favorite checklist

[StanFoster]

I was just wondering what everyone uses for a mental checklist before flight. I like to use the C-O-P-I-L-O-T checklist. Until I find a better word to fit my takeoff procedure...this one does pretty good.

C.....Clock set to 12 noon for fuel burn time...Carbheat off...Controls
O.....Oil pressure
P......Pumps are each checked for Pressure
I.......Ignition....both ignitions checked and all Instruments scanned
L......Lights ... strobe light..position lights as needed
O.....I set my altimeter to 0 elevation...
T......Temperature of water...last thing to get up to proper temps


Note: This is in the cockpit checklist. My preflight among all the other stuff you check.. has already checked my fuel level by an outside sight tube. I never would trust a fuel gauge..even my electronic one. My clock timing my fuel burn gives me a known time I can fly...with my half hour reserve. I conservatively figure the fuel burn higher than it really is.

Anyone else have a favorite mental checklist?

[farmer jim]

Looking for updates to this and other checklist threads that we found on a search.
Vance - what does your checklist look like????

[Vance]

Hello Jim,

These are my current check lists. They are in two columns.

It involves shaking and pulling on things as well as visual inspection.

I have them laminated with the preflight check list is on one side and prestart and shut down on the other.

The preflight takes about 20 minutes and the pre-takeoff and shutdown a few minutes.

When I am on a cross country flight I do a preflight at each stop and may call Lockheed Martin every couple of hours.

Some people make fun of me for the using the pre-takeoff list every time but if I don’t I have been known to not turn on the transponder, not turn on the alternator, and forget the gust lock.

Once I have gone down the lists I no longer have to worry about what I may have forgotten.

Each aircraft will be different and I often check things that are not on the list.

Please don’t hesitate to ask questions, you may help me identify ways to make the list more comprehensive.

It just fits on my knee board now so if I add something I need to take something away.


Thank you, Vance

Flight preparation:
Flight briefing
Arrange radio call sheets
Fill out departure call sheet
Rotor head:
Rotor head
Teeter bearings
Rotor blade retention bolts
Inspect hub bar
Rotor brake and cable connection
Wiring to pre-rotator motor
Rotor blades:
Inspect rotor blades.
Clean rotor blades
Tower:
Rotor control rods
Rotor control links
Lower rotor control rods
Lower control levers
Inspect rotor tower welds
Inspect rotor tower screws
Left Side:
Check fuel tank-leak
Check fuel tank-fuel level
Check fuel tank-mounts
Check body mount fasteners
Check left tire and pressure 40PSI
Check wheel pant retention screws
Inspect suspension
Left static port clear?
Nose:
Check nose gear
Check tire pressure 40PSI
Check Pitot tube clear and fastened
Check drift string
Check front nose panel
Check windshield and mounts
Right Side:
Check fuel tank-leak
Check fuel tank-fuel level
Check fuel tank-mounts
Check body mount fasteners
Check right tire pressure 40PSI
Check wheel pants screws
Inspect suspension
Right static port clear?
Empennage:
Remove gust lock
Check upper support
Check rudder
Check vertical stabilizer
Check rudder cables
Check horizontal stabilizer
Check tail wheel
Engine:
Check oil level
Check for leaks
Inspect exhaust
Inspect alternator and V belt
Check gascolator and fuel grade
Prop:
Check for cracks and nicks
Clean Propeller
Back Seat:
Check cyclic control continuity
Check rudder pedals and cables
Check rudder control
Check for any floor obstructions
Check seatbelt retention bolts
Seat secure?
Seat belts secure?
Cockpit:
Turn on master
Checks nav lights, landing lights.
Master off
Check for any floor obstructions
Check for control stick obstruction
Check for rubber pedal obstructions
Rudder pedal movement
Throttle operation?
Mixture control operation
Throttle, full back
Magneto switches OFF
All switches OFF
Check seat belt retention
Documentation:
Registration, Weight and balance,
Operating limits
Airworthiness Certificate
Current charts
Current facilities guide
Front seat secure?
Check windshield clear, clean
Batteries:
Check GPS
Check Spot
Sit down
Fasten seat belt
Adjust seat belt
Plug in head set and ANR
Attach knee board
Arrange knee board
Turn on GPS
Check transponder set 1200
START UP
Radio off
Transponder off
Magneto switch OFF
Throttle full back
Master Off
All switches off
Master On
Boost pump
Fuel Full Rich
1/3 throttle
Brakes ON
Magneto switches on
Clear Prop!
Start
Lean for taxi
Start timer
Alternator On
Radio on
Check side tone
Transponder to standby
Set altimeter to field elevation
Check ATIS
Call Ground
Repeat taxi instructions
Spot on, tracking on, OK on
GPS set to destination.
Magneto Check:
Temperatures and pressures in the green
Right, Left and Both at 1400 RPMs
110 drop 50 difference
Transponder to mode C
Change to tower frequency
Hold Short and call tower
Reset GPS trip
Report Ready for departure
Request departure procedure
and direction of flight
Receive takeoff clearance
Release rotor brake
Full rich for takeoff roll
One quarter throttle
Began peroration
Enter runway
Began take off roll
100 rpm half back
120 rpm Full back
Release prerotator
175 RRPM Ease on power
Strobe lights on
Navigation lights on
Landing lights on
Balance on mains
200 feet agl check temperatures
& pressures in the green.
Shut down:
Radio to ground control
Rotor below 75 rpm rotor brake
Transponder to 0ff
Strobe light off
Navigation lights off
Landing lights off
Taxi to hanger
Radio off
Alternator off
Spot landed message
Lean cut off
Master off
Magnetos off
GPS off
Stop timer
Unplug headset
Exit the aircraft
Fuel?
Fill out log book
Spot off
Post flight inspection
GPS batteries on charger
Camera batteries on charger
Calculate fuel burn
Down load pictures

