5 Often Overlooked Preflight PrecautionsĪs I said, I’m not going to go through a whole inspection. If a plane has a bend gear or flat strut, it’s often more obvious from a distance. As part of this inspection flow, start looking at the plane with a critical eye as you first approach it and while you’re still at a distance. Instead, a pilot should develop an “inspection flow,” looking for anything out of the ordinary, while periodically stopping to review the items on the checklist to make sure none of them were missed. This is how pilots may miss the obvious things, like a big puddle of oil on the ramp below the plane. That is, don’t read an item on the list, then go look for it on the plane then, go back to the next item on the list, etc. ![]() On the other hand, I don’t like to see pilots use the checklist as a “DO” list. In fact, if you’re about to take your private pilot practical test you better be in the habit of using that checklist-the examiner will expect it of you. My goal in this article isn’t to provide a step-by-step guide to the basic preflight inspection, but rather to offer an A&P/IA’s perspective on the topic.įirst, know that I’m all for checklists and Cessna has a very good (and thorough) preflight checklist for their piston aircraft. I’ve seen things go wrong with a plane in-flight, and I like to minimize that possibility as much as possible. Then, there’s the second category of pilots, those who get lazy and do less and less on the preflight, presumably because they’ve been lucky and never had anything bad happen and don’t believe it ever will. ![]() First, there are those pilots whose preflight inspections get more and more detailed, presumably because they’ve encountered problems and know more things to look for. However, it appears to me that as pilots gain more experience and rack up more hours, they tend to fall into one of two categories. – An A&P’s Perspective on Preflight InspectionsĪnyone who’s had more than two instructional flights has learned the basics of the preflight inspection. ![]() What to Know BEFORE You Go Sponsored by AirMart, Inc.
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