How to plan a VFR cross-country flight
15 min readStep by step, with a worked example
- Plan a VFR cross-country from route choice to a finished navigation log
- Turn a true course into the magnetic and compass heading you'll actually fly
- Work out groundspeed, time and fuel, including the legal reserve
- Check the weather, NOTAMs, airspace, weight and balance, and performance before you go
Flight planning is where most of a cross-country is won or lost. The FAA requires it: before any flight away from the airport, the pilot in command must become familiar with all available information, including weather, fuel requirements, alternatives, runway lengths, and takeoff and landing distances (14 CFR 91.103). Here is the process in the order most instructors teach it.
1. Pick the route
Lay out the sectional chart and draw a line from departure to destination. Then look along that line and about 10 NM either side for:
- Airspace: Class B, C and D boundaries, restricted areas, MOAs, and TFRs (TFRs are in NOTAMs, not on the chart).
- Terrain and obstacles: check the maximum elevation figures (MEFs) in each quadrangle.
- Alternates: airports along the route you could divert to.
Bend the route around anything you can't or don't want to fly through. A route that follows highways or passes over towns is easier to navigate and safer if the engine quits.
2. Choose checkpoints
Pick a checkpoint every 10 to 25 NM: things that are easy to see and hard to confuse, like a lake, a highway crossing, a town with a racetrack, or a tall tower. Pick your first checkpoint close to the departure airport so you know right away whether you're on course.
3. Measure true course and distance
With a plotter, measure each leg's true course against a line of longitude near the middle of the leg, and its distance in nautical miles using the sectional scale (1:500,000). The flight planner does this for airport-to-airport legs.
4. Pick a cruising altitude
Above 3,000 feet AGL, VFR cruising altitudes follow the hemispheric rule (91.159), based on magnetic course:
| Magnetic course | Cruise at | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 0° to 179° | Odd thousands + 500 ft | 3,500 · 5,500 · 7,500 |
| 180° to 359° | Even thousands + 500 ft | 4,500 · 6,500 · 8,500 |
Also consider terrain clearance, airspace floors and ceilings, the winds aloft at each altitude, and cloud bases.
5. Get the winds aloft and solve the wind triangle
Winds aloft forecasts give direction in degrees true and speed in knots. With the true course, true airspeed (from the POH cruise chart) and wind, find the wind correction angle, true heading and groundspeed on your E6B or the E6B calculator.
Then convert to the heading you'll fly. The order matters:
Variation comes from the isogonic lines on the sectional: "east is least, west is best" (subtract east, add west). Deviation comes from the compass correction card in the airplane.
6. Time and fuel
For each leg, time = distance ÷ groundspeed × 60. Fuel = time × fuel burn. Add fuel for start, taxi and run-up and for the climb (the POH has a time-fuel-distance to climb chart). Then add the legal reserve (91.151): enough to fly to the first point of intended landing and then for 30 minutes by day or 45 minutes at night at normal cruise. Many pilots use a personal minimum of an hour.
7. Weight and balance, and performance
Compute weight and balance for takeoff and for landing (fuel burned moves the CG). Then use the POH charts with the expected density altitude, weight and wind to get takeoff and landing distances at every airport you'll use, and compare them with the runway lengths in the Chart Supplement. See the course lessons on performance and weight and balance.
8. Weather, NOTAMs and the briefing
Get a full weather briefing (Flight Service at 1-800-WX-BRIEF or 1800wxbrief.com, or approved sources). Check METARs and TAFs along the route and at your destination and alternates, AIRMETs, SIGMETs, PIREPs, the winds aloft, and every NOTAM and TFR. Compare everything with your personal minimums. Your home airport's live weather and go/no-go check is on Today.
9. Fill in the navigation log and file a flight plan
Your navigation log lists each leg's checkpoint, course, heading, distance, groundspeed, time and fuel, with blank columns for actual times. File a VFR flight plan with Flight Service (91.153 lists what goes in it), open it after takeoff, and close it when you land. Search and rescue may start about 30 minutes after your ETA if you don't. Consider asking ATC for VFR flight following as well.
10. In flight: compare plan to reality
Note the time at each checkpoint. If you're behind, the wind is stronger than forecast: recompute groundspeed, time and fuel. If you're drifting off course, the 1-in-60 rule helps: 1° of error puts you about 1 NM off course for every 60 NM flown. If anything doesn't add up, divert early.
Worked example
True course 075°, distance 63 NM, true airspeed 110 knots, wind from 320° true at 20 knots, variation 11° E, fuel burn 8.5 gal/hr, day VFR.
| Wind angle | 320° − 075° = 245° |
| Crosswind | 20 × sin 245° = −18.1 kt (from the left) |
| Wind correction angle | asin(−18.1 ÷ 110) ≈ −9.5°, so correct about 9° left |
| True heading | 075° − 9° ≈ 066° |
| Magnetic heading | 066° − 11° (east is least) = 055° |
| Groundspeed | 110 × cos 9.5° − 20 × cos 245° ≈ 108.5 + 8.5 ≈ 117 kt (a tailwind component) |
| Time en route | 63 ÷ 117 × 60 ≈ 32 min |
| Fuel | (32 + 30 reserve) ÷ 60 × 8.5 ≈ 8.8 gal, plus taxi and climb |
Try it yourself in the E6B, then plan full legs in flight planning practice.
Key takeaways
- Route, checkpoints, course and distance, altitude, winds, then headings, time and fuel.
- True course → true heading → magnetic heading → compass heading. East is least, west is best.
- Fuel reserve: 30 minutes by day, 45 at night (91.151), plus taxi and climb.
- Brief the weather, NOTAMs and TFRs, and check weight, balance and performance every time.
Check yourself
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