Pre-Solo Quick Card
A free two-page universal memory and briefing aid for the period around your first solo — printed, folded, and used beside the material that actually governs the flight.
Version 1.0 · Last reviewed September 3, 2026 · 2 pages · US Letter, landscape
What this card is for
- A repeatable pre-flight and pre-solo briefing sequence you can run with your instructor.
- Prompts for the decisions students most often skip under pressure — go/no-go, abort points, and what you will do if it does not look right.
- A place to hold the questions worth asking before the flight rather than after it.
Two important boundaries
- Universal, not aircraft-specific. It contains no airspeeds, no weights, no limitations, and no performance numbers for any airplane.
- Not an endorsement and not a solo authorization. Only a certificated flight instructor can issue the endorsements required to solo.
Limits
- Not a substitute for your flight instructor, and not instruction. Your CFI decides what you brief, what you practise, and whether you solo.
- Not a substitute for the AFM/POH or the manufacturer's checklist. Those documents are authoritative for your exact airplane and serial number.
- Not a substitute for the regulations. 14 CFR Part 61 and Part 91 govern; nothing here changes, interprets, or relaxes them.
- Not a substitute for local procedures. Airport, airspace, school and club rules take precedence over any general prompt on this card.
Educational reference only. Not flight instruction, not FAA-approved, and not a substitute for a certificated flight instructor, the AFM/POH, the checklist, the regulations, required endorsements, or local procedures.
The complete card
Where to go next
- Private Pilot Preparation
A diagnostic across knowledge, oral explanation, judgment, flight preparation and ATC communications, with your weakest areas named.
- Practice Communications
Practise the radio calls around the pattern and the local area out loud, and get scored on phrasing rather than on confidence.
- Flight Lesson PlannerRequires a free account
Prepare each lesson before you fly and debrief it afterwards, so the gaps you find become the next lesson's objectives.
- Daily PracticeRequires a free account
One short reviewed activity a day, so the pre-solo material stays current between lessons.
- Private Pilot Course
The complete training system: sequenced ground lessons, flight preparation, decision practice, and progress tracking.
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