When Should You Cancel a Flight?

Frustration seems to be an almost integral element of flight training--especially when a scheduled lesson is canceled. Sometimes, planned lessons have to be scrubbed at the last minute, disrupting what the syllabus lays out as a steady, uninterrupted progression toward the goal of a pilot's certificate. During the winter months in some areas of the country, you may scrub as many lessons as you actually get to fly. The fact that you sometimes can't fly as planned is a fact of life, so, in a way, a canceled lesson is simply part of learning about operating an aircraft safely. But that doesn't make it any less disheartening.

Student pilots don't always have an understanding of the limitations associated with flight in general aviation aircraft. They may see a light airplane as an alternative to their automobile---a faster way to cover the territory or make a trip to grandmother's house. They may have heard that adding an instrument rating to their private pilot certificate will enable them to fly right through pesky weather. But for now, the training schedule seems to be more off than on, as strong winds, low ceilings, and precipitation threats cause lessons to be canceled.

It isn't always the weather, of course. Cancellations can outnumber completed flights for a variety of reasons. The reality of flying light airplanes is that they do have limitations, and the pilots who fly them also must respect their own limits. Along with that, flight training has to be conducted under conditions suitable for the phase of flight being taught, and that means other flights may be departing while yours is canceled.

As badly as an instructor wants to fly with a student, he should not waste the student's money attempting to teach in unsuitable conditions, nor should he flout safety by pushing the limits. Stall recovery practice, for instance, requires a ceiling of no less than 2,500 feet---500 feet of clearance below the cloud base, another 500 feet of altitude than can be lost during recovery from the stall, and a minimum of 1,500 feet above ground level after the recovery is complete. If there's not enough ceiling available, we'll just have to do something else and work on stalls another day--even if they were next in the curriculum.

Learning to take off and land is extremely frustrating if the wind is uncooperative. Student pilots don't need a 15-knot crosswind when they are attempting to master the flare and hold-off leading to touchdown, or during the nose-high liftoff from a soft field. The added challenge of crossing the controls to counter a crosswind, while simultaneously trying to maintain a pitch attitude inches above the runway, is beyond many a low-time pilot's ability. Even a wind that's straight down the runway can thwart a student's progress, as he or she battles the gusts and tries to patiently transition into a landing attitude.

If my student has already had enough gusty wind conditions during the last couple of lessons, I'll probably cancel the third session for a smoother day. I can't see charging for a lesson that results in no progress toward the goal--such as a first solo flight and the confidence that leads up to it. That's not to say I won't give dual instruction under less-than-ideal circumstances. But there comes a time when enough is enough.

Quitting too easily

Conversely, I don't believe in just fair-weather flying, because students have to be exposed to varying degrees of imperfection to learn how to handle real-life weather. Better to learn this with an instructor than to experience it for the first time on their own. But what's suitable for a 50-hour student is not acceptable for a 10-hour pilot. A mild crosswind shouldn't deter a solo cross-country flight, but it could scrub an introduction to soft-field operation for a lower-time student. I will fly in rain that poses no hazard to VFR, I'll skirt snow showers to demonstrate the loss of visibility, and we can launch for dual in the traffic pattern as soon as the fog burns off, even though conditions are marginal out in the practice areas.

Solo flying, on the other hand, requires adequate margins of weather, daylight, and fuel reserve. Students need to have extra margins in case they don't notice the lowering clouds, strengthening breeze, or sun dipping toward the horizon. Even students prepping for the practical test shouldn't be dispatched at the edge of darkness or with the temperature and dew point rubbing each other. I believe in a solid mix of dual and solo experience, but solo always must be performed in safe, confidence-enhancing conditions.

Learning when to cancel

Weather isn't the only reason to cancel a lesson. If the airplane has an unresolved maintenance issue, do not teach a student to ignore it and press on with an aircraft that isn't airworthy. Allowing a student to fly a sick bird is setting him or her up for an accident later in life.

Legitimately sick pilots can also require cancellations. Not feeling well is a barrier to learning. I don't want a fatigued, ill, or distracted student in the cockpit, so I have canceled a lesson--or quit early--when it was obvious that my student wasn't up to it. On the other hand, a pattern of canceling too easily often reveals a lack of commitment, frequently seen midway through the training program when a student finally realizes that this business of learning to fly involves more hard work than he or she wants to supply. "Not feeling well" can mean, "I want to drop out, but without talking about it."

Unsuitable weather conditions, however, remain the most prevalent cause of canceled lessons. Temperature extremes can be reason enough to reschedule; in our upper-south winters, we won't attempt to start a cold-soaked engine until it gets above 20 degrees Fahrenheit, which means morning lessons are frequently disrupted during a cold snap. In the hundred-degree heat of high summer, we'll only fly early and late. Both the airplane and the student need to be comfortable with the conditions.

Cancellations shouldn't be taken lightly. Done casually and frequently, they tend to shut down a training program entirely. Never cancel without making a new appointment, and make it within the same week if at all possible. If the extended weather forecast is calling for a chance of marginal conditions, set up two lessons in case the first one must be canceled. The instructor should have alternative lesson plans on tap if the scheduled one is unworkable. Ground school is a productive adjunct to flying, as is flight simulator practice.

In the absence of a timely notification, I expect students to show up as scheduled, because I make an effort to hold to the arrangement we made. I don't care how bad the conditions are; I'll be at the airport at the specified hour unless I hear otherwise, expecting that we'll work on ground study or an alternative lesson. It's very disappointing to sit in a lonely office waiting on a no-show when I could be doing productive work. "But, I figured it was too bad to fly" is no excuse, coming from a beginning student who has yet to learn about making weather judgments. Keep your appointment; the instructor will make the judgment calls and cancel the flight when necessary.

This can be challenging if a student lives an hour away from the airport, where the weather could be entirely different. It's often not possible to make a prediction of local clearing in time to avoid a wasted trip. This leads to either showing up when the weather is bad or canceling in expectation of bad weather, in which case it always turns sunny. The only answer is to keep the schedule and work on alternative lessons.

Canceled flights are part of aeronautical life. We want to engage in realistic training, flying in any weather that's safe, but we don't want to foster a casual attitude about going regardless. There will be times when the only safe or productive lesson an instructor can teach is to cancel the flight. There will always be a better day to fly; just don't put it off too long.

LeRoy Cook has been an active flight instructor since 1965 and has had more than 1,350 articles published. He is also the author of 101 Things to Do With Your Private License and Flying the Light Retractables.

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