Does anyone pre-flight anymore?

I see people come to the airport ck oil then take off so sad one day it will bite them in the butt
 
Some people plan ahead and pre-flight their plane before passengers show up. I will do the run up before passengers show up as well.

On my own planes I may pre-flight the evening before the trip. And then do a once over, again, before passengers show up.

Too many times I'll watch someone spend an hour doing a pre-flight on a single engine piston plane, and hear non-aviation people ask out loud what is wrong with that plane.
 
Since I am still renting I do a thorough preflight and If fueling is needed I wait 10-15 minutes after fueling to sump again to make sure there is no water. I am thorough and have squawked airplanes several times.
 
Three answers:
My plane (sole owner / only pilot) - I'm over there all the time and looking at stuff. If a bolt fell from the hangar ceiling or it got bumped by my golf cart or any such thing (private hangar) I'd know long before the preflight. So it goes quite quickly... Oil, all locks removed, fly.

My club planes: A little longer look, review the squawks from others, close look at the tires and such.

Rentals: Fine tooth comb.
 
I pre-flight for the first flight of the day. I also pre-flight the plane before I close up the hangar. (Just in case I'm in a hurry the next time I fly.) The longer it's been sitting since the last time it was flown, the more thorough my pre-flight. (No logical reason, it's just me.)

How much I pre-flight at each stop during the day depends on many factors. Easy landing at a relatively empty field, and gone from the plane for less than an hour; I'll just check fuel and oil, and do a visual walk-around. But I'm not going to feel and inspect every hinge, screw, pushrod, etc... An overnight stay, and I'm doing a full pre-flight before the next flight.

Then again, I fly a few hundred hours per year, and I have 100hr inspections at least twice during the year. So the plane gets looked at closely on a regular basis. Makes my wife happy.

I rarely sump. The weather just doesn't change much here, and I store the plane with full tanks most of the time. About the only times I sump are if she's been sitting for more than a week, (which is rare) and anytime the plane is refueled by someone else. (Assuming it has sat for an hour after being refueled.)
 
AIR565 said:
yes before each flight
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You trying to get your post count up by searching and bumping old threads? Some of the people on the original post aren't with us... they forgot to pre-flight check some of their other posts.
 
Uh necro... ugh.. Now I need to roll back through 80 posts to see if my answer changed :(
 
As an A&P, when I first started flying, my CFI would accuse me of doing 100 hr inspections during preflight. :) I have since picked up the pace but still do a thorough job.
 
Forget the pre-flight checklists for a moment, how about running pre-post checklists?

1. Necro-thread - NO.
2. Spin topic - NO.
3. Re-post - NO.
 
Food for thought. Years ago, when fuel was really expensive, on more than one occasion fuel was stolen from our flight school's planes. Also, a flight instructor performed an extensive preflight on a C-210 the night before a long flight, then tucked the plane away for the night. He was the last person scheduled before his early morning departure. The owner took the plane for an hour that night and didn't record it. The next day, he landed safely short of his destination.
 
As others, we do a thorough pre-flight before the first flight of the day. Then it depends if what we did at the destination and how long we stayed. We always check fuel level, and do a walk around before we start again. I want to make sure that I catch the obvious things before taking off...
 
George Foster said:
Food for thought. Years ago, when fuel was really expensive, on more than one occasion fuel was stolen from our flight school's planes. ....
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I read several accident reports where planes ran out of fuel after less than 1/2 hour flight even though they were topped off the evening before. That is why I always verify visually that the tanks are full and sump fuel before every flight...
 
asicer said:
Forget the pre-flight checklists for a moment, how about running pre-post checklists?

1. Necro-thread - NO.
2. Spin topic - NO.
3. Re-post - NO.
Click to expand...

LOL!