[GyrOZprey]

Excellent Vance!
I'm very much a checklist person & looking for a starting point to work out specific checklists for the "Tiggy-B" & also when we get built my "Ozzie" Aurora for that too -- wanted to see what other pilots checklists looked like so I can pick Larry's brains while we build & train with the Butterflys!

Thanks for your very detailed reply.:yo:

[gyroplanes]

I always use a printed checklist. I flew with a nutty guy in a Cessna 172 one time, he was late, so I preflighted the plane. When he got there he jumped in, said out loud "mixture, master mags" fired it up and called the tower. Not surprisingly, he died in a plane crash (VFR into IMC).

I have flown in complex turboprops and the pilot's failed to use any checklist. My bad, should have gotten out.

[Vance]

Your welcome Chris,

They change so often I have them in word with a date to identify the most recent version.

I don’t know why it did not come out in two columns.

I wear them out often and each time I laminate a bunch of airport radio call sheets I look to see if I can improve it.

I start on the ladder from the left side then work around The Predator clockwise and then into the cockpit.

With things like her rebuilt empennage and her new upper brace I focus my attention and try to identify trends.

I also have a maintenance list in the hanger that I add to as I find trends.

Because The Predator is the only one just like her I need to intensify my vigilance.

Some suggest if my memory is so bad that I need a list that perhaps I shouldn’t fly.

More than one person has suggested that I check more things in my preflight than they check in their annuals.

The process helps me enjoy today’s flight and helps me with the design of Mariah Gale.

I think of the preflight and prestart up as aviation foreplay.

I don’t want to rush it because it is part of the fun and adds to the joy of the flight.

It looks like a beautiful day to fly so I am off to the airport.

Thank you, Vance

[farmer jim]

Vance -

Great preflight list, thanx, Mate... now, about that 'aviation foreplay' stuff, - Chris & I have been married 24.784 years, could you maybe elaborate ???? :party:

farmer jim

[GyroDoug]

Jim,

Having been married for that long, I would think you would have that topic pretty well figured out by now. LOL

Doug

[Vance]

Hello Jim,

Miriam Webster defines foreplay 2: Action or behavior that precedes an event.

You may be using definition number one.

I would not speak to your wife that way and I am sorry you took it that way.

In my opinion many people think of a comprehensive preflight in a negative way; a task a lot like work.

