Flying the Preflight - Checklist Or Do-List? |
Imagine running to the plane with your buddy. Jumping in with tons of excitement to show your passenger all your new found pilot skills and flying discoveries. Starting up, taxiing out and taking off into the wild blue yonder. What a beautiful flying day! In your mind you are the hero to your passenger. God made flesh.
When suddenly, it happens...
Your engine starts to sputter and cough. "Whoa, what's going on?" Then it gets really quiet. Not the peaceful, I'm on a deserted island with my Sweetheart kinda quiet but the I can hear my own heartbeat pounding in my chest kinda quiet. You look at your passenger, then you look at the fuel gauge and realize its empty. "Wait this can't be right, I filled the tank. I checked my fuel gauges before takeoff."
What you didn't see while quickly jumping in the plane without preflighting was the open gas cap sitting on the wing that the fueler forgot to replace. Didn't notice it fall to the ground as you started to taxi. Couldn't notice the fuel being sucked out of the plane as you were flying around showing your friend the cool sites of the area.
How different this situation would have been if you had done a quick preflight and looked at the fuel caps.
The preflight is a must.
It starts as you walk to the plane. When walking out check out the airplane as a whole. What I mean is you might spot some obvious things wrong from far away that you might not spot close up to the plane. Maybe a truck hit the tail and the horizontal stabilizer is hanging off or the plane looks lopsided or something.
I would then go inside the plane. Do any inside checks you need to make including checking how much fuel you have/need. If you need fuel then order it then so by the time you finish your preflight you hopefully will be getting fuel. (This way you don't forget).
Now the outside. Some checklists if followed in order will have you going from the left nav light to the right wheel to the oil dipstick to the tail. All over the place with no logical order. Not very efficient. This method can have you easily losing your place, forgetting or missing something.
So, should the checklist be done as a Checklist or a Do-list? I suggest it be done as a checklist.
If I am doing my preflight in a Cessna 152 flying from the left side I would do my inside checks from the left door. Then I would start my outside checks headed in a simple, easy to follow circle around the plane. I would start heading back along the plane to the back. Head around the tail to the right side checking everything as I go. I finish when I come around the left wing and get back to the left cockpit door. I then take the checklist and go thru it, checking everything, making sure I didn't miss anything. If I find something I missed then I go and check it. Keep your Flying Simple.
So the preflight is done and the checklist is complete as a Checklist, NOT a Do-list.
I then have my own personal checklist asking myself, do I have fuel, oil and have I untied the plane. You won't get very far without any of these.
Matthew Humberd is the founder of FlyingSimple.com. He has been in the Aviation field for almost 15 years. He has been an active Flight Instructor, Airline Captain and is currently flying Business Jets for a Fractional Airline. Matt's site offers many more Aviation Tips and Personal Recommendations for pilots of all skill levels. Check it out and let me help Simplify Aviation for you.
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