On something like this topic, might as well necropost. Nothing changed. :)
 
Skywalker said:
I read several accident reports where planes ran out of fuel after less than 1/2 hour flight even though they were topped off the evening before. That is why I always verify visually that the tanks are full and sump fuel before every flight...
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I always stressed to students the importance of a preflight. But if you are going to shortcut it, at least check visually that you have fuel and oil, and free controls.
 
Alexb2000 said:
I have noticed that I take a lot longer to get off the ground than other people. I have also caught a lot of things while doing a good pre-flight, even on birds I owned. Every airport I go to I watch other pilots, drive up, load up, fire up, and go. Not even a walk around. It blows my mind how much of this I see. The NTSB database is full of accidents that could have been prevented with a pre-flight, yet the topic is never mentioned during BFR, IPC's, etc. In fact I watch CFI's doing the same all the time. Dangerous trend IMO.

So, what say you?
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I fly Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I'll check it out good on Tuesday. The rest of the week I'll give it a walk around, check the oil, sump the fuel, light the fires.
 
asicer said:
Forget the pre-flight checklists for a moment, how about running pre-post checklists?

1. Necro-thread - NO.
2. Spin topic - NO.
3. Re-post - NO.
Click to expand...


Some life lessons need to be repeated on a regular basis.
You never know who is reading.
 
Shepherd said:
Some life lessons need to be repeated on a regular basis.
You never know who is reading.
Click to expand...

I usually don't need someone to remind me to unzip before peeing because the consequences are disappointing and immediate. Any lapse in correct procedure has quick feedback.

In the case of poor pre-flight habits you get away with peeing on yourself so you're not always immediately and strongly negatively reinforced to not do that again because it was dumb.

It's one of those things you'll get away with not doing, until you don't.
 
I do a full preflight basically every time, $100 hamburgers with it not leaving the sight of my eyeballs I'll do a quick walk around/oil check. Everything else gets the full preflight. It doesn't take very long to do. Most important reason is safety and career, one time something going wrong is a lot worse than the few minutes I spend on a full preflight.

I actually had a friend ask me yesterday why I do such a throughough one all time, safety, But also if my plane breaks at an airport other than my home base it's going to be a pain and a very costly endeavor, not to mention I need to find a way back home. I'd rather avoid that if at all possible.

As within else in life just because someone else is or isn't doing something, doesn't mean it is or is not a good idea
 
FWIW, I fly a corporate ACJ that has a mechanic on every trip and I still preflight the airplane. Granted, there are things pilots really can't check on an ACJ or similar aircraft but I check what I can. Every time. I have the occasional opportunity to fly single engine aircraft from time to time as well and I always do a preflight on them too. It's basic airmanship and professionalism. A good preflight on a small plane takes 5 minutes.
 
Takes me about 20 minutes to completely pre-flight a Gulfstream 450 by the books, which includes some cockpit checks, four CB panels from front to back of the airplane, pulling gear and gear door pins, etc.

Takes me 5 minutes to completely pre-flight my Twin Comanche, again, top-to-bottom. If I pushed it into my own hangar the night before and pull it back out the next morning, 2 minutes. To pre-flight a rental or club airplane? Probably 10-15 minutes... I just go slow on purpose in those instances, trying to play detective. If I'm ever likely to run out of luck, it'll probably be with someone else's piston engine in front of me. So a few minutes is worth it.

It's not a race, but if you're comfortable with the airplane it really shouldn't take longer than a few minutes. But I'd rather you spend too much time than not enough.
 
One could compile a list or flow chart of when to do or not do a thorough preflight.

I find life is easier if I just do one every time.

The logic of not doing one under certain circumstances escapes me. As long as there's any possibility that something has come loose, cracked or otherwise changed on the last leg, the Most Conservative Action is clearly to do a preflight any time you have a chance.

Or not. If you feel lucky.
 
FastEddieB said:
One could compile a list or flow chart of when to do or not do a thorough preflight.

I find life is easier if I just do one every time.

The logic of not doing one under certain circumstances escapes me. As long as there's any possibility that something has come loose, cracked or otherwise changed on the last leg, the Most Conservative Action is clearly to do a preflight any time you have a chance.

