Checking the Checks
On Saturday 20th March, I gave a brief talk called “Checking the Checks” at Old
Sarum Flying School, as part of the “Instructors’ Pearls of Wisdom” session that took
place that evening. The talk was about how I like to self-check my preparation before
I go flying and, as agreed that evening, I have put the slides from the talk here on the
School’s website. I have added some explanatory text so, if you missed the talk, it
should all still make sense.
The idea of the process is to ensure that I don’t miss anything important before I go
flying. I have these cards in with my flying kit and I check through them as the very
last thing I do before walking out of the flying school building to go flying. Call me
unorthodox, but I like to start with Card No. 1.
As you see, it starts with a block of reminders to check that my personal paperwork
is up to date and that I’m current. On my original card, I’ve got the expiry dates
written in, in pencil, and I change them each time I get something renewed. As I go
through this bit I also ask myself the questions “Am I well rested? Have I had
something to eat? Am I taking any medication that the doctor doesn’t know about?” If
you wish, you could add these questions to the checklist. I’m happy just to remember
them.
By now it will be obvious that, if all you do is get this list out and go through it just
before you go flying, it will be too late to do some of the items it contains. I always
have this list in mind well before I go flying. Exactly how long before depends on the
length and complexity of the flight. If it’s a local flight, I’ll check the list one or two
hours before I go flying. If it’s a cross country, I may start referring to the list a few
days earlier. However, I still like to give the list a final run through just before I go to
the aircraft.
In the next block of reminders, the “Fuel & Oil”, “Aircraft defects” and “Hours until
next check” are self-explanatory. For aircraft defects, I consider both the defects I
may have found during my pre-flight inspection and anything I may have found in the
defects log. I consider doing a weight and balance check and an airfield
performance check but will only need to do them if the circumstances are unusual.
For example, if I‘m flying an aircraft that I’ve flown before (i.e. known registration
number) in a familiar loading (e.g. average sized passenger and tabs fuel) then I will
be content that neither of these checks are necessary. If there is anything unusual, I
will check weight and balance and performance.
Weather and remaining daylight are self-explanatory.
Under “Destination”, I like to get the airfield details from the AIP and, possibly, from a
VFR flight guide as well. There’s a School rule that you should do a performance
check if the runway is shorter than that at Old Sarum. This is just good airmanship
but, in any case, I certainly like to avoid the embarrassment of discovering that the
runway is too short to take-off from only after I have landed there! I check that the
airfield will be open for long enough, obtain PPR if required and, by the time I’m
getting in the aircraft, I like to be reasonably familiar (from having read the AIP and
flight guide) with any local procedures for noise abatement, joining the circuit and
anything else that the AIP might be able to tell me.
For “Diversions”, I like to have looked along my track and considered where the
suitable diversions are. I also write their radio frequencies down on my PLOG
(they’re on the map but I like to have them in my comms plan) along with all the other
frequencies that I have written down, in the order that I’m expecting to need them.
I confirm (to myself) that I’ve checked the Notams. If appropriate, I mark my map with
any hazards and I remind myself of what was said on the AIS Information Line (Rats,
Reds and Royals) when I telephoned (I’ll have scribbled it down on a spare sheet of
paper on my flight board). Then I have a look at the latest Red Arrows AIC which I’ve
already got printed off and added to my flying kit (in case of confliction, the AIS info is
more up-to-date and therefore over-rides the AIC).
Now I’m on to “Special Requirements”, which is Card No. 2. “Special Requirements”,
will mean different things to different people; I will explain what it means to me. Most
of my flying consists of local flights or flights to airfields within 100 nm of Old Sarum
(and, usually, much closer than that). If I’m doing anything more adventurous it might
need a bit more planning, so I look through Card No.2. You will have your own idea
of what constitutes a “normal” flight and it is very likely to be different from mine. So,
assuming you like this idea in the first place, your Card No.2 could look very different
from mine and so will be the flights on which you use it. Anyway, having decided that
the flight I am planning has “Special Requirements”, I look through Card No.2 and
decide what, if anything, I need to do prior to the flight or take with me in the aircraft. I
don’t simply take/do everything that’s on the list, I just use the Card as an aide
memoire. The Card has evolved with time, mostly due to my forgetting things that I
would rather have remembered!
Now I’m back to the “Flight Planning” Card which, as you see, immediately refers me
to my third and last card, Card No.3, “Today’s Emergency”. Speaking for myself, I
find it very difficult to consider emergencies and to learn any of the procedures given
in the Pilots’ Operating Handbook (POH), even though I know it’s good airmanship to
do this. Using “Today’s Emergency” means I rehearse an emergency every time I go
flying. I prepared the Card by considering all of the “normal” emergencies (e.g.
brakes failure, engine failure in flight, radio failure) normally listed and described in
the standard flying training textbooks. I then went through the POH (in this case, I
used the one for the AT3) and added everything to the list that I hadn’t already got
from the standard texts. I then prefixed each emergency item with a number,
representing a day of the month. I’ve got 22 emergencies so now I’ve got an
emergency for each day of the month up to the 22nd. I don’t want a situation where, if
I go flying on any day between the 23rd and the 31st, inclusive, I don’t have an
emergency to practise, so I took these remaining days of the month and distributed
them amongst the existing emergencies, choosing those emergencies that I thought
were the most useful to rehearse. Finally, I added the superscript numbers to refer
myself to the note at the bottom of the Card which tells me whether the drill is
included in the aircraft checklist or in the POH, so that I can refer to these documents
to make sure I’m getting the drill right.
