Never Again -- preflight

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Never again will I abbreviate my preflight this much. There was no real hurry, I landed and ate dinner with family, then went to head home. The preflight was already in my mind: sump the gas, check the baggage doors. So that's all I did. After starting the engines (twin) I didn't move, that's when I remembered: chocks. Stepping out of the aircraft to get the chocks I realized I also put in the rudder gust lock since it was windy out. I don't put the lock in when the plane is in the hangar, so it wasn't a part of my thought process in the abbreviated preflight. Normally I check all control surfaces on an abbreviated preflight, but this time I had tunnel vision on the sump and the baggage doors. Had I not put the chocks in I would have departed with the gust lock in place. :-(
 
its the little stuff that will kill you . . . was not your day to break anything.
 
Every time I think I know the preflight checklist, I forget something which is why I always use the book to double check my routine. :yes:

Cheers
 
If it's any consolation, I have forgotten to pull chocks after even the most comprehensive preflight. Sometimes it's good to just step back and look at the plane--funny how we miss tie downs, gust locks, tow bars when we're looking too closely.
 
Brad Z said:
If it's any consolation, I have forgotten to pull chocks after even the most comprehensive preflight. Sometimes it's good to just step back and look at the plane--funny how we miss tie downs, gust locks, tow bars when we're looking too closely.
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BTDT. Resulting in an engine tear-down & inspection. And the subsequent overhaul.
 
Line service at DWH replaced the chocks on the King Air before I could get the door locked and move forward to the cockpit.
 
Did the preflight in the hangar the other day. Line guy towed it out while I was doing some paperwork. I got in, did the start check, fired up and could not taxi. Shut down and got out and removed the chock from the nose wheel. :rolleyes:

Cheers
 
That happened to me last year at KFNT when I made an Operation Good Cheer delivery. I was so focused on getting all the presents out of my plane without damaging it that I didn't notice the line guy chocking my nosewheel. Since it was a 15 minute stop and I was in sight of the airplane at all times, I didn't think it necessary to do a preflight. :redface: Live and learn...
 
Not sure what kind of twin you were flying, but on the Commander 690, the rudder gust lock would fall out at 100 kts, according to the chief pilot. He found this out the hard way.
 
I mentioned it to another pilot later. He said that in the past an unchocked airplane had rolled somewhere it shouldn't have been and the head line service guy had been threatened to be sure it never happened again.

I learned a little chock placement trick that I still use occasionally, especially if the line guys aren't around and I must remove the chocks before boarding to release the brake. I remove the chocks from the mains and turn the chock in front of the wheel ~45 degrees to the straight ahead, with the chock still firmly jammed against the wheel but angled in the direction the nose will move during taxi. Once the engine(s) are running, I can move the rudder pedal sufficiently to free up the nose wheel and taxi away from the parking spot without running over the chock.

Everskyward said:
There's quick service for you! :D
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Old Geek said:
"Flight controls free and correct" On your before-takeoff checklist.
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A lot of people check the rudder by pushing the pedals, some planes have bungees in the system. I remember when one of the flight instructors at Rainbow came taxiing a 152 with his student back from the lesson... With the rudder lock still in the rudder/tail cone slot. He heard about that for awhile.:rofl:
 
If there's no window, I open the door to check trim tab movement and rudder.

182s and 200 series Cessnas will just taxi right over most mainwheel chocks under sufficient power.
 
The official Learjet gust lock....hard to miss:

200911-old_gust_lock.jpg
 
Most planes will do the same. What happens next has always been my concern, with a compressing strut, prop under significant power, chock flailing in the breeze.

The first two items on my cockpit preflight checklist are:
1. Exterior checks completed.
2. Bag and oil doors closed and locked.

It's not a guarantee that I won't forget something, but acts as a reminder to stop and think about what I've done prior prior to engine start. Since I started flying a taildragger full-time, it's been interesting to note how using the power tow on the tail changes the overall look at the airplane when moving it in and out of the hangar. Things like fuel cap alignment, tailwheel tire inflation, tail control surfaces, beacon and light assembly, stab trim position and fairing screws are all easily visible and almost impossible to ignore when working from the back of the plane rather than the front.






Dave Krall CFII said:
If there's no window, I open the door to check trim tab movement and rudder.

182s and 200 series Cessnas will just taxi right over most mainwheel chocks under sufficient power.
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An idea: Get a red cloth bag to hold chocks and gust locks. Remove items from bag, place bag over yoke, place chocks and gust locks as usual....

Seeing that bag over the yoke would have reminded you....
 
