The airplane preflight inspection is performed before each flight to ensure that all the required paperwork is on board, that the airplane systems are working properly and that the correct amount of fuel and oil are in the tanks. It's your chance to really look the airplane over inside and out to assure yourself that it's ready to fly, because once you're airborne, you just can't pull over in case something goes wrong.

Sometimes terrain, icing, lack of instrument rating or proper equipment can make flying on an Instrument Flight Plan (IFR) not an option. But that doesn't mean you need to cancel a flight just because there's weather along the route or it's not perfect VFR.

You'll find a "how-to" manual on every airplane that describes how to operate that particular model, called the pilot's operating handbook, or POH. This week's tip takes a look at the information contained in the POH, along with the differences between the version that must be kept on the airplane and the one sold off the shelf at the local pilot shop.