Part 1. | Time Management
Time management skills are an equally important part of airmanship along with good aircraft handling, wise planning, and substantial theoretical background. In Flying Academy, we teach future airline pilots to perform their duties in a highly professional manner. Just like an airline, our Academy uses a scheduling system for our flights. Managing your departures and arrivals on time is indeed an inherent characteristic of a professional pilot.
Staying in line with the schedule also makes training more comfortable for you and your colleagues. Taking this into account, we ask you to adhere to this simple formula when planning your arrival time to the Academy:
Please bear in mind that there is no specific time when you have to start your flight preparation or arrive to the Academy, as time required to prepare your flight depends on several factors, such as:
- Your experience in flight preparation
- Your degree of familiarization with Flying Academy procedures and workflow
- Your experience in aircraft type
- The complexity of the route
- The Weather and the Season
- Purpose of flight (with/without instructor)
At the beginning of your training, your instructor certainly will guide you through the preparation process in great detail, but over time, more and more duties will be delegated to you. By the time you get your PPL license, you have to be able to manage your flights on your own as it is expected from the pilot in command. It definitely takes time, therefore, we strongly recommend you to be exceptionally responsible with regard to your flight preparation from the very beginning – it is an excellent way to get in the habit of using time effectively.Â
Do not postpone your flight preparation until the last moment. Urgency or time pressure are very dangerous stressors that impair the ability to make effective decisions and promote pilots to accept higher amounts of risk. This is an extremely undesirable, hazardous situation that could lead to or contribute to an unplanned or undesired event, such as an accident.
Tips for Better Time Management
Here are some keys that will help you manage your time with greater efficiency and minimize time-related pressure:
Start planning your flight one day before. Familiarize yourself with the weather forecast, prepare the route, identify your weak points that have to be improved. Begin your preparation with plenty of time to spare.
Organize your papers, equipment, records and anything else you use in flight preparation. When everything is in place and you know where each item is, you will never suffer the frustration of looking for it.
Think about the aim you are going to attain beforehand. For example, if you are planning to calculate mass and balance make sure you have all the information (aircraft weight protocol), materials (POH) and tools (weight and balance sheet) you need to make it. This will allow you to finish your task without interruptions.
Always look how you can optimize your work. The sooner you discover more efficient ways of performing your tasks, the sooner you will start saving your time.