How much time to spend on Pre-Flight?

azpilot said:
I know the right answer is, "you take as long as you need to take". But I guess what I'm really after is "how long do you usually spend on the pre-flight"?

I feel like I take forever to get through the pre-flight. I timed it the other day and from the time i walked up to the plane I rent parked on the ramp, to the time I was seat belted in and ready to start the engine, it took about 45 minutes. There were some distractions involved. I had two people come up and talk to me, and so I backed up in the checklist to make sure I didn't skip anything, so that probably did make it take longer.

I took about a two year break from flying. In late 2021, I'm just now getting back into it. I've been renting a 172 and a Cherokee, and now I've signed up in a club where I'll be flying a 182 and an Archer. I know bouncing back and forth between airplanes certainly doesn't help. I'm going to have to "re-learn" the pre-flight process. I'm sure I'll get more efficient at it as time goes on, and I get more flights under my belt.
Click to expand...
I take forever, too. And I don’t care one bit. You can’t pull over up there, I want to make sure I have an airworthy plane. And that would be doubly true if I were renting.
 
I fly and teach in an experimental amateur built gyroplane that is kept in a hangar and has hundred hour inspections.

From the time I get to the airport to wheels up I plan 45 minutes solo and close to an hour with a passenger.

I make an effort to think about each thing I am doing and expand beyond the check list.

It is not unusual for me to take longer and if I am interrupted I often start over.

I always do a preflight before the learner arrives.

The first time a learner does a pre-flight on the aircraft it typically takes an hour and a half.

People regularly make fun of me for my lengthy pre-flights.
 
I recommend doing things the same exact way every time. It'll help with the speed and the accuracy. If I've been flying a lot recently, it takes very little time, but the longer it's been, the slower I go. I do a preflight flow and then review the checklist to ensure I didn't forget something, and if I have any doubt, I just go do it again.

I start by sumping fuel and checking oil. Then I turn on the lights, the beacon, and check the fuel pump and fuel gauges. I get out, walk around the whole plane and check the lights. I pull any blankets or covers as I walk around. When I get back in to turn off everything, I pull the flap handle, so it's down for my walkaround. I always start at the baggage door, and check the whole plane - flaps, ailerons, pitot tube, fuel vents, tires, brakes, etc. After I get back to the baggage door, I step way back so I can look at the whole plane before pulling the chocks or pulling it out of the hangar (depending on temperature!). This gives me another opportunity to see if I missed something obvious.
 
On my first time renting a plane, usually an hour or two, going through all the inspections, logbooks, procedures.

With the plane I usually fly (Archer II) about 10 minutes between walking up to the plane and engine start (not counting checking the weather every few hours starting 12 hours before the flight and doing w&b if I have someone with me)
 
azpilot said:
I know the right answer is, "you take as long as you need to take". But I guess what I'm really after is "how long do you usually spend on the pre-flight"?

I feel like I take forever to get through the pre-flight. I timed it the other day and from the time i walked up to the plane I rent parked on the ramp, to the time I was seat belted in and ready to start the engine, it took about 45 minutes. There were some distractions involved. I had two people come up and talk to me, and so I backed up in the checklist to make sure I didn't skip anything, so that probably did make it take longer.

I took about a two year break from flying. In late 2021, I'm just now getting back into it. I've been renting a 172 and a Cherokee, and now I've signed up in a club where I'll be flying a 182 and an Archer. I know bouncing back and forth between airplanes certainly doesn't help. I'm going to have to "re-learn" the pre-flight process. I'm sure I'll get more efficient at it as time goes on, and I get more flights under my belt.
Click to expand...

When I was renting 172 it would take 10 mins max. The first time I was shown how to do a pre flight it took 15 mins. I don't see how you can spend 45 mins?

Now that I own my own plane in a rented hangar I do a post flight inspections and only check the oil and gas before each flight now.

Like said if you are renting the plane, time is money. Figure the guy who flew it an hour before you did the same inspection. My instructor would get annoyed if I took 45 mins.
 