Brad Z said:
If it's any consolation, I have forgotten to pull chocks after even the most comprehensive preflight. Sometimes it's good to just step back and look at the plane--funny how we miss tie downs, gust locks, tow bars when we're looking too closely.
Click to expand...

Once I did my full pre-flight everything was I thought as it should be then the phone rang. After the call I climbed into the cabin and went as far as turning the master switch on, but i couldn't shake a lingering feeling that something wasn't right so I exited the airplane to find the Tow Buddy still attached to the nose gear.

Now when I have completed the preflight and I am ready to go, I take a deep breath and take a simple leisure stroll around the airplane to just eyeball it one last time. This takes less than a minute but gives me a chance at a last look. To date I haven't found anything but I plan to keep doing this last look.
 
The few times I've done it, there was no movement of main wheel chocks at all and approximately 50% power to drive over those particular chocks. Some chocks definately wouldn't be overdriveable. Don't use nosewheel chocks, so no experience there.

The first time, it was demoed by my CFI so it was on his dime. On return, just taxied into the tie down, never touching chocks.

wabower said:
Most planes will do the same. What happens next has always been my concern, with a compressing strut, prop under significant power, chock flailing in the breeze.

The first two items on my cockpit preflight checklist are:
1. Exterior checks completed.
2. Bag and oil doors closed and locked.

It's not a guarantee that I won't forget something, but acts as a reminder to stop and think about what I've done prior prior to engine start. Since I started flying a taildragger full-time, it's been interesting to note how using the power tow on the tail changes the overall look at the airplane when moving it in and out of the hangar. Things like fuel cap alignment, tailwheel tire inflation, tail control surfaces, beacon and light assembly, stab trim position and fairing screws are all easily visible and almost impossible to ignore when working from the back of the plane rather than the front.
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rbridges said:
that would have caught it. I'm still relatively new, but I've been flying nearly 3 years. Still use a check list.
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Don't ever quit using the check list. In fact I learned from a great instructor during my tall wheel training to verbalized the check list. He is a 767 captain and the best pilot I've ever flown with. Check list checklist checklist.
 
Todd Copeland said:
Don't ever quit using the check list. In fact I learned from a great instructor during my tall wheel training to verbalized the check list. He is a 767 captain and the best pilot I've ever flown with. Check list checklist checklist.
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I observed our flight crew at work, once. That's a 747SP, with a three-person crew. Checklists were used and verbalized everywhere we learned in primary training. Skipping the checklist is not a sign of experience. Just the opposite.
 
Guess who started up the plane with the cowl plugs still in?

This guy.

Luckily, the prop just took out the little connecting fabric and sent the whole thing flying. I got distracted because I had just preheated and was trying to rush things before the engine cooled back down.

Lesson LEARNED.
 
Henning said:
A lot of people check the rudder by pushing the pedals, some planes have bungees in the system. I remember when one of the flight instructors at Rainbow came taxiing a 152 with his student back from the lesson... With the rudder lock still in the rudder/tail cone slot. He heard about that for awhile.:rofl:
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What airplane has springs in its rudder system? I know of none. There are steering bungees between the rudder bar and nosewheel on some, but no springs between the bars and rudder itself. Seems to me that a rudder lock would prevent steering on the ground in anything except an airplane with a nosewheel tiller.

Dan
 
Unregistered said:
Guess who started up the plane with the cowl plugs still in?

This guy.

Luckily, the prop just took out the little connecting fabric and sent the whole thing flying. I got distracted because I had just preheated and was trying to rush things before the engine cooled back down.

Lesson LEARNED.
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About a year ago, I was taxing back after landing. The CFI and I both spotted a guy taxiing to the runup area with the red cowl plugs in:yikes:.

Before I could speak what I thought I was seeing, the CFI said "is this guy taxiing with the cowl plugs in?". I said yep. The CFI called ground control and alerted him.

It was a good feeling to know that we probably saved this guys azz.
 
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redtail said:
About a year ago, I was taxing back after landing. The CFI and I both spotted a guy taxiing to the runup area with the red cowl plugs in:yikes:.

Before I could speak what I thought I was seeing, the CFI said "is this guy taxiing with the cowl plugs in?". I said yep. The CFI called ground control and alerted him.

It was a good feeling to know that we probably saved this guys azz.
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Nah- he just had the winterize kit installed.:D
 
wabower said:
Line service at DWH replaced the chocks on the King Air before I could get the door locked and move forward to the cockpit.
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They are famous for that. It's happened to me twice.
 
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