During Cruise
What is cruise?
Cruise is what we call it when you’ve climbed to the right altitude and are heading towards where you want to go, in more or less a straight line.
If your airplane has an autopilot, this is when you would turn it on.
Prepping for what’s next
The main use of time during cruise is setting up and getting ready for whatever comes next in your flight.
During your cruise, you are continually checking your map, heading, and altitude, to make sure you are on course. When you reach a checkpoint, which is usually a noticeable landmark of some kind, there are several things you should do.
-check and record the time
-adjust course if needed, towards your next checkpoint
-figure out if you have to adjust for wind at all
-check all your instruments, throttle setting, etc.
-make a radio call on the appropriate frequency so people know where you are.
If you are landing soon, you want to make sure you have all the information necessary for that airport, such as radio frequencies, runway directions, and special instructions for landing.
Navigation and figuring out where you are is something you are always keeping track of. It is critical to maintain a focused awareness of this during flying.
Oxygen
One thing is that is essential to figure out at a high altitude is your oxygen source. Once you get to a certain level of altitude the air is so thin that you need to breath extra oxygen. Some airplanes, like commercial jets, are sealed to the outdoors, so they pump air into the cabin. This is called a pressurized cabin.
But on normal little planes without pressurization, you have a bottle full of oxygen, with a tube to some kind of mask. Every country has different laws about what altitude you need to use extra oxygen. But generally you will not need it if you are below 10,000 feet high.
Entertainment
After attending to your basic need to breath and fly responsibly, cruise means that there can often be long periods of time where you can safely turn your attention to other aspects of your journey.
Taking pictures is a super fun way to pass the time during cruise. Taking selfies, pictures of the sunset/rise, or cool stuff on the ground. There’s always something worthy of a photo from the sky! If you’re only a couple thousand feet up you might still be able to have cell signal too.
Using the bathroom is very entertaining, especially if the aircraft does not have one. You might have to get creative.
I have never listened to music while flying. There’s so much other stuff to do, and usually someone to talk too. Refreshing on the use of different flight instruments and solving problems will keep you busy too!
So now you know the basics of what happens in a cockpit during cruise. If you get a chance to fly, you can observe what the pilots are doing, and as always, if appropriate, ask lot’s of questions!
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