Four printable student pilot resources, free, with no email address asked for. A passenger safety briefing card, a VFR navigation log with a worked Van Nuys to Santa Barbara trip, a weight-and-balance worksheet for our Piper Warrior PA-28-161, and a pre-solo knowledge study list organized the way 14 CFR 61.87(b) is organized. Each prints on one or two sheets straight from your browser. Each was written by our instructors for the airplanes and the airspace at Van Nuys, so the frequencies, distances and limits on them are the ones you will use.
These sheets belong to our guide to student pilot resources, which walks through the certificate, the medical, the written and the checkride in the order they happen. That page tells you what is coming. This one gives you the paper you carry out to the airplane. A nav log you fill in at the kitchen table the night before a cross-country teaches you more than any app will, at least until you can do the arithmetic without thinking about it. That is the point at which the app becomes safe to lean on.
How To Print Each Sheet
Every resource on this page is a plain block of HTML with its own print styling, so there is nothing to download and no PDF reader to fight with. Click the "print this sheet" link at the top of the block you want. That jumps the page to the block. Press Ctrl+P on Windows or Cmd+P on a Mac and the print view hides the site header, the menus, the photographs and the rest of the article, and prints only that block. If you print without clicking a link first, all four sheets print in a row with a page break between them. Landscape suits the nav log. Portrait suits the other three.
Older browsers ignore the trick and print the whole page. If that happens, set the page range in the print dialog, or copy the block into a document. Either way, print two copies of the nav log and the W&B sheet before a cross-country: one to fill in, one to spoil.
None of this replaces the pilot's operating handbook, the current Los Angeles sectional or the Chart Supplement. Frequencies change, and weight-and-balance figures for a specific airplane come from that airplane's own weighing record, not from a web page. We repeat that inside each section because students skip it.
Passenger Safety Briefing Card
The briefing is a legal requirement before it is a courtesy. 14 CFR 91.107(a)(1) says no pilot may take off unless the pilot in command makes sure each person on board has been briefed on how to fasten and unfasten the safety belt and, if installed, the shoulder harness. Paragraph (a)(2) requires that everyone be told to fasten them before the airplane moves on the surface. That is the whole legal minimum. Everything else on the card, the door, the sterile cockpit, what to do if the pilot slumps over, is what a good pilot adds on top.
One thing to get straight first. Under 14 CFR 61.89(a)(1) a student pilot may not act as pilot in command of an aircraft that is carrying a passenger, so you will not use this card on any solo flight. You will use it the week after your checkride, when your first passenger is your partner or your father and you are more nervous than you were with the examiner. Learn it now, on the ground, and practice it on your instructor at the start of dual flights. Our CFIs give a version of it before every discovery flight in the Warrior, so if you have flown one with us you have already heard it once.
Keep the card on your kneeboard. Say every line out loud, in order, with the airplane stopped and the engine off. Do not skip the incapacitation item because it feels awkward; passengers are calmer, not more frightened, when they know there is a plan. Fill the square brackets in for the airplane you are flying that day. The Warrior has a single door on the right and a wing walk; the Cessna 162 has a door each side; the Diamond DA20 has a canopy that lifts. The words change, the order does not.
Print this sheet (jump here, then press Ctrl+P or Cmd+P)
Passenger Safety Briefing Card, Single-Engine Airplane
Aircraft: ____________ Tail number: ____________ Date: ____________ Pilot in command: ____________
- Seat belt and shoulder harness. "Your lap belt fastens like this and releases by lifting the buckle. The shoulder harness clips into the same buckle. Keep both fastened while we taxi, take off and land. Once we are level in cruise you may loosen the shoulder harness, but the lap belt stays fastened for the whole flight."
- Seat, feet and hands. "Your seat locks here. Rock it forward and back to check it is latched. Keep your feet flat on the floor and away from the rudder pedals, and keep your hands off the yoke unless I hand you the controls and you say you have them."
- Doors and exits. "This airplane has [one door on the right side / a door on each side / a lifting canopy]. The handle works like this: [show it]. That door is our exit. If we ever need to leave the airplane in a hurry, unbuckle, open the door, step onto the wing walk, and walk to the rear, away from the propeller. Never walk toward the front of the airplane."
