Pilot Checklists You Can Actually Trust in the Cockpit

I’m Otto — private pilot, long-time graphic designer, and the bald bloke behind EZ Copilot. I didn’t set out to start an aviation checklist brand; I just wanted a pilot checklist that didn’t make me squint, lose my place, or juggle a stack of pages while trying to keep up with radios, runway traffic, and chatty passengers. I built my first checklist for my own airplane, then buddies started asking for copies, then their buddies did, and now there are EZ Copilot checklists flying in cockpits all over the world. If you’re wondering whether you should trust another checklist from the internet, this post is for you. And if at any point you’re thinking “Just show me the checklists,” you can jump straight to the store here: browse all EZ Copilot checklists.

Why Most Pilot Checklists Annoy You (Even If You Don’t Admit It)

Let’s be honest: most pilots don’t miss items because they don’t know what to do. They miss items because the pilot checklist they’re using is a pain to work with. Tiny fonts, cramped layout, awkward sequencing that doesn’t match how you actually move around the cockpit — it all adds friction at exactly the wrong time. You’re trying to fly the airplane, manage radios, watch traffic, and stay ahead of weather, and meanwhile your checklist is fighting you instead of helping. The official POH checklist is essential and FAA-approved, but it was never really designed to be a slick, cockpit-ready tool. It was designed to live in a book, not on your kneeboard in light chop.

That gap between “technically correct” and “actually usable” is exactly where a lot of factory and aftermarket aviation checklists fall apart. Some are so bare-bones that you feel under-supported; others are visually busy and slow to scan when you’re under pressure. If that sounds familiar, it might be time to move to a dedicated, cockpit-tested checklist that’s actually built around how you fly — whether that’s a Cessna checklist, a Piper checklist, or another GA type you fly regularly.

Cockpit Friction: The Real Enemy of Good Habits

I think of “cockpit friction” as anything that makes it harder for you to do the right thing at the right time. When your aircraft checklist is dense, hard to read, or laid out in a way that doesn’t match your flow, you naturally start relying more on memory and less on verification. That’s especially true during preflight, before takeoff, and in abnormal or emergency situations, when your workload and stress level are already high. A good pilot checklist should quietly lower your workload and give you confidence that your flows and your airplane are on the same page.

One of the easiest ways to reduce cockpit friction is to standardize your experience across the airplanes you fly. If you move between multiple aircraft in the same family, using EZ Copilot checklists across that small fleet means the layout, typography, and hierarchy feel familiar, even when performance numbers change. Your brain doesn’t have to relearn how to read a new checklist every time you strap in — it can just get to work. If you’re curious what that looks like in practice, you can start by browsing all available models here: shop all EZ Copilot checklists.

My Process for Building a Pilot Checklist You Can Trust

When you pick up an EZ Copilot checklist, you’re not just getting a pretty card. You’re getting the end result of a process that starts with the FAA-approved Pilot’s Operating Handbook (POH) for that specific make and model and ends with something that’s been beaten up and refined in real cockpits. My background is a weird but useful mix: I’m a private pilot and an aviation nerd, but I’m also a long-time graphic and educational designer. That means I care just as much about line spacing and visual flow as I do about V-speeds and emergency procedures.

Step one is data fidelity. I pull the relevant normal and emergency procedures straight from the POH so the content is accurate and complete. No guessing, no generic “this probably works for most 172s” shortcuts. Step two is design and flow. I use layout, typography, and grouping to make sure items appear in an order that matches how you actually move your hands and eyes around the cockpit. Step three is real-world testing. That’s where we catch all the small usability issues: where your eye hesitates, where a section needs a bit more breathing room, or where a label can be tightened to reduce clutter without losing meaning.

Built on the POH, Optimized for Humans

There’s a trust question every pilot has, even if they don’t say it out loud: “Is this cockpit checklist actually based on the book, or did someone just make it look nice?” With EZ Copilot, the answer is simple: the POH is the foundation. I don’t remove critical steps just to make space. Instead, I refine wording where it helps, group related items, and use design to guide your eyes naturally through the sequence. The pilot checklist you hold in your hand is still faithful to the manufacturer’s procedures — it’s just wrapped in a layout your brain can use faster when it matters most.

That balance between strict accuracy and human-friendly design is why these cards have spread from “just for my airplane” to thousands of checklists in thousands of cockpits around the world. Pilots keep telling me the same thing in different words: “It feels like this was actually designed for the way I fly.” If you want to experience that difference in your own airplane, you can start with the manufacturer you fly the most — for instance, visit the Cessna checklist collection or the Piper checklist collection.

Why I Still Love a Laminated Checklist in a Digital World

I’m not anti-tech by any stretch. I fly with an EFB, I appreciate good avionics, and I’ve seen some clever digital aviation checklist solutions. But for something as foundational as your preflight, before takeoff, and emergency procedures, I still believe a physical, laminated card earns its keep every single flight. Tablets overheat. Apps crash. Batteries die. Glare happens. And sometimes you just don’t want to be scrolling, pinching, or swiping when the workload is spiking and you need one clear list right now.

That’s why every EZ Copilot checklist is printed on a 6" x 9", heavy-duty laminated card that’s been deliberately abuse-tested. Coffee spills, ramp puddles, heat, cold, and the occasional “whoops, it fell between the seats” moment — these cards are built to survive it. The goal is simple: your aircraft checklist should outlast the airplane. The only real risk is one of your pilot buddies “borrowing” it and mysteriously forgetting to return it. If you want to see what that durability looks like in your own cockpit, you can grab your first checklist here: shop EZ Copilot checklists.

