VFR flight planning (Visual Flight Rules planning) can be an important tool for pilots who will be embarking on any flight where as far as conditions indicate, there will be no need for on board instruments. Any flight plan required a large amount of prediction and forward planning and VFR is not different in that part of it necessitates the checking of weather conditions as far as possible and thus to predict what level of visibility there will be on a journey. Clear conditions in daylight hours will indicate that there is not need for any instrument flight rules to be adhered to and that the flight may be undertaken using VFR flight planning. As with all forms of flight planning there are however no guarantees and no absolutes; there may always be unexpected events or circumstances which could cause a pilot to have to fall back on on-board instruments to assist in navigation. The success of a flight relies heavily on planning and accurate research must be undertaken to ensure that any risks are kept to a minimum. The main difference between VFR flight planning and IFR planning is obviously that a pilot flying an aircraft with no apparatus assisting them, must use their own senses to guide the craft successfully; this entails much skill and judgement as far as understanding the distance of any obstacles which may appear unexpectedly, such as other craft or even unexpected cloud. Judging the altitude and course of an aircraft may be done by looking at the horizon and this is one of the main tools a pilot uses on a VFR flight. Prediction of weather just as important a factor for VFR flights as it is for IFR flights and a good plan can go a long way to keeping all on board a flight safe.
The conservation of fuel supplies is a major reason for small and large airlines to take advantage of VFR flight planning services; a good flight planning service will enable pilots to work out how much fuel will be required for any particular flight and to add to that amount how much extra fuel will need to be carried in case of emergencies such as unexpected weather patterns which could force the aircraft to work harder and to use extra fuel. It is more economic to carry only what will be used but regulations insist that extra is carried and by working out potential delays or the likelihood of unforeseen circumstances, it is possible to keep even the extra fuel allowance to a minimum.
Working out the fastest possible routes is another extremely important factor in VFR flight planning. The perfect route will be the shortest one ideally, but of course the world is rarely perfect and sometimes the shortest routes are overcrowded and it is then that flight planning can be utilised to work out the next best option. In some cases there may be many potential route on offer and it is then that other conditions such as weather can really influence flight planning. For all concerned, flight planning is a hugely important factor in any flight whether commercial or otherwise.