- Fire extinguisher and first-aid kit. "The extinguisher is [location]. Pull the pin, aim at the base of the flames and squeeze. The first-aid kit is [location]."
- Headset and intercom. "Speak normally; the microphone works best almost touching your lip. When you hear the tower talking, or hear me talking to the tower, please wait until we have finished before you speak."
- Sterile cockpit. "From engine start until I tell you we are level, and again from the start of the descent until the engine is shut down, I need quiet unless you see another airplane or something that looks wrong. If you see traffic, point at it and say where it is. Do not assume I have seen it."
- Air sickness. "If you start to feel warm or queasy, tell me early. Look at the horizon, open the vent for cool air, and I will fly smoother and straighter. The sick bags are [location]. Nobody minds, and telling me early is what stops it getting worse."
- Touching things. "Please do not touch any switch, the fuel selector, the flap lever or the trim wheel. If you drop something on the floor, leave it there until I say it is safe to reach for it."
- If the pilot becomes incapacitated. "If I become unresponsive, here is the plan. First, hold the yoke gently and keep the nose on the horizon and the wings level; this airplane is stable and wants to fly straight. Second, press the push-to-talk button on the yoke, which is this one, and say 'Mayday, mayday, mayday, the pilot is unconscious'. If nobody answers, turn the top radio to 121.5, which is this knob, and say it again. Third, set the transponder to 7700, which is this box. Then follow the instructions from air traffic control; they will talk you through it. Leave the throttle where it is until they tell you what to do with it."
- Questions. "Is there anything you want to ask before we start the engine?"
Pilot's signature: ____________ Passenger briefed, initials: ____________
VFR Navigation Log With A Worked Van Nuys To Santa Barbara Trip
A VFR navigation log is the flight on paper before you fly it. It lists each checkpoint, the course and distance between them, the groundspeed once wind is applied, the time for each leg, the clock time at each checkpoint, the fuel burned and the frequencies. 14 CFR 91.103 requires every pilot in command, before a flight away from the airport, to become familiar with all available information including fuel requirements and alternatives available if the flight cannot be completed. The log is how you prove to yourself, and later to the examiner, that you did.
The worked example is the trip nearly every private pilot student at Van Nuys flies at some point: KVNY west to Camarillo, then along the coast to Santa Barbara. The distances are great-circle figures computed from the published airport coordinates: 30.0 NM from Van Nuys to Camarillo and 39.2 NM from Camarillo to Santa Barbara, 69.2 NM in total against 68.3 NM direct. The Camarillo VOR sits on the Camarillo field and the Chart Supplement lists it at 39.2 NM from Santa Barbara, which is how we checked our own arithmetic. The wind is a sample forecast of 270° at 15 knots, chosen because a westerly headwind is what you usually get on this route in the afternoon. The true airspeed of 115 knots and the fuel burn of 9 gallons per hour are the cruise figures published on our Piper Warrior PA-28-161 page. For a real flight take the numbers from the POH performance chart for your power setting and altitude. Variation is taken as 12° east from the isogonic line on the Los Angeles sectional. Check the current chart.
Reading the columns left to right. A checkpoint is something you can see from the air and find on the chart. True course (TC) comes off the plotter. Wind correction angle (WCA) comes from the wind side of the E6B. True course plus or minus the WCA gives true heading (TH), and subtracting easterly variation gives magnetic heading (MH), which is the number you fly. Groundspeed (GS) comes from the same E6B solution. Distance divided by groundspeed gives estimated time en route (ETE); adding that to the last estimated time of arrival gives the next ETA. Fuel for the leg is ETE multiplied by the burn rate, plus a fixed allowance for start, taxi, run-up and climb, which we take as 1.5 gallons in the Warrior.