Gary Ward said:
When I was renting 172 it would take 10 mins max. The first time I was shown how to do a pre flight it took 15 mins. I don't see how you can spend 45 mins?

Now that I own my own plane in a rented hangar I do a post flight inspections and only check the oil and gas before each flight now.

Like said if you are renting the plane, time is money. Figure the guy who flew it an hour before you did the same inspection. My instructor would get annoyed if I took 45 mins.
Click to expand...

I kinda sorta think along these lines...after you gain some familiarity. I can also sympathize though wit the intent of the OP. As a rusty pilot a couple years ago renting and switching between different unfamiliar planes, I was taking what felt like an eternity. I had not yet developed my memory of where things were in the plane. Even though one of them was a familiar type, it was different. Radios were different and more complicated than I was used to years ago, etc.......
Also renting, everything needs to be checked...not necessarily form an airworthiness perspective...but also just setting it up your way.

And I would suggest in your case, at least check for critters and nests before flights...stuff like that. Things can happen fast in storage....
 
Plane I've been flying for 16 years, in a hangar. Takes me about 20 minutes from arrival until I'm in the plane ready to start.
 
"As much as necessary" with absolutely zero distractions and absolutely zero rushing. Yes in the real world this isn't always possible. Do it anyway. Be rude if you have to, tell your friend to shut-up while you go over your checklists and pre-flight the plane. Miss that business meeting. Upset your passengers/boss/flight ops/whatever because you missed your scheduled TOT. Eat into your rental time. Nothing is worth more than your life.

I take about 20-25 minutes to pre-flight a Cessna 152. I developed a flow backed up by the checklist, and never deviate from that flow. After checking the annuals/maintenance logs, etc. (if it's a new-to-me rental plane or I know that it's close to a 100 hour), my pre-flight beings while walking to the plane on the flight line - just a general "once-over", taking the airplane in as a whole; do the wings look level? Wheels on or falling off? Any bent metal? Leaking fluids pooling on the tarmac?

From there, I go over everything with a fine-tooth comb. I'm not afraid to touch every square inch of that plane, or use a flashlight (yes during the day) to check the elevator cables/connectors, inside the fuel tanks, around the wheels, inside the engine cowling, etc. I sump the gas at least twice, triple-check the flight controls move in the right direction when turning the yoke, and physically run back and forth between the cockpit and tail to check the trim tab/wheel and make sure it's not reversed. It doesn't matter if it's been 10 minutes since I've been away from the plane or 10 days, I do this every time. Once everything on the checklist is complete, I take a break - 5 minutes just to give my mind a rest and reset, then I approach the plane again with the "once-over" to see the big picture one more time (wings level, wheels good, chocks away, tie-downs removed, no covers over the pitot tube, etc.).

Am I over-doing it? Probably.
 
People I can’t believe no one has mentioned oil cap!

Check it!!! Far more likely to be improperly secured than your ailerons operating backward
 
Randomskylane said:
People I can’t believe no one has mentioned oil cap!

Check it!!! Far more likely to be improperly secured than your ailerons operating backward
Click to expand...
Is not that part of the pre flight?
I mean, if you check the oil….
 
↑
People I can’t believe no one has mentioned oil cap!

Check it!!! Far more likely to be improperly secured than your ailerons operating backward
Click to expand...


Kritchlow said:
Is not that part of the pre flight?
I mean, if you check the oil….
Click to expand...

That is what I was thinking and mentioned above. If I only check one thing before the flight it is to check the oil.
 
Check oil is via dipstick in many planes. Oil filler is separate
 
Prefight in hangar, open door pull out, close door, 30 min
 
Randomskylane said:
Check oil is via dipstick in many planes. Oil filler is separate
Click to expand...

Small percentage.

The vast majority of aircraft have the dipstick attached to the filler cap.

Speaking of oil filler caps, I lost one once on a Stearman because someone came up to ‘chat’ and distracted me during preflight. I had just poured the rocker drain oil back into the tank and was contemplating adding more when I was interrupted. Never went back to secure the cap/dipstick.

Amazingly, I didn’t lose any oil in flight, but it was a stark reminder of the dangers of being distracted during preflight.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top