At PPL level I'd give days or a week's notice of the destination + suggestions for the route, whether instructing or examining.
At CPL level I'd give 60 minutes. At the end of 60 minutes I'd expect the guy to be ready to jump in the aircraft & go. That means flight plan, W&B, runway performance, contacting the ALA/farm strip for information & querying the 'pax' for Dangerous Goods/HazMat given the 'customer' description. Oh, and consider Flt & duty limitation.
My CPL test (in Oz) with the Department Examiner had 60 mins from him walking in the door with a route for me to plan, to being ready for a grilling on my decisions & planning + the other ground questioning items.
My 30 year career as a pilot in GA in 3 countries has required numerous flights with minimal time to plan. You have to be able to be able to adapt & plan quickly for those short notice flights.
Last edited by Tinstaafl; 6th Sep 2013 at 01:50.