Or not. If you feel lucky.
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Well, the Most Conservative Action would be not to fly airplanes. :)

Kidding, sorta. We agree. There's really no substitute for a thorough pre-flight. And I don't think anyone is recommending that an aircraft should not be inspected prior to flying. I would suggest that it is possible for an airplane to remain in a "pre-flighted" status for relatively short periods of time. In my example, my current flow is to come to the hangar the night before and prep the plane for departure, which includes fueling, pre-flight inspection, etc. That way when I bring the wife and kids the next day, we load up and go with no delay. Although I may appear to pull my plane out, hop in it, and go, it has been checked out.

If I'm flying and make a quick stop somewhere, I do a brief walk around, re-check fuel, oil, and flight control surfaces, and keep moving.

The only problem with always doing the Most Conservative Action is that it's sometimes a Very Ineffecient Action. I like to get a lot of utility out of my flying machine, so I look for a reasonable balance.
 
Which has the best safety record, GA or airlines?

Of course, we know it is the airlines.

Now, which pilot typically does a more thorough preflight, the GA pilot or the airline pilot?

Most of us would say the GA pilot. The airline pilot does a less thorough preflight.

Deduction: A less thorough preflight by the pilot leads to a better safety record!
:eek:


Just kidding folks. We all know that it is us maintenance guys that keep everyone safe.

:D:D:D


On the serious side:
As a GA pilot, it is all up to you to achieve the highest level of safety.
Be safe. Be thorough.:)
 
SkyDog58 said:
Just kidding folks. We all know that it is us maintenance guys that keep everyone safe.

:D:D:D:)
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I always had the utmost respect for mechanics at my airline. Too many things can go wrong on a jet or turboprop and I always was amazed at depth of the knowledge and skill many mechanics have. Always felt mechanics should be much better paid.
 
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I handle an airplane the same way I handle a firearm.

When I first touch it, I check clear (preflight). When it leaves my control (i.e. Out of sight) I check it clear again when I pick it up.

Even if it hasn't left my sight, if there are a bunch of people around, I will clear it again anyway... just in case

In both cases it takes but a moment. A mistake or oversight could well last for eternity.
 
One reason it might not look like someone did a full preflight could be due to them doing it inside their hangar before they pushed onto the ramp.

I'll do a preflight, what used to be called a daily flight check , before the first flight, sump, etc. but each shutdown and start up after that I'm not doing a full walk around, I'll check the tanks, literally walk around the plane and go.

That said, I view the plane as a loaded firearm after it's been through a preflight, no one is to touch it at all without my DIRECT supervision, if anyone does, it's compromised and I do a complete preflight all over again.
 
Last year as I was headed to the airplane (it's a 5 minute walk from the FBO) I was thinking "I do a full pre-flight every time and in 10 years I've never found anything wrong." I did the full preflight anyway. When I pulled the gascolator drain that morning, nothing came out. It was good reinforcement. (As it turned out the plane was down with a full system problem but nobody told the schedulers, so they let me schedule it anyway.)

The instructor who did my primary training told me "Never miss a chance to check the gas and oil". Even when we'd do a short breakfast stop I always did.

Dudley Henriques who used to post here and before that on Rec.aviation told a story of preflighting a warbird (maybe a P-51?) at an airshow and then doing a last walk around and finding a teddy bear that some child had set into the carb air intake. He was an advocate of full pre-flight just before start every time.

Me too.

John
 
I do a full preflight anytime the plane has been out of my sight. No telling what people/animals/wind can do to the plane while it's out of sight.
 
I have been enjoying life for 67 years and flying for 25 years or so. I enjoyed living enough before I started flying that I decided from the get go that I would do adequate preflight checking. I probably do a more comprehensive preflight after stopping for fuel than many pilots do at the first flight of the day. Call me a wimp, a geek, a wuss or whatever you like, but along with that, you can call me "alive."
 
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