Westbound on a magnetic course between 180° and 359°, 14 CFR 91.159(a)(2) puts you at an even thousand plus 500 feet once you are more than 3,000 feet above the surface. So 4,500 feet is the normal cruise altitude for this trip. Fuel reserve under 14 CFR 91.151(a) is enough to fly to the first point of intended landing and then for at least 30 minutes by day or 45 minutes at night at normal cruising speed. We plan for an hour. The log below carries 4.5 gallons as the legal day reserve and shows the total against the Warrior's 48 usable gallons.
On leg one the wind is almost straight down the nose, so the correction angle rounds to zero and the groundspeed drops from 115 to 100 knots. On leg two the course swings right to 289° true, the wind is now slightly from the left, and the E6B gives a 2° left correction and 101 knots. The whole trip takes 41 minutes and burns about 6.2 gallons in cruise. That is the sort of arithmetic the examiner will ask you to explain, so do it by hand for at least one leg before you let the app do the rest.
Piper Warrior PA-28-161 Weight And Balance Worksheet
Weight and balance is the second thing an examiner asks to see after the nav log. It is also the first thing that catches a student out on a hot Valley afternoon with a passenger in the back. The worksheet below is set up for the Piper Warrior PA-28-161, the airplane most of our private pilot students fly their cross-countries in (N3034Q and N6312C). The fixed figures on it are the ones already published on our Warrior page. Maximum gross weight is 2,325 pounds. Usable fuel is 48 gallons in two 25-gallon wing tanks (50 gallons total), and a full load weighs roughly 288 pounds at 6 pounds per gallon. The baggage compartment is limited to 200 pounds. Typical empty weight is approximately 1,350 pounds, which leaves a typical useful load of approximately 950 to 980 pounds.
We have deliberately left the arms, the moments and the center-of-gravity envelope blank. Those numbers belong to the individual airplane, they change every time an avionics shop fits a radio, and the only legal source is the current weight-and-balance record in that airplane's POH. Copy them across before you fill in a single weight. Do not use another Warrior's figures and do not use the ones printed in a study guide. The same goes for the empty weight: use the record, not our typical figure, because a 30-pound difference in empty weight is a 30-pound difference in what you may carry.
Two habits worth building early. Run the arithmetic for takeoff and again for landing. A load that is inside the envelope at Van Nuys with full tanks can sit differently after 40 minutes of fuel burn, and the landing line on the sheet is not decoration. And weigh people honestly, yourself included. Our Warrior discovery flights carry a published 180-pound per-person booking limit; the worksheet is where the real limit for any particular flight comes from. On a 95°F day with a heavy passenger it will be density altitude and climb performance, not the envelope, that tells you to leave fuel behind.
Print this sheet (jump here, then press Ctrl+P or Cmd+P)
Weight And Balance Worksheet, Piper Warrior PA-28-161
Tail number: ______ Date: ______ Pilot: ______ Source of empty weight, arms and envelope (POH revision date): ______
| Item | Weight (lb) | Arm (in, from the aircraft record) | Moment (lb-in) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic empty weight (from this airplane's current W&B record; typical for the type approximately 1,350 lb) | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| Pilot, front left seat | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| Front right seat | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| Rear seats (both occupants) | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| Baggage (limit 200 lb) | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| Zero-fuel weight and moment (sum of the rows above) | ______ | ______ | |
| Fuel at takeoff (usable 48 gal maximum × 6 lb/gal; full tanks roughly 288 lb) | ______ gal × 6 = ______ | ______ | ______ |
| Takeoff weight and moment (limit 2,325 lb) | ______ | ______ | |
| Takeoff CG = total moment ÷ total weight | ______ in. Inside the envelope from the POH? Yes / No | ||
| Item | Weight (lb) | Arm (in) | Moment (lb-in) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Takeoff weight and moment (from above) | ______ | ______ | |
| Fuel burned en route (from the nav log, gal × 6) | − ______ | ______ | − ______ |
| Landing weight and moment | ______ | ______ | |
| Landing CG = moment ÷ weight | ______ in. Inside the envelope? Yes / No | ||
Checks: takeoff weight 2,325 lb or less ______ · baggage 200 lb or less ______ · useful load available (2,325 minus basic empty weight; typical approximately 950 to 980 lb) ______ · fuel on board meets the nav log requirement including reserve ______ · density altitude and takeoff distance checked from the POH chart ______
Pre-Solo Knowledge Study List, Organized By 14 CFR 61.87(b)
Before your first solo, 14 CFR 61.87(b) requires you to demonstrate satisfactory aeronautical knowledge on a test. It covers three things: the applicable sections of Parts 61 and 91, the airspace rules and procedures for the airport where the solo will be flown, and the flight characteristics and operational limitations of the make and model of aircraft you will fly. Your instructor administers the test and, under 61.87(b)(2)(ii), reviews every incorrect answer with you before authorizing the solo. There is no FAA-issued pre-solo test and there is no pass mark in the regulation. The standard is that your instructor is satisfied you know the material, which is a higher bar than 70 per cent.