To me the preflight is the prelude to flight and adds to the value and depth of the experience. It is a preparation for the overture.

I find that when Ed helps with a preflight inspection that it enhances the joy of the flying for the both of us and helps to set the stage for the post flight afterglow. I find this is another way to protract the joy we find in flight. I feel it that a shared post flight inspection enhances the finale.

Ed has told me that it makes her feel a part of the flight rather than a passenger.

In my opinion the level of communication you have established with Chris will make a shared preflight and post flight all the more enjoyable.

Thank you, Vance

[NoWingsAttached]

Stan

Since when do we set our altimeters to zero? I used to do this, actually. Then one day at an EAA meeting, a FW friend said, "What the heck are you talking about, you are at 700 ft AGL on the radio? What are all supposed to do, run calculations in our heads to correct for your real MSL? Set your altimeter to the correct altitude so we all know when you call out your numbers where the heck you are. It's hard enough to see you, let alone try to figure out your altitude when you use AGL instead of MSL, like everyone else does."

Maybe this is a local thing, but keep your altimeter set correctly so that when you call out your altitude on a radio transmission, everyone else around you knows where you are, not just you.

And yeah, definitely, I check the fuel pressures individually, since crapping out several times the past couple of months on fuel delivery. 'Course that's a recurring theme on my flight records for years...not proud of it, but hey, I've gotten really good at unexpected returns to mother Earth.


Vance:

What the hell are you talking about? This man is talking about a quick cockpit check when you are on the approach, or at least I was under the impression he was FINISHED with his ground preflight inspection, and this is about what you are looking at while you are in the seat, buckled up and ready to roll. Good grief, if I wanted to rebuild the gyro I'd have taken the entire weekend off. What about torquing the head bolts - YEAH, that is part of MY routine - but fer chrissakes that is not the point.

What do you do, in the seat, strapped in, as a last minute check-out???

Chris Burgess always uses "FIT": Fuel, Instruments, Traffic. I like it. Simple, effective, and a great brain check.

COPILOT is a cool acronym. Good one, Stan. Doesn't fit what I am driving through the clouds today, but a cool acronym. I'll think about it when I get my water-cooled transmogrification completed.

[GyrOZprey]

Vance
No offence taken by either of us at all!!!

Your intent & language is clear & wholesome.

Jim is a joker & I SO TOLD HIM TO BE CAREFUL tossing off such jokes in your direction as you would likely have trouble "getting" his jest in the spirit it was given! :ohwell:

Sorry for that! He did not heed me!

Again many thanks for your comprehensive information. I learn so much from your posts and am awed at how well you handle flying, ATC calls , & take incredible photos to illustrate your wonderful flight descriptions!

[Vance]

Vance:

What the hell are you talking about? This man is talking about a quick cockpit check when you are on the approach, or at least I was under the impression he was FINISHED with his ground preflight inspection, and this is about what you are looking at while you are in the seat, buckled up and ready to roll. Good grief, if I wanted to rebuild the gyro I'd have taken the entire weekend off. What about torquing the head bolts - YEAH, that is part of MY routine - but fer chrissakes that is not the point.

What do you do, in the seat, strapped in, as a last minute check-out???

.

Below I posted just the part of the check list that pertains to the things I do after I have completed the preflight inspection. It is on the other side of the laminated card.

I am in the 17th percentile for unrelated short term memory and I fly a lot so I have the opportunity to make a lot of mistakes. Some of the list is based on actual mistakes and some of it comes from my process of managing the details.

When not using the list I have forgotten to squawk 1200, turn the transponder to mode C, turn on the alternator, make sure I have the next airport radio call sheet that I will need on my kneeboard directly under the airport I am departing from, start my timer to track my flight plan, open and fold my chart to the appropiate place, reset my GPS trip and activate spot and report taking off.

By using the check list I have found problems with my headset and microphone twice and the alternator once.

I can be comfortable that I have not forgotten anything when I begin my take off roll and this allows me to focus on the subtleties of the take off and climb out.

I put my check list away before I start my takeoff roll and mentally check off the remaining items as I go.

I am not suggesting that my list will work for anyone else; it is what I use and what works for me. I felt that was what Jim asked for.

