If one leaves on a multiple-day fly-out, one needs to be well prepared. Here’s the list I prepared for the Melilla fly-out of 2019

My full check-list for a long haul flight

• Passport & Pilots license & Medical certificate
• Serengeti sunglasses & a couple of spare glasses
• Air million maps for Belgium, France, and Spain. (when one joins AOPA Luxembourg, you can get these maps at a discounted rate and you get one map for free)
• Cash (as I might need land to Nador in Morocco and because some AVGAS stations only accept a TOTAL credit card, the reason, why to have cash with you, remains important)
• My IPad with Sim card and my iPhone
• Bose A20 headset
• Nomad Goalzero ultra-lightweight and portable solar panel (enables to charge handheld USB/12V gear directly from the sun ) & 4 spare batteries
• Mounts for my Ipad ( I have two models and like to test out which one fits best for the Mooney
  • RAM Yoke Clamp Mount with Universal X-Grip Cradle for 10″ Large Tablets – that is a new one
  • MyGoFlight Suction Cup Mount with Cradle Bundle
• The Claw – aircraft tiedown system with ropes, hammer etc.., which is the best portable Tie-Down anchor kit I ever had
• Knee board and pilot logs (printout Skydemon)
• Yaesu FTA-250 portable radio (no need to more expensive versions)
• Towbar
• A yellow reflective jacket
• 6 bottles of water.
• My AOPA crew card : it literally opens doors and gives you sometimes a reduction when purchasing AVGAS for your plane
• My rubber fuel primer bulb pump (I used this in Batumi and Natakhtari Georgia as they offered AVGAS in barrels).
• As we will often fly over the sea, I’ll bring my Secumar Ultra AX 150 life vest. This is not sold in pilot shops but comes from the world of boats. The standard equipment contains: neck fleece, click fittings, rescue belt, signal whistle, crotch strap (fixedly mounted), inspection window, vest pocket for storage
  • For my fellow pilot, Franky, I have a AC2000 Dual Cell Life Vest from Zodiac airspace services.
  • I always take a spare life vest in the plane.
• Small blue pocket
  • Airmen’s beans (coffee beans with guarana), for when you are getting tired. It works well !
  • 4* USB Charger to keep my Ipad, Iphone etc…fully charged
  • Quick-check sheets
  • Motion sickness bag
  • Screen wiper (I profoundly dislike a dirty Garmin GTN-750)
  • Pulse Oxymeter ( above Flight level 100, this is a small, lightweight device used to monitor the amount of oxygen carried in the body)
  • Rubytec Kao Baby Swing Solar Flashlight (works without batteries, pocket-size, charged by solar or cranking)
  • 4 chew-able aspirins
  • Spare pitot glove
  • Minilet: if you make a long flight and need to go to the toilet, these disposable emergency urinal minilets are very practical. These disposable urinal bags absorb, deodorizes and gels contents. They are truly unisex, with a sealable plastic outer pouch for hygiene and security. It works well 🙂
• Small black pocket
  • ruler
  • magnifying card
  • Fluo memo sticks
  • Various pencils
  • A regular compass (a memory for the time I used to be student pilot myself)
• Thermal paper roll – useful in combination with oil filler spout
• Leatherman & my Swiss knife
  
  

websites and apps I use for fly-outs:

Websites

• Ogimet…famous for its GRAMETS. Just enter where you take off and where you land and you get a visually very strong map
• I created an account at French aviation authority SIA (https://www.sia.aviation-civile.gouv.fr ) – very usefull as it shows me e.g. which military zones are active in a visual way

Apps

• Windy (great and free weather app, especially for cloud base, wind etc… visually super strong)
• Skydemon for navigation. I used Jeppesen Flite Deck in the past but now moved definitively to Skydemon, which works way better. Definitively worth its money. One can get it at a discounted price when joining AOPA Luxembourg
• iVAC app with all airfield maps and info for France, totally free of charge
• Flight radar (paying version) so that I can monitor where our other planes are eAIP, a subscription-based AIP
• Weathermaps (annual subscription) because is so user-friendly
• Aeroweather gold: an easy tool in which I enter all the airfields on my routes and I get the weather updates well presented (METAR, TAF). They tend to continue to develop this app, now they have airfield diagrams as well included
• Aviation WX : This is the app from Geman flugwetter. I like this for the Meteograms

My personal checklist for the Mooney OO-LVT

Especially for the Mooney OO-LVT, I also fine-tuned a tailor-made checklist and diagram, which is very useful because visual.

Useful phone numbers I stored:

• France : BRIA (to open, close or delay a flight plan) (+33) 1.56.30.13.01
• Belgium: the former Belgocontrol (32) 2.206.25.40
• Luxembourg navigation: (+352) 4798.23.010