Level II—Cross-country Flying
| GROUNDSCHOOL INSTRUCTION (Morning) |
FLIGHT TRAINING (Afternoon) |
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| Day |
Period I |
Period II |
Air Exercise |
Description |
1 |
Orientation and Review of Safety around Aircraft.
Course Plotting and Measurement.
Pre-flight Operations and Procedures.
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Diversion Navigation. |
Pilot Navigation.1 |
This exercise teaches students the necessary skills to successfully and safely prepare and execute a cross-country flight.
Considerations for this exercise include such pre-flight activities as obtaining a proper weather briefing, calculation of groundspeed and aircraft heading, time en route, fuel consumption, filing a Flight Plan, and reviewing the takeoff and landing procedures at the departure and destination airports.2
During a cross-country flight, students learn how to conduct groundspeed checks for the purpose of updating the estimated arrival time, and learn how to obtain updated weather from Air Traffic Services. This exercise also teaches student how to prepare and fly a “diversion” flight—impromptu navigation3 required when a pilot must fly to an alternate destination airport owing to unforeseen circumstances such as deteriorating weather or an ill passenger.
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2 |
E6B Flight Computer Operation. Groundspeed estimates.
Preparation for Navigation Exercise: Langley—Qualicum Beach—Langley.
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3 |
Preparation for Navigation Exercise: Langley—Sechelt-Gibsons— Langley.
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4 |
Fuel consumption calculations.
Preparation for Navigation Exercise: Langley—Nanaimo— Langley.
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5 |
Flight Planning.
Preparation for Navigation Exercise: Langley—Victoria—Langley.
Quiz.4
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1 The day’s navigation exercise is prepared by students in the morning, and the trip is flown in the afternoon. One partner will fly to the destination (with the back-seat partner doing the map-reading), while the other partner will fly the return leg of the trip.
2 Interestingly, a trip from Vancouver to Calgary takes 12 hours to drive, but only 3 hours to fly in the Piper Cherokee (two hours in the twin-engined Piper Seneca), but the speed of an aircraft over the ground depends on the movement of the air mass through which an aircraft flies. It is only when a pilot obtains the “upper winds” for a trip that the actual groundspeed can be predicted—groundspeed is crucial for predicting the quantity of fuel required for a flight.
3 Impromptu navigation meaning the routing was not planned prior to departure and that all preparations must therefore be made in the cockpit during flight—the cockpit can be a very cramped and busy place and “diversions” require skill and practice.
4This is a ten-question, multiple-choice quiz that is administered on the last day of Camp. The questions revolve around items learned in both Groundschool and in the air. Successful completion of the quiz leads to the issue of a Certificate of Completion by Langley Flying School.