Sit down
Fasten seat belt
Adjust seat belt
Plug in head set and ANR
Attach knee board
Arrange knee board
Turn on GPS
Check transponder set 1200
START UP
Radio off
Transponder off
Magneto switch OFF
Throttle full back
Master Off
All switches off
Master On
Boost pump
Fuel Full Rich
1/3 throttle
Brakes ON
Magneto switches on
Clear Prop!
Start
Lean for taxi
Start timer
Alternator On
Radio on
Check side tone
Transponder to standby
Set altimeter to field elevation
Check ATIS
Call Ground
Repeat taxi instructions
Spot on, tracking on, OK on
GPS set to destination.
Chart open and marked with course & waypoints
Magneto Check:
Temperatures and pressures in the green
Right, Left and Both at 1400 RPMs
110 drop 50 difference
Transponder to mode C
Change to tower frequency
Hold Short and call tower
Reset GPS trip
Report Ready for departure
Request departure procedure
and direction of flight
Receive takeoff clearance
Release rotor brake
Full rich for takeoff roll
One quarter throttle
Began peroration
Enter runway
Began take off roll
100 rpm half back
120 rpm Full back
Release prerotator
175 RRPM Ease on power
Strobe lights on
Navigation lights on
Landing lights on
Balance on mains
200 feet agl check temperatures
& pressures in the green.
Thank you, Vance

[hillberg]

Wow , That check list is longer than some TCed helicopters!

[Vance]

I am glad you cleared that up Chris.

I had a feeling it was a joke because of the smiley face and I suspect that Jim has that part down pretty well.

I didn’t want Jim to think I was sparking with you.

Ed is all I could ever want in a partner.

For me flight is about passion and there are not that many words to describe the art of passion so it is easy to misconstrue what I say.

Terms that are used to describe music and making love seem appropriate.

As you can see some people don’t think much of my lists.

I feel that small mistakes can be too costly to not attempt to mitigate my handicaps.

Just today I had what I feel was a near miss because someone at an uncontrolled airport misunderstood what a stop and go with a gyroplane was and compounded his error by not understanding how steep she climbs or how fast she turns. This is a small detail that could have proved fatal. I was reading it off my radio call sheet so I am certain I said it correctly on cross wind, downwind, base and final. I said white gyroplane and stop and go at each reporting.

Thank you, Vance

[Vance]

Wow , That check list is longer than some TCed helicopters!

I am still learning Don and I have a poor memory so I am trying to mitigate my challenges.

Thank you, Vance

[barnstorm2]

Zeroing is a common LSA altimetery technique in LSA operations.

See the PRA members only video for more information.

http://www.pra.org/member.aspx?i=4

.

[farmer jim]

:wave: Hi Vance -

MY BAD ! (post #7) Just my twisted sense of humor, I guess. Chris & I are thrilled by your posts, do not change !

sorry, Mate -


Doug, I am the product of a questionable education system, as well as living on a farm with limited (human) contact, so UP YER NOSE WITH A RUBBER HOSE. :boink: :)

farmer jim

[JEFF TIPTON]

OOh Mr. Kotter!!

[RotorTom]

Greg- I set my altimeter to 0 as it is quicker for me to ascertain being out of the HV curve especially in my helicopter. I never am in controlled airspace but I have my gps reading my correct altitude out if I were to call. Always have set it to 0 and always will! Stan

Stan,

What a wonderful and eloquent solution! :hail:

I have a GPS and could've easily set my altimeter to zero.

Crap!

Instead I have an expensive radar altimeter.

I should ALWAYS subscribe to KISS.

Thanks for the painful reminder. :)

[Vance]

:wave: Hi Vance -

MY BAD ! (post #7) Just my twisted sense of humor, I guess. Chris & I are thrilled by your posts, do not change !

sorry, Mate -


Doug, I am the product of a questionable education system, as well as living on a farm with limited (human) contact, so UP YER NOSE WITH A RUBBER HOSE. :boink: :)

farmer jim

No worrys Mate.

I didn't you to think I was sparking with Chris.

Thank you, Vance