The following is a guest post from fellow pilot, blogger, and friend Vincent of PlasticPilot.net
I’m a rental pilot, always jumping from plane to plane carrying all my stuff with me. The contents of my bag varies according to the planned type of flight. The IFR version of my bag is much more fluffy than the VFR version, but some components are part of both.
Handheld radio
I learned to fly in Geneva, a controlled airport, and a communication failure outside the CTR would mean diversion to a nearby airport accepting non-radio aircraft. Communication failure inside the CTR ? Light-gun signals. Do you remember them ? I also use the handheld to get my clearance before start-up on IFR flight to both save battery and make sure the handheld is working. One important note if you decide to buy one: buy a headset adapter as well. There is no way you can use a handheld in the cockpit of a flying aircraft using the built-in microphone and speaker, except may be during an engine failure.
Sunglasses
My eyes are overly sensitive to bright light. I can hardly drive without sunglasses so they are a must for each and every flight. I even have a spare part. Popping on top of crap weather on an IFR flight is always a great moment but getting in the sun without any kind of eyes protection… ouch. I flew for years with a pair of polarized RayBan but this is no good with glass-cockpits because of the possible interference with the LCD screens.
Pen, spare pen and spare spare pen
I write a lot in flight. I note down times, airport information, route clearances, altitude clearances, but also hobbs, time of fuel tank changes. I use one half to one sheet of paper per flight. Glass cockpits somehow help, with things like altitude bugs, but if this fails, I like to have a note of my last altitude clearance.
Logbook
I’m not sure it is a legal requirement but I always carry my logbook with me. Call mea tourist if you like, but I use to get my logbook stamped whenever I visit a new airport. I also use it as a holder for my medical certificate, which definitely is a must-carry document.
Portable GPS
This is the second part of my “get out of almost anything” plan, the first part being the handheld radio. There’s nothing I can carry that can compensate for an engine failure but radio, GPS and a bit of luck makes an electrical failure in IMC much easier to manage. Use the radio to manage an emergency and the GPS to navigate to an airport with VMC conditions.
When Jason proposed this cross-posting, he limited the list to 5 items. This is a bit hard for my chart clip, flashlight, headset, fuel tester and many other. Please visit this page to read more about products I recommend.
