Being well prepared is the key to succesful flying. As many “golden rules”, this one is a bit general. With this post, we’ll see how it applies to flights below half an hour.

I’m not talking about flying circuits, but flying from an airport to another one close by. Such flights are more demanding that others are there is “relaxing” cruise phase. Immediately after leaving the departure airport frequency, the approach procedure starts.

That is the key to understand how to manage such flights: there is no time for cockpit clean-up and reconfiguration between departure and approach. Everything must be ready before departure.

I got trapped myself once, while flying a PA32 Saratoga from Yverdon (LSGY) to Geneva (LSGG). For training, I filed an IFR flight plan, with a joining nort-east of Geneva. I expected runway 05 in Geneva (the blue track in the picture below), which was confirmed by a call to Geneva Information before take-off. Once in flight however, Geneva Approach informed me that the active runway just change to 23 (the red track). My expected flight time changed from 45 to less than 22 minutes !

As I expected runway 05, I had not yet briefed nor prepared the approach. Hopefully, I had the charts at hand “in case of…”, and weather was severe CAVOK. As the runway in use changed after I checked, I can’t say that I did not prepare well enough, but let’s see how to prepare a short flight, be it expected or not.

• Have all charts on your kneeboard. You won’t have time to extract a binder from your bag, and find the appropriate approach plate.
• If you’re within radio range before take-off, copy the latest airport information at that moment.
• Brief the expected approach before take-off. If you find time in flight, make a short refresh.
• If you’re used to put a minimalistic flight plan in your GPS before take-off and to complete it in flight, envisage to fully program your GPS in advance.

Finally, and as always, expect the unexpected. Even a short flight can become more complicated than expected. And interesting question is what to do if serious problem occur short after take-off. The usual answer is to turn back to departure airport, but if the flight is really short, completing it to destination is an option.

Re-briefing for a return to place of departure when the cockpit is already prepared for the approach can be a dangerous work overload. Once again, good decision making under pressure if of paramount importance…

As always, if you have personal experience or tips to share, I’ll be happy to read them in your comments. And if you liked this post, you should read my tips for better managing long flights.