Cockpit Workflow, Checklists, and Chair Flying
Key concepts for building repeatable single-pilot IFR flows, briefs, and configuration gates.
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Explain Aloud
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Questions Covered in This Set
10 cards to master
Why is single-pilot IFR difficult, if individual tasks are easy?
Because of task arrival rate — several easy tasks land at once. The fix is moving work earlier and making it automatic, not doing it faster.
What is a flow?
A physical, memorized sweep of the panel in a fixed geographic order (left-to-right, top-to-bottom, or a loop) that is fast and keeps your eyes inside for only seconds.
What is a checklist and when should it be used?
A verification device run after the flow to confirm nothing was missed — best done in level, stable, low-workload segments.
How should a missed approach be handled — flow or checklist?
Fly the flow from muscle memory (power, pitch, flaps, gear, positive rate, nav source, heading bug), then verify with the printed miss/climb checklist once established in the climb.
Name the five flows every single-pilot IFR operator needs.
Preflight/cockpit setup, departure, cruise/enroute, approach setup, and landing/go-around.
What belongs in the cruise/enroute flow?
Every ~15 minutes or new controller: fuel burn vs. plan, engine gauges, ice/weather ahead, destination and alternate weather refresh, and 'if the engine quit now, where do I go?'
When should the approach setup flow be completed?
Before the descent begins — ideally 20–30 NM out or as soon as you get the ATIS.
What are the elements of the approach brief script?
ATIS/weather + runway, approach name + how you'll join it, frequencies/course set, altitudes (initial, intermediate, FAF, MDA/DA), missed (first two actions aloud), minimums, and a personal stability gate.
Why is reciting the whole approach plate aloud a poor brief?
It's a memory dump, not a decision-oriented script; a good brief compresses the plate into the numbers and decisions you'll need in the next ten minutes.
What do configuration gates accomplish?
They convert in-the-moment judgment into arithmetic — pre-decided points such as 'gear down at glideslope alive' and 'if not stable by 500 feet, go around.'
