Planning your flight under IFR is not always easy and requires a lot of thinking ahead. The fuel reserves under IFR can be particularly tricky and should be planned as conservatively as possible. So can you make a flight? Will you need to refuel somewhere? Can you execute multiple flights without refueling? All these questions must be answered.
Here is an IFR dispatch form, inspired from the teachings of my own CFII - Dr. Bill. The form is self-explanatory, but if you're wondering, here is a step-by-step guide. This particular form is planned for a C-172.
Insert the date... shouldn't be too difficult, I hope.
Add your planned route. Use the IFR route codes when possible to condense it. Remember that anything that follows the "." is a transition or feeder for an approach. E.g., V437.YUHVY is V437 with the exit at YUHVY E.g., I10.SAV is ILS to runway 10 with the SAV transition (in this case it's a feeder route to TILEE, this IAF. Use the EFB to determine the distances, times, and fuel burn for that route. I recommend you set up the entire approach in the EFB as well, as that could significantly increase your fuel requirements (some DME-arc approaches are reaaaaally long...)
Add your distance, time enroute, and fuel requirements to complete your planned trip.
Account for a delay. At least 10 minutes. This could be a vector or just more traffic. If you anticipate longer times, you can update this value further.
Need an alternate? If you need an alternate, plan the route to that spot as well, including the approach. Add the route to the top of the form so that you have it readily available.
Reserves. Per IFR regulations, you need 0+45 of enroute fuel.
Calculate the minimum required. Add up all the previous numbers and let's see what the total is.
Total on board. Based on how much you have onboard, verify if that is sufficient to cover the minimum required. If it isn't, clearly you can't dispatch and go...
Extra. Determine how much extra you have on board, beyond what is necessary for IFR flight.
If you plan multiple flights on the same day, you can connect the dispatch forms to one another to determine if you need to refuel. When you add another table, your new "Fuel On Board" can be approximated by subtracting "Trip Fuel" from "Total on Board" (from the previous form).
During my training, Dr. Bill once reset the avionics and threw my iPad and iPhone (both with Garmin Pilot) in the back of the plane. THAT would have been a great time to have the dispatch record printed out and available. Instead it was saved as a PDF on Garmin Pilot. Yeah. So print it out. Have it with you. And if you think both iPhone and iPad can't possibly fail together, it happened on my CFII checkride (overheated). Yup... I only remember looking at the DPE and saying "All right, this will be an interesting checkride".
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