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Maintaining Proficiency for Free

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • When bad weather prevents flying, pilots can still productively use their budgeted time for proficiency.
  • Methods include "chair flying," using a flight simulator, or, most effectively, practicing checklists and emergency procedures in the actual airplane at the airport.
  • These alternative activities offer a free and effective way to maintain pilot skills while grounded.
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When the weather’s truly awful the decision to stay on the ground rather than fly is easy. But you’ve budgeted this time for flying anyway so why not get some use out of it?

You might instead decide to “chair fly,” where you sit down and mentally go through various checklist items. If you have a flight simulator program on your PC, you could choose to fly the flight you’d hoped to make that day. You could even dial in the truly awful weather conditions to see what it would have been like to fly — no doubt confirming your decision to cancel the trip.

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