Go or No-Go? Three Questions Every Pilot Should Be Able to Answer.

Every flight starts with a decision. Before you pull the airplane out of the hangar, before you brief the passengers, and before you crank the starter — three questions determine whether you fly.

They sound simple. The answers aren’t — and that gap is where accidents happen.

This free guide walks through the aeronautical decision-making framework I use with every student I teach: Can the airplane do it? Can I do it? Is it legal? Plus the cumulative risk check that catches the flights that look fine on paper but shouldn’t happen. I started developing this from a discussion I had in my initial CFI checkride with my DPE; he asked me about what it takes to make a go/no go decision, and during the following discussion, he sort of laid it out more simply than I had heard it before, and I knew I had to write down some ideas to develop and start passing along to my own students.

It’s not revolutionary, it’s just a simplified approach to all of the things we read about in the FAA textbooks. Simple to understand, but takes a lifetime to learning to master. CFI-developed. FAR-referenced. Short enough to read in a few minutes, even before a flight. I hope it’s helpful, and as always, I welcome feedback.

---

You’ll also receive the weekly Friday Flight Brief — a short email every Friday morning. Unsubscribe anytime.