Inside the Flight Deck, My Free Travel Dashboard

As a pilot, I understand that travel planning can be a daunting task, which is why I built the Flight Deck. I wanted a free travel planner with one dashboard for the whole trip: the planning, the day-of checks, and the habits that keep you steady on the road. Those tools used to be scattered across tabs and notes. Now they're all in one place.

The Flight Deck is a free travel dashboard from Nomad Pilot Life that puts trip planning, travel-day checks and on-the-road habits in one place.

• Enter your first name and email at nomadpilotlife.com/#free and your access code is emailed right away.
• Delay data comes from the FAA, weather data is from MET Norway, and places data is from OpenStreetMap.
• Only your passport's expiry date is saved, never your passport or document number.

So what does it hold? A trip journal and packing lists. Live U.S. and U.K. travel advisories. Workouts and fasting anywhere. A focus timer and habit tracker. And 90-day challenges. Best of all, it's free. Go to nomadpilotlife.com/#free, sign up, and your access code is emailed right away.

Let me walk you through what's inside.

How do you plan a trip in the Flight Deck?

Every good flight starts with a plan, and so does every good trip. When you open the Flight Deck, the dashboard gives you a Customize button and four quick tiles: Nomad Focus (a timer and today's tasks), Nomad Fit (log a workout or a fast), Travel Journal (your trips) and Pack List (lists for every trip).

Start in the Travel Journal. Add the trips you have coming up, then open one when you need it. Up Next sits on the same dashboard. It shows your next hotel stay, a days-until countdown, check-in and check-out, and a link back to that trip.

Pack Lists are named lists for every trip. Each packing list shows a total, how many items are packed, and a percent complete. Items are grouped into categories such as Clothes — General, Clothes — Business, Toiletries, Accessories and Work. Check items off as they go in the bag, the same way you'd work through a packing checklist. Add your own, then Save. Need a clean slate? Reset All and Delete are right there.

Now, when did you last check your passport expiration date? Passport & Documents counts down the days until expiry on the document you star. It also gives you a "Good for travel until…" line that applies the six-month rule. You can add passports, visas and other travel documents. The screen is clear about privacy, too. Only the expiry date is saved, never your passport or document number.

Weather can make or break a travel day. In Destination Weather, add the cities you're headed to. You get a five-day forecast with wind, humidity, precipitation and local time. Weather data is from MET Norway, and city names are from GeoNames.

Before you book, do your homework. Check the Travel Watchlist and Nomad Safe. Add the countries you care about to the watchlist and you'll see the advisory level, with a Check again button. Nomad Safe lets you look up the U.S. and U.K. travel advice for any country.

When you're ready to reserve something, Book Travel searches hotels, flights and cars and opens the results on Booking.com or Expedia. The page is upfront about the partnership. Booking through these partner links supports Nomad Pilot Life at no extra cost to you.

What tools help on travel day?

Travel day is go time. Two cards do most of the work.

Airport Delays: enter an airport code and you get a live FAA delay report, local time and weather, a five-day outlook, and a Check live departures link. Delay data comes from the FAA.

Find My Flight: enter a flight number and you'll see status, aircraft and registration, scheduled and actual times, delays, and the terminal. Once the plane starts moving, a live map appears, using positions from adsb.lol on an OpenStreetMap. There are links for schedule and gate on FlightAware, and for the airline's seat map. Gate and times come from AeroDataBox.

Then there's the seat. Under the flight card is a short seat-picking tip. On AeroLOPA, choose the aircraft on your booking and look for seats marked Good. Avoid rows by the galley or lavatory, and check that your window really has a window. Yes, really. That tip is labeled "From Mastering the Art of Travel, Chapter 5." If you want the rest of that system, the book is here: Mastering the Art of Travel.

What helps once you're on the road?

Once you land, you're going to want a good meal. Places to Eat helps you find one without bouncing between apps. Switch city chips, use Near me, or search Another city. Save places, add a note, or add a place yourself. Reviews & photos and Directions open in Google Maps. Places data is from OpenStreetMap.

Your weather, local time, pack list and trip journal are still on the same dashboard. The next hotel and the next bag check stay in one place, right where you left them.

How do you stay fit and focused while traveling?

Let's be honest. Travel will try to break your fitness routine. Nomad Fit and Nomad Focus are there so it doesn't.

Nomad Fit tracks workouts this week and fasts this month. The log takes a date, duration, activity (rowing, running, biking, lifting, walking, swimming or other), intensity from light to max effort, notes, and a fasting toggle. Calendar, History and Stats tabs sit at the top, so you can see the week at a glance.

Nomad Focus is a focus session timer. It defaults to 25 minutes, and you can change that. There's a field for "What are you working on?" This is where the pilot in me shows up. Your focus hours build a pilot-rank progression, for example Private Pilot, with Instrument Rated Pilot next. Today's Mission Briefing is a simple task list for the day. The dashboard also shows your focus this week and your total logged.

The 90 Day Challenge tracks longer goals as Day X of 90, with a progress bar for each one. Think of it like reps in the gym. Show up, put in the reps, and watch the bar move.

How do you get the free travel planner?

The Flight Deck is free. Go to nomadpilotlife.com/#free, enter your first name and email, and hit Get free access. Your access code is emailed right away. Then the dashboard is yours.

Flight Deck FAQ

Is the Flight Deck really free?

Yes. The Flight Deck is free. You sign up with your first name and email at nomadpilotlife.com/#free.

How do I get access to the Flight Deck?

Go to nomadpilotlife.com/#free, enter your first name and email, and hit Get free access. Your access code is emailed right away.

What's included in the Flight Deck?

A trip journal, packing lists, passport and document expiry countdowns, destination weather, live U.S. and U.K. travel advisories, FAA airport delays, flight tracking, hotel, flight and car search, and Places to Eat. It also has Nomad Fit for workouts and fasts, Nomad Focus for focus sessions, a habit tracker and 90-day challenges.

Does the Flight Deck save my passport number?

No. Only the expiry date is saved, never your passport or document number. You can add passports, visas and other travel documents, and Passport & Documents counts down the days until expiry.

Can it tell me if my flight or airport is delayed?

Yes. Enter an airport code in Airport Delays and you get a live FAA delay report. Enter a flight number in Find My Flight and you'll see status, scheduled and actual times, delays, and the terminal.

Where does the weather data come from?

Weather data is from MET Norway. In Destination Weather, add the cities you're headed to and you get a five-day forecast with wind, humidity, precipitation and local time.

Want the full travel system?

Want the seat-picking system behind that Chapter 5 tip, and the rest of the travel system around it? Pick up Mastering the Art of Travel.

Where vision takes flight.

Keep reading: How to Choose the Best International Credit Card for Travel, How To Stay Productive While Traveling and Managing Travel Expenses: Tools and Tips.