Cross-country flight planning — fuel, alternates, VFR minimums
Cross-country planning under 14 CFR 91.103 requires the pilot to become familiar with all available information concerning the flight. Required pre-flight items:
• **Runway lengths at airports of intended use** and takeoff/landing distance data. • **Weather reports and forecasts** for departure, en route, and destination. • **Known traffic delays** reported by ATC. • **Alternatives** in case the flight cannot be completed as planned.
**VFR fuel requirements (14 CFR 91.151):** day VFR — enough fuel to fly to the first point of intended landing plus 30 minutes at normal cruising; night VFR — plus 45 minutes.
**VFR basic weather minimums (14 CFR 91.155):** Class B — 3 SM / clear of clouds. Class C/D/E below 10,000 MSL — 3 SM, 500 ft below, 1,000 ft above, 2,000 ft horizontal. Above 10,000 MSL — 5 SM, 1,000 below, 1,000 above, 1 SM horizontal.
Use a navigation log with true course, wind correction angle, magnetic heading (true ± variation ± deviation), groundspeed, ETE, and fuel burn per leg. Pilotage + dead reckoning is the foundational method; GPS is a permitted supplement but not a substitute.