Nuggets of Preflight Happiness

You can’t manufacture joy, but you can know it when you see it.

Monday, June 12, 2023 at 02:50 PM ET

Verified

Preflight nuggets can be found before taxiing out, as the author finds in his Cessna Citation CJ1, or above, in a Citation Ms. [Credit: Julie Boatman]

Key Takeaways:

The article highlights the efficiency and ease of modern digital avionics, allowing for rapid navigation data and obstacle updates compared to traditional paper charts.
The author finds "nuggets of happiness" and deep satisfaction in the meticulous details and procedural routines of aircraft pre-flight and operation, from battery connection to engine start.
It conveys a profound appreciation for evolutionary advancements in aircraft design and systems, ultimately building a sense of joy and anticipation for the entire flying experience.

See a mistake? Contact us.

NavData, Americas, download/transfer to device. The little blue line shoots across the screen. In less than two minutes, all current navigational information for an entire hemisphere has found its way into a tiny USB sticking rudely out of my wife’s MacBook Air. My 10-year-old laptop is too old for this maneuver, so I borrow Cathy’s.

Without much thought, and even more quickly, “Obstacles” information for this cycle will also load. Later today, I will drive to the airport with the two USBs and plug them into the Avidyne IFD550s that grace the panel in our Cessna Citation CJ1. I will sit in the left seat, turn on the battery master and avionics switches and survey the glory before me. The USBs automatically prompt the boxes to ask for my permission to upload all this information. It takes just a few minutes. (Chart uploading takes longer, but still only 10 minutes or so.)