Leaving the nest

Getting your pilot certificate is a similar experience. You “grow up” in the sheltered environment of the flight school. Depending on the school, a lot of decisions probably are made on your behalf before you ever crank the engine for a flight lesson. The maintenance department performs inspections on a routine basis and ensures that everything is current and in good working order. The dispatcher will make sure that you have all the required documentation and paperwork. The line crew fuels up the aircraft every night after closing. Then there is the biggest “helper” of all, your flight instructor. He or she has been the one setting your weather limits, making sure that your weight and balance is in order, and ensuring that the airports you will be operating into will be suitable for your airplane and skill level.

In short, most of the major decision making has been taken care of for you. And although you may have a thorough textbook knowledge, actually applying all of that new information to make a go/no-go decision on your own may still feel like a challenge.

So what happens when you pass your checkride and must leave the protective flight school bubble? The freedom of a new pilot certificate is exhilarating, but you will quickly realize there is still a lot of learning to do. When trying to handle preflight decision making, two main issues hang new pilots up: concerns about the weather and questions about the airworthiness of the aircraft. With the following practical tips, you should be able to confidently answer that all-important question: Can we fly today?

When you become a private pilot, you probably are more than capable of reading weather charts and interpreting the terminal aerodrome forecasts (TAFs) for your route of flight. Sometimes, it’s simple to know if conditions are suitable. But on those days when it is not so black and white, wouldn’t it be nice to talk to some sort of weather professional who could look at your specific route and tell you what to watch out for? You can.

Remember flight service from your training? With iPads, electronic flight bag apps such as ForeFlight, and devices such as Stratus that provide in-flight weather at our fingertips, many of us forget that there is an actual human out there willing to help us when it comes to interpreting the complexities of weather. So if you have concerns, call a briefer at 1-800-WX-BRIEF and see if that second set of eyes makes you feel more confident about your decision.

Remember that a briefing can only extend for a certain period of time. Weather systems have the annoying habit of changing rapidly, sometimes even defying the forecast. There are so many free apps for your smartphone and tablet that make it simple to get the latest weather just prior to departure. Always check the weather within 30 minutes of your flight, even if it is just a quick glance at the METAR and radar to supplement a more thorough briefing you received earlier. And remember, you can always call flight service again for an abbreviated briefing, to update a few specific items.

Also remember the fact that you may legally do something does not mean it will be a safe choice for you. Write down personal limits for what you will attempt as far as crosswind, ceilings, and visibility. That way, you will not be tempted to fly in conditions you are not yet experienced enough to handle. Then, as you build more hours, you can systematically increase those limits while still operating safely.

The other subject that causes problems for new pilots is determining the airworthiness of an aircraft, particularly when equipment is inoperative. Even though you may be flying someone else’s aircraft, the pilot in command is still responsible for ensuring airworthiness.

The freedom of a new pilot certificate is exhilarating, but you will quickly realize there IS still a lot of learning to do.That means you need to have a thorough understanding of the regulations pertaining to maintenance inspections and inoperative equipment. Before you go out to the airplane, make sure you take a look at the maintenance logs to verify that every required inspection is current (depending on your type of operation, VFR or IFR). The logs can be a little confusing, especially if they aren’t kept in perfect order. So get an instructor or mechanic to show you how to read them. (For a more thorough description of required maintenance and inspections, see “Memory Fix,” January 2014 Flight Training.)

Once you have determined the inspections are current, the real fun begins with the preflight. When you were a student and discovered a piece of inoperative equipment, you probably told your instructor, who told the maintenance department, who either fixed it or placarded it as inoperative. But how the maintenance department made that decision may not have been clearly explained to you, possibly in the interest of time.

What they were actually doing, and what you will now have to do on your own, is to look at FAR 91.213, or what is more commonly referred to as the four-step test. That regulation says that if you have a minimum equipment list (MEL), use that to determine if you are legal to go without that specific piece of equipment. If you do not have a MEL—and most rental aircraft don’t—then you must go through the following four steps:

1: Check the VFR-day type certificate on FAA.gov to see if the aircraft was certificated with that piece of equipment required.

2: Look at the manufacturer-issued required equipment list that usually is found in the pilot's operating handbook of newer models.

3: Check FAR 91.205 for the required equipment for your specific type of operation, VFR/IFR and day/night.

4: Check airworthiness directives for any equipment that may now be required post-manufacture.

If you determine that the piece of equipment is not required by any of the above, then you are legal to fly. You must either deactivate and placard the equipment as INOP (inoperative) and make a notation in the maintenance logs to that effect, or remove the faulty piece of equipment and amend the weight and balance.

That particular regulation, FAR 91.213, is commonly memorized at the rote level for the purpose of passing the checkride. However, very few student pilots have practice actually applying it, because it reads like most regulations—about as clear as mud. So if you find that you still do not understand how to do the four-step test, you are not alone. Again, find a patient instructor or mechanic to help you work through the steps before you go it on your own.

When you first get that shiny new certificate and step out of the comfort of the flight school environment, view your certificate as simply a license to learn. You may not feel confident in your decision- making ability yet, but there is no shame in admitting you don’t know something. Pilots tend to be friendly folks who are more than willing to give advice or lend a helping hand when asked. Remember, the fact that you’ve left the flight school does not mean you have left the flying community.

Natalie Bingham Hoover, ATP/CFII/MEI, has given more than 3,000 hours of dual instruction and is an FAA-designated pilot examiner. She lives in Germantown, Tennessee.