That is why a pre-solo written test PDF from another school is of limited use. The Part 61 and Part 91 questions will overlap, but the airport section will be about their airport and the aircraft section about their airplane. Ours is about a Class D field under the Los Angeles Class B, with two parallel runways and a tower on 119.3 and 120.2. The airplane is a Piper Warrior, a Cessna 162 or a Diamond DA20, depending on your course. The list below is the study guide we hand our own students in the week before the test. It follows the three groups in the regulation so that nothing is missed. Where an item is specific to the airplane or the field, it is left for you to fill in from the POH, the Chart Supplement and the current airport diagram. The format of the test itself is up to your instructor.
The knowledge test is only one of the gates. 61.87(c) and (d) list the flight training and the maneuvers you must have received and logged before solo, and 61.87(n) requires a make-and-model endorsement given within the 90 days before the flight. The list below covers knowledge only. What happens on the day itself is described on our page about your first solo flight.
Print this sheet (jump here, then press Ctrl+P or Cmd+P)
Pre-Solo Knowledge Study List
Student: ______ Instructor: ______ Aircraft make and model: ______ Solo airport: Van Nuys (KVNY) Target date: ______
Group 1. Applicable Sections Of 14 CFR Parts 61 And 91 (61.87(b)(1)(i))
- 61.3: which documents must be on your person to fly (student pilot certificate, medical certificate, photo ID) and who may ask to see them.
- 61.23: which class of medical a student pilot needs to solo and how long it lasts at your age.
- 61.51: how to log solo time, dual time and pilot-in-command time as a student.
- 61.87: what the solo endorsement covers, the make-and-model limitation, and the 90-day rule in 61.87(n).
- 61.89: the general limitations on student pilots, including no passengers, no flying for compensation or in furtherance of a business, 3 statute miles visibility by day and 5 at night, visual reference to the surface at all times, and any limitation your instructor writes in your logbook.
- 61.93: what will be required before solo cross-country, so you know what comes next.
- 91.3: the pilot in command's authority and responsibility, and the emergency deviation rule.
- 91.17: alcohol and drugs, including the 8-hour rule and the 0.04 blood alcohol limit.
- 91.103: preflight action, including runway lengths and takeoff and landing distances.
- 91.107: safety belts and shoulder harnesses.
- 91.111 and 91.113: operating near other aircraft and the right-of-way rules, including who gives way to whom and the rule for two aircraft on final.
- 91.117: aircraft speed limits below 10,000 feet, within Class D and under the Class B.
- 91.119: minimum safe altitudes over congested areas, other areas and open water.
- 91.121: altimeter settings and when to update them.
- 91.123: compliance with ATC clearances and instructions, and what to do if you cannot comply.
- 91.125: ATC light gun signals, on the ground and in flight, for a radio failure.
- 91.129 and 91.131: operating in Class D airspace and in Class B airspace, including the two-way radio requirement and the specific Class B clearance rule.
- 91.151: fuel requirements for VFR flight (30 minutes day, 45 minutes night).
- 91.155: basic VFR weather minimums by airspace class.
- 91.159: VFR cruising altitudes.
- 91.205: required instruments and equipment for day VFR and night VFR.
- 91.207: the ELT.
- 91.213: flying with inoperative equipment.
- 91.215: transponder and Mode C, including the 30-nautical-mile Mode C veil around Los Angeles International that Van Nuys sits inside.