As an example of how I use this Card, imagine that I’m sitting at home on Thursday
night, thinking about a flight that I’m planning to do on the following Saturday. Next
Saturday is the 27th so I look down my list for 27 which is a radio failure. My flight on
the 27th is going to be to Goodwood, and I’m planning to overfly Southampton, asking
Solent Radar for a VFR clearance through the Southampton Control Zone (CTR). I sit
and imagine that, at some stage during the flight, I experience a radio failure of some
kind. Firstly, what kind of failure is it? Is it just the transmitter or just the receiver or is
it both? If it’s just a transmitter failure, does the controller realise and give me
instructions or not? Does the failure occur before making contact with Solent Radar,
after making contact with them but before entering the CTR, after entering the CTR
but before overflying the airport or, did the failure happen after overflying
Southampton but whilst still in the CTR? It’s quite a complex matrix of possibilities
and I’ve got a rough idea of what I’d probably do for a radio failure at each of these
stages of the flight. However, the advantage of the “Today’s Failure” idea is that it
forces me (if I’m doing it properly) to consider the situation carefully and swap my
rough ideas for a certain plan, checking standard text books, CAP 413 and the AIP
(both the en-route and the aerodrome specific (in this case, Goodwood) sections) to
remove any doubts that I might have. You’re right: the failure probably won’t happen
but, now I’ve checked, and will be subjecting myself to further, random checks in the
future, I’m much better placed to deal with the problem should it happen for real.
Back to Card No. 1 which reminds me about passengers. I make sure that they’ve
completed their membership forms and that they’ve got a headset each. Apart from
pointing out the hazards of propellers and taxiing aircraft, which I do whilst still in the
flying school , I prefer to brief passengers in the aircraft during the period of calm
between strapping in (which is always a major faff) and starting the engine. If you’re
interested, I’ve written my passenger brief at the end of this text, just before the
cards. However, I vary it, depending on how much flying my passengers have done.
Finally, if I’m at an airfield where booking out is not accepted over the radio, I make
sure I’ve remembered to do it by telephone or whatever method is in use at that
airfield. And that’s it. I’m ready to go just so long as I don’t forget the keys! I’ve
included the cards on the remaining pages so feel free to amend them if you wish
and print them out.
Safe, happy flying,
David
My passenger brief:
Seat belts (especially ensuring that everyone knows how to undo them).
Doors (ditto).
Location of fire extinguisher and first-aid kit.
In the event of in-flight emergency:
Tighten seat belts (if requested).
Unlatch door (ditto).
Brace position (ditto) (give a demo).
Keep hands and feet clear of controls.
Explanation of air vents (especially if Warrior).
Make sure everyone’s happy with their headset.
Card 1 - Flight Planning
Licence valid
Class rating valid
Medical in date
Flown within last two months (School rule)
Three take-offs and landings within last 90 days if carrying passengers
Fuel & Oil
Weight & balance
Aircraft defects
Hours until next check
Airfield performance
Weather:
Departure airfield
En-route
Destination
Return
Remaining daylight
Destination
Runway length
Operating hours
PPR
Local procedures
Diversions
Radio Frequencies
Notams
0500 354 802
Red Arrows
Special Requirements
Today’s Emergency
Passengers
Membership forms
Headsets
Brief
Book out
Card 2 - Special Requirements
For a long flight, a flight abroad or a flight over water or a sparsely populated area, consider taking the following:
Mobile phone
OSFS:
Work:
01722 322 525
Flight plan filed
Passport
Foreign currency
Life jackets (to be worn)
Life raft
Dinghy captain appointed and briefed
Diversion kit
Wash kit
Credit card
Cash
Aircraft documents
Procedures for interception by military aircraft
Warm clothing
Personal locator beacon
Review procedure for radio failure in controlled airspace
Card 3 - Today’s Emergency
1
2/23
3/24
4
5
6/25
7
8/26
9/27
10/28
11/29
12
13
14
15
16
17/30
18/31
19
20
21
22
Engine failure before take-off.1 & 2
Engine failure after take-off.1 & 2
Engine failure during flight.1 & 2
Rough running.1
Engine fire during start.1
Engine fire during flight.1 & 2
Engine fire on ground.2
Generator/alternator failure.1
Radio failure.1
Electrical failure.2
Cabin fire.
Brake failure
CHT too high.2
Low fuel pressure.2
Excessive engine vibration.2
Engine over-speeding.2
Oil temperature too high.2
Oil pressure too low.2
Recovery from unintentional spin.2
Icing.2
Failure of pitot-static system.2
Failure of balance tab control system.2
Notes.
1
Drill given in OSFS checklist
2
Drill given in POH.