It takes a lot of passion to be able to pursue a career in flying. Only the pilot knows the feeling of being able to fly through the skies in the cockpit. Maneuvering above the clouds and moving through those pure blue skies is an experience unmatchable. If you are a new commercial pilot, excitement would be an understatement. You must be wanting to get hold of your place in the cockpit and fly an aircraft so badly. It is good that your dream is getting fulfilled but being careful is what is expected of you as a responsible pilot and citizen. You might be a very confident pilot but what will make you better at your job is being super careful. Here is a list of things that should never be ignored if you have just started flying.
- ALWAYS CHECK THE PLANE LOGBOOK.
A plane logbook is like an encyclopedia about the plane. Plane logbooks stay the same during the lifetime of an aircraft. These contain all the minute and major details about the plane like information about flight data, discrepancies, maintenance and personnel. This is a very important document that you should always check before every flight. You are responsible for the aircraft and the people who are flying in it and hence checking of safety signatures is imperative before every flight. You should never just rely on the inspections but have a look at the history and present conditions of the aircraft which are always important to know. All major flight instructor course focus on the importance of checking log books before every flight.
- CHECK THE WEATHER REPORTS.
Normally passengers might have flown through rainy and overcast weather and thought it to be quite an extreme situation. They are completely wrong in thinking so because a responsible pilot always takes the weather reports into consideration before flying. In flying instructor courses they insist that wind shear, turbulence and inflight icing are some of the important factors that should be sought from experienced and certified agencies by the pilot in question. As a new pilot you should never miss checking all the important factors with respect to weather. When you fly, you cannot just stop at a spot to service your aircraft. An aircraft has to land somewhere to get itself repaired, hence any untoward situation in the sky can spiral into something uncontrollable within no time. Flying the airplane without taking into consideration all important weather conditions can prove to be a disaster.
- THE RIGHT SUNGLASSES.
Flying an aircraft can be quite daunting for a pilot. Your eyes will tire out after some point of time. Long distance flying demands visual analysis and scrutiny many a time for long periods of time. The light intensity up there can be a real problem for the eyes. You would need the right sunglasses that are non polarized to be able to look through the cockpit clearly without getting your eyes tired very soon. So buy a pair of non polarized sunglasses and always carry them with you while flying. It will definitely help you in operating more smoothly.
- ALWAYS HAVE A BACKUP PLAN.
Make sure you have a backup plan while flying. There is always a chance of encountering a weather emergency or an in flight situation that would need you to land at the nearest destination. It is best to fly near airports to make an emergency landing easy and possible.
- A SURVIVAL GEAR.
Flight emergencies are very rare and as a commercial pilot, you need to be ready for that. Always keeping a survival kit handy is absolutely essential. Unlike other accidents plane crashes can happen at the most strange places where a survival kit can be the reason for your survival.
As time passes, flying might feel like second nature to you. This should not make you complacent for precaution is always better than care.