That's a little beyond what one might expect of a Student Pilot during preflight. That's the sort of thing you get an A&P to check before flight, and that's not what the OP's instructor said to do. Fie on that instructor.
There is clearly a gap in your knowledge base. See Duncan's post above about the gear and gear box.
Big difference between a malfunctioning system and a nonexistent system.
Maybe you watch someone like Duncan remove and replace a pump. Then you'd know how it can happen. It's not common, but the gear itself can fail and dump bits into the gearbox.
That's a pretty good idea, although Duncan's post suggests that removal isn't necessary, just inspection (I don't know for sure myself). I sure wouldn't fly it myself without knowing more (short of the Indiana Jones scenario).
I thoroughly preflight before every flight. The odds of me finding anything that'll ground the aircraft are next to nil. In fact, in 1,500 hours of flying, it's never happened.*
Yes.
And when it's replaced the condition of the teeth might just be inspected.
This all reminds me of my CFI when I was 17. On my first cross country, the cable linkage between the throttle and the engine went funky (C172)...couldn't idle the engine. No matter what I did, the plane wouldn't land. So I did a final and shut my engine off completely over the runway. I respect those who would have flown anyway, and I trust you respect my decision as well.
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I called my CFI from Tracy Airport. He encouraged me to fly home, which...being young and naïve, I did.
When the tower at PAO found out the CFI had instructed a student on first solo to fly home with a known throttle linkage issue, they refused to let me land on the short runway, and directed me to San Jose International. SJC stopped all traffic while I once again shut off my engine and stopped on the loonnnggg and wiiiddde runway (not my best landing...first time on a really wide runway, and misjudged my height due to the optical illusion). I was surrounded by fire engines.
My lesson learned: you have to trust your gut and as PIC it's YOUR decision. My CFI made a terrible mistake, and I was too trusting to disobey his request. What if the fraying cable had simply broken off the rest of the way?
Fast forward 40 years later...I made a decision this week documented in this thread not to fly with a known vacuum issue. For me, this was the right decision, and I'd do it again in an instant.
Thanks, all for the great insights in this post!!!!!!!!!
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Thanks for the comments.This site rocks.
My concern was not just about this gauge, but that one gauge with a vacuum issue could be a symptom of a larger issue...which I'm not qualified to diagnose.
And no, it was not marked INOP. And no, I wasn't going on a trip, so no flight plan. And no, there was no mechanic available.
I called my CFI from Tracy Airport. He encouraged me to fly home, which...being young and naïve, I did.
When the tower at PAO found out the CFI had instructed a student on first solo to fly home with a known throttle linkage issue, they refused to let me land on the short runway, and directed me to San Jose International. SJC stopped all traffic while I once again shut off my engine and stopped on the loonnnggg and wiiiddde runway (not my best landing...first time on a really wide runway, and misjudged my height due to the optical illusion). I was surrounded by fire engines.
My lesson learned: you have to trust your gut and as PIC it's YOUR decision. My CFI made a terrible mistake, and I was too trusting to disobey his request. What if the fraying cable had simply broken off the rest of the way?
Fast forward 40 years later...I made a decision this week documented in this thread not to fly with a known vacuum issue. For me, this was the right decision, and I'd do it again in an instant.
Thanks, all for the great insights in this post!!!!!!!!!
What's "GOOSE-A-CAT"?
I would say your decision to not fly this plane is strong evidence that your quoted statement is wrong. Congratulations, PIC!