Flight Planning & Performance

A good flight is decided on the ground. Flight planning puts together the route, the weather, the fuel and the aircraft's performance so that, before you start the engine, you already know the flight can be done safely – and what you will do if it cannot.

1. The planning sequence

1. Route: choose it on the chart, avoiding prohibited and restricted areas, high terrain and busy airspace you do not need.
2. Weather: METARs and TAFs for departure, destination and alternates; en-route forecasts and winds aloft.
3. NOTAMs for every airport and airspace on the route.
4. Navigation log (PLOG): tracks, headings, ground speeds, distances and times for each leg.
5. Fuel.
6. Mass and balance.
7. Performance: take-off, climb and landing at each airport.
8. Flight plan and the "go / no-go" decision.

2. Choosing a cruising altitude

• High enough to clear terrain and obstacles with a margin (the chart's minimum grid area altitude or a margin of at least 1,000 ft above the highest point within 5 NM).
• The correct semicircular level for your magnetic track.
• Below cloud for VFR, with the VMC minima met; outside controlled airspace you have no clearance for.
• Where the winds are best – a headwind often weakens lower down.

3. Fuel planning

Part	What it covers
Taxi fuel	Start-up and taxi.
Trip fuel	Take-off, climb, cruise, descent, approach and landing at the destination.
Contingency	Unforeseen extra – airlines use 5% of trip fuel (or a minimum of 5 minutes).
Alternate fuel	From a missed approach at the destination to landing at the alternate.
Final reserve	Never planned to be used: 30 min day VFR, 45 min night VFR for light aircraft; 30 min holding at 1,500 ft for airliners.
Extra / discretionary	Anything the commander adds – expected holding, weather, ATC delays.

Example: a 1 h 10 min trip at 30 l/h needs 35 l trip fuel; with 5 l taxi, 2 l contingency and a 30-minute day reserve (15 l), the minimum is about 57 litres before any alternate.

4. Runway distances

Term	Meaning
TORA – take-off run available	The runway length usable for the take-off run.
TODA – take-off distance available	TORA plus any clearway beyond the end.
ASDA – accelerate-stop distance available	TORA plus any stopway (for rejected take-offs).
LDA – landing distance available	The length usable for landing – shorter than the runway if the threshold is displaced.

The distance you need (from the flight manual) must not exceed the distance available. For light aircraft, safety factors are usually applied to the manual figures: about × 1.33 for take-off and × 1.43 for landing.

5. What changes performance

Factor	Effect on take-off and landing distance
Higher mass	Longer
Higher airport elevation or temperature (high density altitude)	Longer, and weaker climb
Headwind	Shorter
Tailwind	Much longer – even 10% of the take-off speed adds about 20% to the distance
Uphill slope	Longer take-off, shorter landing
Grass, wet or contaminated surface	Longer (wet grass can be dramatically longer on landing)
Humidity	Slightly longer (moist air is less dense)

Charts usually tell you to use only 50% of a headwind but 150% of a tailwind, as a safety margin.

6. Density altitude

Density altitude is the altitude in the standard atmosphere that has the same air density as where you are. It is what the wings and engine "feel". A quick estimate:

Density altitude ≈ pressure altitude + 120 ft × (OAT − ISA temperature)

Example: Amman Queen Alia, elevation 2,395 ft, QNH 1013 (so pressure altitude ≈ 2,400 ft), temperature 40 °C. ISA at 2,400 ft is about 15 − 4.8 = 10 °C, so the deviation is +30 °C. Density altitude ≈ 2,400 + 120 × 30 = about 6,000 ft. The aircraft performs as if the airport were at 6,000 ft – noticeably longer take-off and a weaker climb.

Pressure altitude itself: elevation + (1013 − QNH) × 30 ft.

7. Crosswind

The crosswind component is wind speed × sin(angle off the runway): about half the wind at 30°, 70% at 45°, 90% at 60°, all of it at 90°. Compare it with the aircraft's maximum demonstrated crosswind in the flight manual and with your own experience.

Example: runway 26 (260°), wind 310°/20 kt – 50° off, so the crosswind is about 15 kt.

8. Climb performance

• V_X – best angle of climb: the most height for the distance travelled. Use it to clear obstacles after take-off.
• V_Y – best rate of climb: the most height for the time. Use it for the normal climb.
• Both get worse with mass, temperature and altitude. Check the climb gradient you need against the terrain and any departure procedure.

9. The flight plan

The ICAO flight plan contains the aircraft identification, flight rules (V or I), aircraft type and equipment, departure and destination, the estimated off-block time (EOBT), cruising speed and level, route, total estimated elapsed time, alternates, endurance and persons on board, and "other information" in Item 18 (such as RMK/). File it in good time and close it when you land.

Flying it at Levant

SimBrief builds the operational flight plan (OFP) with the same structure: route, fuel broken into trip, contingency, alternate, reserve and extra, weights and times. Read it before you fly – check the planned fuel against your simulator's fuel load, the take-off performance against the runway (hot days in Amman and Riyadh matter) and the weather at your alternate.

Check yourself

1. What is the difference between TORA and TODA? TODA adds any clearway beyond the runway end.
2. Elevation 2,000 ft, QNH 1003 hPa. What is the pressure altitude? 2,000 + 10 × 30 = 2,300 ft.
3. Pressure altitude 2,000 ft, OAT 35 °C. Estimate the density altitude. ISA at 2,000 ft = 11 °C, deviation +24 → 2,000 + 2,880 ≈ 4,900 ft.
4. Runway 09, wind 120°/20 kt. Crosswind component? 30° off → about 10 kt.
5. Which speed gives the steepest climb? V_X, best angle of climb.

Simulation training material with simplified figures. Always use your aircraft's flight manual performance data.