Funky Preflight

Half Fast

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Half Fast
Found this old gem of an FAA training film. Wally Funk demonstrates how to conduct a pre-flight inspection, filmed back in her NTSB ASI days. I especially like the part about using a finger to stick the tanks because she doesn't have to worry about dropping her finger into the tank.

 
I had a student pilot drop the acrylic fuel dipstick into the tank, and it took him about four hours to fish it out. Later, an A&P told me that if you put some weights on the horizontal stabilizer, to raise the nose, the dipstick would slide to the back of the tank where it would be easy to locate.
 
How do you calibrate a finger for the number of gallons in the tank? The airplanes I trained in had nearly useless fuel gages - had to 'dip' the tanks.

And - great idea? throwing leaded fuel samples on the ground - ? (although, I've flown out of an airport where that was the practice)
 
How do you calibrate a finger for the number of gallons in the tank? The airplanes I trained in had nearly useless fuel gages - had to 'dip' the tanks.

And - great idea? throwing leaded fuel samples on the ground - ? (although, I've flown out of an airport where that was the practice)


Well,.....

1 - The film was made a long, long time ago.
2 - FWIW, the 80 octane fuel had a lot less lead than today’s 100LL.
3 - Maybe her finger was calibrated. 1 knuckle = 15 gallons, 2 knuckles = 20 gallons, etc.
4 - That pantsuit was probably quite stylish back in the day.
 
I met her once at my airport and had no idea who she was. She used to fly out of the same airfield as me and one day she stopped and we chatted about how to preflight the plane ironically enough.

My buddy of mine said do you realize you're talking to a legend?

A few weeks later she texiied an airplane into a hanger and I think she might have hung it up shortly thereafter.
 
I met her once at my airport and had no idea who she was. She used to fly out of the same airfield as me and one day she stopped and we chatted about how to preflight the plane ironically enough.

My buddy of mine said do you realize you're talking to a legend?

A few weeks later she texiied an airplane into a hanger and I think she might have hung it up shortly thereafter.
You mean taxied into the wall or door or something of the hangar? That seems bad
 
You mean taxied into the wall or door or something of the hangar? That seems bad
I think she smacked the wing right into the side of a hangar. She was getting up in age and there were a lot of people talking about how great she was but in the next breath expressing concerns
 
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