Normal on One Side, Emergency on the Other

Another big part of usability is how fast you can get to the right information under stress. That’s why EZ Copilot uses an all-in-one format: normal procedures on the front, emergency and abnormal procedures on the back. In a real abnormal or emergency situation, you don’t want to dig through a booklet, scroll a tablet, or guess which tab you need. You want one simple motion: flip the card over and be on the emergency procedures checklist immediately.

A lot of pilots discover EZ Copilot because they’re frustrated with how buried their emergency procedures are in their existing materials. Once they experience a clean front/back layout, with clear sections and logical grouping, they tend to stick with it — and often add more cards as they transition into new aircraft. If you fly mainly Cessnas or Pipers, that might mean starting with a Cessna emergency-focused checklist or a Piper emergency-focused checklist and building from there.

How to Judge Any Pilot Checklist (Even If It’s Not Mine)

Whether or not you ever buy from me, I want you to be picky about what checklist you trust in your cockpit. Here’s a simple framework you can use to evaluate any pilot checklist. First, ask about the source: is it explicitly based on the POH for your exact make and model, or is it a generic “good for most airplanes” solution? A generic “Cessna checklist” might sound acceptable, but a 172, 182, and 210 all have different systems, numbers, and quirks. You deserve a checklist that’s actually matched to the airplane you’re responsible for.

Second, do a quick readability test at arm’s length, in lighting similar to what you fly with. Imagine wearing sunglasses, sitting in the real cockpit. If you’re squinting, tilting, or hunting for contrast, that’s a problem. Third, test how quickly you can locate critical items: engine failure after takeoff, electrical fire, lost comms. If your eyes are doing laps around the page or you’re flipping through multiple sections, that’s wasted time and extra stress compared to a streamlined cockpit checklist where everything lives in one logical place.

Physical Fit and Handling Matter More Than You Think

Your aircraft checklist also has to physically fit the way you fly. A thick binder might look “official” but can feel clumsy in a tight GA cockpit. A tiny pocket-sized card might be convenient to carry but impossible to read quickly. I settled on 6" x 9" because it hits that sweet spot: large enough for clear typography and logical sections, small enough to sit comfortably on your kneeboard or tuck into a side pocket. When your checklist fits your hands and your cockpit, you’re more likely to actually use it the way it was intended — every phase of flight, every time.

If you’re currently juggling a mismatched mix of photocopies, phone apps, and worn-out factory cards, standardizing on a single format can make a bigger difference than you think. That’s one of the reasons flight schools and clubs have started adopting EZ Copilot across their fleets — they want every pilot touching their airplanes to have the same clear, durable reference in front of them. You can create that same consistency for yourself just by choosing one style and sticking with it, whether that’s a Cessna lineup, a Piper lineup, or a mix tailored to what you fly most.

How a Better Pilot Checklist Improves Your Flying (Beyond Safety)

The obvious reason to care about your pilot checklist is safety, but there’s a second benefit that doesn’t get talked about enough: consistency. When your normal procedures are clearly laid out and easy to follow, your brain has more bandwidth left over for everything else that happens in a real flight — runway changes, last-minute instructions, passengers, weather, and all the small surprises that make flying interesting. The checklist becomes your quiet copilot, helping you confirm that you’ve done what you meant to do, in the order you meant to do it.

Over time, this consistency translates to smoother flows, fewer “Did I…?” moments on downwind, and a lot less mental clutter. Instead of burning brain cycles trying to remember whether you missed something, you simply verify and move on. A well-designed aviation checklist is really a habit-building tool in disguise: it supports your memory, keeps you honest, and encourages you to treat every flight with the same level of care, whether it’s a quick pattern hop or a long cross-country. That’s what I’m trying to support with every card I design — not perfection, but a realistic, repeatable way to fly well.

Why Pilots Who Don’t Know Me Still Trust EZ Copilot

From your perspective, I’m just a bald bloke from the internet asking to live in your cockpit. That’s fair. So here’s why so many pilots who have never met me in person still trust EZ Copilot enough to put our checklists in their airplanes. First, I’m a pilot designing for pilots, not a print shop that thinks airplanes are just another niche. I use the same tools I’m selling, and I feel the same pain points you do when a checklist is hard to use. Second, I bring nearly two decades of graphic and educational design experience into the cockpit. Layout, typography, and usability aren’t afterthoughts — they’re the whole point.

Third, every card is built from the POH for that specific make and model and then tested in real cockpits with real pilots who are not shy about telling me when something could be better. That loop — book, design, test, refine — is why you’ll find EZ Copilot checklists in thousands of airplanes all over the world and on major platforms like Amazon and Aircraft Spruce. I’m not asking you to blindly trust me; I’m inviting you to try one checklist in one airplane and see if it earns its spot in your flow.

Ready to Upgrade Your Pilot Checklist? Here’s What to Do Next

If you’re currently flying with a faded factory list, a random laminated card you can barely read, or a PDF you printed at home “just for now” three years ago, upgrading your pilot checklist might be one of the easiest quality-of-life improvements you can make in the cockpit. Head over to the main shop, find your aircraft manufacturer, and look for your specific model — whether that’s a trusty 172, a Cherokee, or another popular GA workhorse: browse all EZ Copilot checklists.

When you do, you’ll get a 6" x 9", heavy-duty laminated aviation checklist with normal procedures on the front and emergency procedures on the back, built from the POH, tested in real cockpits, and designed by a pilot who hates tiny fonts and cluttered layouts as much as you do. It’s not meant to replace your brain or your training — it’s there to give your brain a reliable, cockpit-ready home for all the good habits you’ve already built. And if you’re still on the fence, that’s okay too. Use the criteria we talked about here to judge whatever you’re using now. If your current checklist ever starts to feel like more of a liability than a tool, you’ll know exactly where to find me.