Since then, I've been meaning to modify my preflight briefings to include some of what I witnessed. Recently, I came across this suggestion in a newsletter from Elite, which happens to match up to what I saw quite nicely. Now that I have an acronym, I'm sure I'll be able to weave this into my flying!
WARTS stands for:
Winds and Weather: state current windws and weather conditions
Abnormals and Aborts: state intentions if a condition occurs that inhibits flying, such as an engine failure.
Runway Number, Condition, Length and Width: state runway information
Terrain and Transition Altitude: state any known obstacles in our departure path and any altitude restrictions.
SID, Special Considerations: for VFR, there won't be a SID, but there may be noise abatement considerations or other items of note.
So how does this work? It's easy. Using WARTS forces you to know all information important to a successful takeoff. Not only should you know it, but you also make sure that your passenger (who may just be a pilot) knows it. By verbalizing this information, you reinforce it so if there is an emergency, you'll know exactly what to do without hesitation.
Let's see this in action, shall we? We're going to be department Renton Municipal. The winds are 320@15. Altimeter is 30.12. Runway is dry. We're flying a Cessna 172. Your departure briefing, which you should say aloud even if you are flying alone, should go something like this:
"Winds are three two zero at one fife. There are no reports of windshear on the departure end of the runway. There are no reports of birds in the area.
Should there be any indication of an engine malfunction, you will contact the tower when able. If we are below 50 knots I will abort the takeoff. If we are airborne, but below 100 feet with half the runway ahead, I will land straight ahead. If we are above 100 feet, but below 800 feet, I will divert east and ditch along the shoreline. If we are above 800 feet, reach for the Pilot Operating Guide and have it open to the
EMERGENCY section when time permits. I will turn back to the airport and land on the runway or taxiway.
We are taking off on runway 33, which is 5000 feet long and 200 feet wide. The runway is dry. Please verify that you see "33" on the runway marking signs to ensure we're on the correct runway.
There is no terrain in our departure path as we are taking off over the water.
We are flying a straight out departure. We will level off at 1500 until out of Renton airspace, then continue to climb to our cruising altitude."
That's all there is to it. I'm sure it seems a bit long winded if you're used to just saying "let's go defy gravity" before taking off, however, this is all vital information that you should know before you start rolling down the runway. WARTS is all about safety. It's a quick memory aid to ensure that you have all the important information at the ready before you start accelerating to takeoff speeds.
