Safety tips for GA flying post COVID-19

You love to fly and have felt bored and trapped in lockdown. But taking off again will require more than an informal ‘kick-the-tyres-and-light-the fires’ ritual, and more even than your normal preparations.

As a pilot you know the risks of novel situations. You are right to feel uneasy when they occur in the air: all your training and drills are devoted to ensuring that no situation you encounter in flight is truly novel. You always have a plan. And you need a plan before you take-off after lockdown, because COVID-19 has been a huge novel situation. You may be getting back into the air after what might be your longest period on the ground since getting your licence, and almost everything else that flies has been sitting idle too. One way to make your return safer is by using one of the simplest but most effective tools in aviation—the checklist.

The checklists provided by CASA are high-level ones you can use in addition to your aircraft and personal I’M SAFE/PAVE checklists. The Personal/Planning checklist should be done before you even arrive at the airfield. Doing the aircraft check a day early could save you a delay if anything pops up.

Read the checklists for returning to flying and keep up to date with CASA’s COVID-19 aviation support.