The first post-secondary education I took was a two-year, college-level Aviation Technology program at Selkirk College in Castlegar, BC. At the time, it provided the best non-military flight training available in Canada. Many of the skills and techniques learned at Selkirk have been usable outside of the aviation industry. The discipline of planning a flight is a process that is applicable to many aspects of our lives.

It is not a fluke that millions of flights take place without incident. A rigorous planning process eliminates most of the risk before the pilot even approaches the plane. The simple question, "Where are we and where do we want to go?" initiates the planning process. Extensive review of environmental factors determines the most efficient route to take. The weight of passengers and freight and the route to be taken determines the fuel requirements. The fuel requirements include the flight to the intended destination, plus sufficient fuel to fly to an alternate destination and an additional 45-minute reserve.

While all aspects of a flight plan are important, one of the more useful requirements is determining your progress at predefined check points. While it depends on a many factors, there are usually a number of check points on any trip. At each check point, Air Traffic Control is advised of your time of arrival at the check point and your next intended check point and estimated time of arrival at that check point. This information causes the pilot to review the progress of the fight. Sometimes the winds are more favourable than forecast and the flight is ahead of schedule, which raises the question, "Should the pilot keep the same throttle setting and arrive early, or should he reduce power, which saves fuel, and arrive on time?" Sometimes the winds are unfavourable, or mechanical or passenger health issues may affect the progress of the flight. The check point reviews should be sufficiently frequent to allow safe and convenient modifications to the flight plan.

Financial planning has the same important elements as flight planning. You have to know where you are and determine the best route to get you where you want to be. Milestones or check points must be built into the plan so that performance reviews take place at frequent enough intervals to give comfort that progress toward your goal is proceeding as planned or provide sufficient time to make modifications.

At Fraser Financial we are committed to the planning review process to help to achieve your financial goals.