Whether its lack of planning, weather, maintenance, the hardest judgement call seems to be medical, mental state, things that might possibly be able to overlook -- ie: you're the only one that knows you shouldn't go.
I wanted to provide some notes that I've gone through that might help others:
- Get ready for your flight -- are you distracted? by what? determine how much this matters and if you reasonably can resolve it before you go. if not, how would it last until after?
- If you make the 'no-go' decision, call the rental school, let them know. They might have to cancel a student or rental, and they'll be bummed, but safety is the goal. They've been there before personally, so they understand. Its difficult, but think safety.
- Let the FBO know that you're making the decision, and let them know what you need. More often than not, if they don't see a mechanical issue and know its good weather, they might have a clue as to why you're staying. They are there to help you! They have been able to secure me a room for DIRT CHEAP! same for rental cars, they can organize a shuttle, or even personally drop you off at a hotel, help you get food, and get you back to the plane. These folks aren't the gate agents that deal with thousands of screaming passengers that don't necessarily care which airline you use, they are the FBO, and depend on you to make them work, so they legitimately WANT you to be happy! and they want you to fly!
I'd love to have other peoples thoughts, because this is something that flight training just doesn't seem to cover... mainly because instructor overnight rates just suck!
