Mastering Short-Haul IFR

Picture one of those ubiquitous human factors graphs that show pilot workload during a flight. The x-axis shows startup through shutdown. On the y axis, is a scale of pilot workload: relatively low during taxi, a significant spike during takeoff and departure, a long, low flat line for cruise, an even bigger spike for approach and landing and an anti-climactic taper-off for taxi in. At the top of the graph, theres an additional line that starts high and arcs slowly down representing the pilots capabilities.

Key Takeaways:

• Short-haul IFR flights present a uniquely challenging workload profile with frequent, intense spikes and minimal low-workload cruise time for recovery.
• The key to managing this elevated workload is extensive preparation, proactively relocating tasks from high-stress flight phases (departure, approach) to lower-stress periods (pre-flight, taxi, brief cruise).
• Effective preparation involves meticulous cockpit organization, creating cheat sheets for frequencies and waypoints, strategically pre-tuning radios (e.g., arrival ATIS), and setting up return approaches to ensure focus on essential flying tasks during critical moments.

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