This stuff is coming back pretty quickly... yay! I do have to say, though, that a lot has changed since I first became a certificated private pilot. Yes, reading paper charts is a necessary fundamental for safe flying and navigation. But in the interceding years since last I sat left seat, I've be right seat, an armchair pilot, and a developer for ForeFlight. Digital tools like ForeFlight make it so easy to find out what you need to know.
For instance, one of the things I didn't remember was that the ticks coming out from an airport icon on a chart mean that during business hours, the airport offers services and fuel. Nowadays, I wouldn't look at a sectional to find that out; I'd see the airport on the sectional in ForeFlight and tap it to find out its details, including when it operates, whether it offers fuel (self-serve or by lineman), and so many other things from current METAR to frequencies to airport elevation and pattern altitude and so forth.
I'm not starting a discussion about digital v. paper. All I'm saying is that the information is easily and quickly available at a tap on the iPad. Barring device failure. And backup device failure. :)
Another thing to say about my approach to flying is that I'm a planner. I like to thoroughly debrief every spot along the projected path, all airports along the way, and really try to minimize surprises. That's probably the way of most student and low-time pilots like myself; but the killing zone is on the horizon, and that, I imagine, comes partly from complacency about these kinds of details.
Moving on... Airspaces. Almost everywhere I've ever flown has been Class E, like my primary training homebase of KJGG and now KUZA, or Class D (towered with no radar services), like KPHF. KUZA is a little more interesting since it's under one of Charlotte's Class B shelves. This means from the surface up to 3600' MSL we're in Class E and can fly under VFR rules and choose our own destinies. Once we go above 3600', or head into an inner ring of Charlotte airspace where the floors of the Class B shelves are lower, we must already be in contact with ATC, must have a Mode C transponder (reporting altitude and assigned code), and must follow their directions.
The main thing that's important to VFR pilots are the environmental rules. To participate in a VFR flight, you have to be able to see, and the minimum requirements are 3 statute miles of visibility (think low haze) and the ability to stay clear of clouds by at least 500 feet below, 1000 feet above, and 2000 feet horizontally. For safety.
Class B airspace is reserved for mega busy airports, like Chicago and Atlanta. Class A is used between 18000' MSL up to 60000' MSL (FL180-FL600) and requires an IFR flight plan. Above that, it goes back to Class E, but you usually only find space-faring vehicles there....
There's also a Class G airspace, but that's rare, except to bush pilots in Alaska. The rules there are fewer yet, and almost boil down to common sense. (Update: I think I'm wrong here; abundance of airports just makes it more practical to treat non-controlled airspace on the east coast as all Class E.)
Special airspaces, MOAs, restricted airspaces, ADIZs, ... all on the charts. TFRs change airspaces periodically and must be verified before takeoff. NOTAMs should also be consulted before takeoff, but usually pertain to non-standard airport operations (equipment that's offline, change in traffic pattern, scheduled event altering landing availability, etc).
Moving on.... Communicating. The transponder is what allows radars to find an aircraft. The radar pings, and the transponder responds. Mode C transponders report both the squawk code and altitude, and are required to interact with ATC. When flying VFR (without flight following), the transponder is set to the VFR code of 1200. The transponder will still respond to pings, but ATC will only know that there's somebody out there at that location and altitude; this is helpful for advising any pilot of traffic (you!). Though transponders are nearly ubiquitous, they are not required for VFR operations and so traffic may be out there that ATC can't see and that your in-cockpit traffic advisor (traffic scope, ADS-B) can't alert about. That alone underscores the importance of a VFR pilot maintaining situational awareness and keeping a good scan going.
Other important squawk codes are 7500 (hijack), 7600 (lost communications), and 7700 (mayday). When dialing in a code, it's important to be mindful that these aren't entered accidentally, even for a moment.
Radio communications should be brief, concise and professional. CTAF (common traffic advisory frequency) is published for each non-towered airport, or towered airports when unattended, and is how aircraft in the area coordinate and avoid each other; it's also usually the frequency the pilot would use to activate pilot-controlled lighting for night operations. UNICOM, sometimes the same as CTAF, allows the pilot to talk to someone at the airport for advisories, to request fuel, etc.
Lots of times, the same frequency is used at multiple airports and you'll hear transmissions that are irrelevant. It's important to (1) listen for the location of the other transmissions and (2) remember to include yours. The standard flow for self-announcing via CTAF is "Audience, identification, message (frequently location and intention), audience." For instance, "Rock Hill traffic, Cessna 4321A, 10 miles southwest of the airport inbound for landing runway 20, other traffic please advise, Rock Hill." Proper radio usage also means not "stepping on" other transmissions; only one person should be speaking at a time, so wait until the freq is clear before starting your transmission.
When talking with ATC, you typically hail them and state your identification, then wait for them to get back to you. There's a good chance they're managing other aircraft and may be busy at the moment. "Charlotte approach, Cessna 4321A." This applies at towered airports as well. You need to engage the controller before starting the conversation. This gets a lot more important when flying IFR, so I'm not going to dwell on it here. Also, the flying I expect to do in the near term will not use this, so I'll get more detailed when the time comes.
In case of lost communications, there are some basic troubleshooting steps to take, like verifying the frequency, checking that the headset is plugged in, and trying the alternate transceiver (radio). If all else fails, squawk 7600 and be extra vigilant. For landing in Class D airspace, you'll need to watch the tower for light signals -- this is a good time to reference the signal legend you have on your kneeboard or in ForeFlight.
7700 on the transponder usually goes with 121.5 on the radio (although if already interacting with ATC you'll probably keep these comm settings as they are unless instructed otherwise). 121.5 is the mayday frequency. Distress signals are started with "MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY." Urgent situations start with "PAN-PAN, PAN-PAN, PAN-PAN." The aircraft's ELT (emergency locator transmitter) also broadcasts on 121.5 automatically upon impact. The freq should be checked periodically to make sure your ELT isn't sending false alarms, and there are procedures governing testing the ELT.
Moving on... Information. A/FD. FAR/AIM. NOTAMs. ACs. If not getting it from ForeFlight, faa.gov would be my next resource, especially for NOTAMs and TFRs, and in the air an FSS or UNICOM can be consulted for up-to-date advisories.
Next: Weather! (Thanks to intermittent work with ForeFlight, this part should be quick.) Aircraft performance and weight and balance. Navigation.
