs EFB: why keep a paper backup
Tablets quit from dead batteries, bad cables, and glareshield heat. The sourced case for keeping a printed checklist as backup, minus the anti-iPad takes.
How to build a personal minimums checklist that sticks
A fillable personal minimums framework with real numbers: ceiling, visibility, crosswind, night, and recency triggers, plus the go/no-go questions to ask.
Stall Practice Checklist: Fly Them Calm and Coordinated
A HASELL-style pre-maneuver checklist for stall practice, plus what the wing is doing at entry and recovery, so the maneuver stops feeling like a leap.
How to enter the traffic pattern at a non-towered airport
The 45 to midfield downwind, how to arrive from the wrong side of the field, when a straight-in is legal but rude, and what to actually say on CTAF.
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