- 91.409 and 91.417: annual and 100-hour inspections and how to find them in the maintenance records.
- NTSB Part 830: what counts as an accident or incident and what must be reported.
Group 2. Airspace Rules And Procedures At Van Nuys (61.87(b)(1)(ii))
- The Van Nuys Class D: its lateral boundary and its ceiling, from the current Los Angeles terminal area chart. Ceiling: ______ ft MSL.
- The Los Angeles Class B shelves above and around the Valley: the floor over Van Nuys ______ ft MSL and where the floors change on the way to the practice area.
- Burbank Class C, about 11 miles east, and Whiteman, about 6 miles northeast: where their airspace begins relative to the Van Nuys pattern.
- Frequencies: ATIS 127.55, Clearance Delivery 126.6, Ground 121.7, Tower 119.3 and 120.2, SoCal Approach and Departure 120.4 (verify all four on the current Chart Supplement).
- Runways: 16R/34L is 8,001 feet and 16L/34R is 4,000 feet; which runway the tower assigns to training aircraft and what "same-side parallel" means for your pattern.
- Traffic pattern altitude for light aircraft ______ ft MSL, the pattern direction for each runway ______, and the published noise abatement procedures for departures and the pattern.
- The taxi route from our ramp at 7900 Balboa Blvd to each runway, every hold-short line, and the hot spots marked on the current airport diagram: ______.
- Runway incursion avoidance: read-backs of hold-short and runway crossing instructions, what "line up and wait" means, and what to do when you are unsure of your position on the field.
- Wake turbulence from business jets, which use Van Nuys constantly: the 2-minute and 3-minute rules and where to rotate and touch down behind a departing or landing jet.
- Lost communications in Class D: squawk 7600, the light gun signals, and how to get back into the pattern.
- Emergencies: 121.5, the 7700 squawk, and the emergency fields between the practice area and Van Nuys.
- The practice area your instructor uses ______, how to get there and back under the Class B shelf, and the altitudes you may use.
- Weather sources: ATIS, the METAR and TAF for KVNY, the aviation weather briefing, and how the marine layer behaves over the Valley in May and June.
- Your instructor's solo limitations: maximum wind, maximum crosswind, minimum ceiling and visibility for your solo, and where you are allowed to go. Written in the logbook on: ______.
Group 3. Flight Characteristics And Operational Limitations Of Your Airplane (61.87(b)(1)(iii))
- The V-speeds, from memory: Vso ______, Vs ______, Vx ______, Vy ______, Va at maximum weight ______ and why it falls at lighter weights, Vfe ______, Vno ______, Vne ______, best glide ______. (For the Warrior our aircraft page lists Vso 44, Vs 50, Vx 63, Vy 79, Va 111, Vfe 103, Vno 126, Vne 160 and best glide 73 KIAS; confirm them against the POH for your tail number.)
- The engine: make, model and rated power (the Warrior's Lycoming O-320 makes 160 hp at 2,700 rpm), the fuel grade, the oil quantity range from the POH ______, and the maximum oil temperature and pressure.
- The fuel system: total and usable capacity (Warrior: 50 gallons total, 48 usable, in two tanks), how the fuel selector works and whether it has a "both" position, when the electric fuel pump must be on, and how to check fuel quantity by sight.
- Weights and limits: maximum gross weight (Warrior 2,325 lb), baggage limit (Warrior 200 lb), and the CG envelope from the POH.
- Flap settings and the airspeed limit for each; the flap system (manual lever or electric).
- Stall characteristics of the type, the stall warning system, and the spin recovery procedure.
- Emergency procedures from memory: engine failure after takeoff, engine failure in cruise, engine fire on start, engine fire in flight, electrical fire, alternator failure, and a door opening in flight.
- Normal procedures: the checklist flow for preflight, start, run-up (including the magneto and carburetor heat checks), takeoff, cruise, descent, landing and shutdown.
- Performance: takeoff and landing distance from the POH charts at Van Nuys (elevation 802 feet) on a hot afternoon, and how density altitude changes them.
- Maximum demonstrated crosswind component from the POH ______, and how to compute the crosswind component from the ATIS wind.
- Required documents on board (airworthiness certificate, registration, operating limitations or POH, weight-and-balance data) and where each one lives in the airplane.
- Electrical system: bus voltage, the alternator and battery, circuit breakers and what to do when one pops.
Test taken on: ______ Incorrect answers reviewed with instructor on: ______ Instructor signature: ______
Related Reading
- Student pilot resources: the certificate, the medical, the written and the checkride in the order they happen.
- Piper Warrior PA-28-161: the specifications and V-speeds behind the weight-and-balance sheet and the nav log.
- Your first solo flight: the 61.87 flight training, the maneuvers and the endorsements.
- Private pilot cross-country requirements: the solo cross-country rules that the nav log feeds into.
- The FAA checkride: what the examiner does with your nav log and W&B on the day.
- Van Nuys Airport: the runways, the Class D and the Class B shelf that the study list asks about.
- Site map: every page on this site, grouped by topic.
- ForeFlight for student pilots: which plan to buy and what to ignore.
Student Download Questions
Are These Student Pilot Downloads Free?
Yes. There is no sign-up, no email address and no PDF hidden behind a form; every sheet prints directly from this page. They were written by our instructors for training at Van Nuys, so the frequencies, runways and aircraft figures are ours. Students at other schools are welcome to use them, but should replace the airport and aircraft items with their own.
Can A Student Pilot Carry A Passenger To Practice The Briefing?
No. 14 CFR 61.89(a)(1) prohibits a student pilot from acting as pilot in command of an aircraft carrying a passenger, on solo flights or otherwise. Practice the briefing on your instructor at the start of dual lessons; the first time it counts is the first flight after your private pilot checkride.
Where Do The Weight-And-Balance Arms And Moments Come From?
From the individual airplane's current weight-and-balance record in its POH, which is why those cells on our worksheet are blank. The only figures we prefill are the ones published on our Warrior page: 2,325 lb maximum gross weight, 48 gallons usable fuel and a 200 lb baggage limit, plus a typical empty weight of approximately 1,350 lb. Use the record, not the typical figure.
How Far Is Van Nuys To Santa Barbara By Air?
68.3 nautical miles direct, or 69.2 nautical miles via Camarillo (30.0 NM plus 39.2 NM), computed from the published airport coordinates. In a Piper Warrior at 115 knots true airspeed with a 15-knot westerly headwind the trip takes about 41 minutes and burns about 6.2 gallons in cruise at 9 gallons per hour. Add the taxi and climb allowance and the 30-minute day reserve required by 14 CFR 91.151(a)(1).
Do I Still Need A Paper Nav Log If I Use ForeFlight?
During training, yes. Examiners routinely ask a private pilot applicant to plan at least one leg by hand and to explain every number on it. A tablet that overheats on the glareshield in August is not an excuse on the day. Learn the E6B and the plotter first, then use the app as a cross-check.
Who Writes And Grades The Pre-Solo Written Test?
Your own instructor, under 14 CFR 61.87(b). The FAA does not issue a standard pre-solo test. The instructor administers it and must review every incorrect answer with you before authorizing the solo. It covers Parts 61 and 91, the airspace and procedures at the solo airport, and the limitations of the make and model.
How Much Fuel Reserve Does A VFR Cross-Country Need?
14 CFR 91.151(a) requires enough fuel to reach the first point of intended landing and then fly for at least 30 minutes by day or 45 minutes at night at normal cruising speed. In the Warrior at 9 gallons per hour that is 4.5 gallons by day. We plan our students' cross-countries with an hour in reserve, which is 9 gallons.
Fly The Route With An Instructor
If you have not started training yet, the fastest way to find out whether you will enjoy this is an hour in the airplane. A discovery flight is $229 for 60 minutes in the Warrior, you fly it from the left seat, and the time is logged toward your certificate. If you already hold a student pilot certificate and want a school that will hand you a nav log rather than an app, book a free consultation and bring your logbook. Call (818) 330-1318 any day from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM. We are at 7900 Balboa Blvd, Van Nuys, CA 91406, on Van Nuys Airport.