I thought that was part of the standard preflight. Check fasteners for security and check for excess movement for hinges. Watch the flight control movement while wiggling stuff.
Controls: Don't just wiggle them a little. Move them through the entire range stop to stop. (The Cherokee had some loose wiring after adding new instruments and the flight controls caught on something behind the panel) Check the trim tab for proper operation also. Observing the flight control movement is a given. (I've seen a few people look out the front window while checking free and correct)
Flaps full down. Push up on the trailing edge of the flap and see what happens. Check the control rod attach point. That probably kept me from getting killed in a CE172 one day though it gave the A&P a heart attack. A flap really should not move up 4-5 inches when pushing up on the trailing edge with your hand as you walk under the flap.
After maintenance: Look under the panel for loose stuff. I'll also pull inspection covers off and look inside at pulley's and such. (Our mechanic would leave the covers off for us to snoop in and put on as he walked around the plane with us after an annual. I was stupid back then and wouldn't have thought of that at the time however he insisted we stick our noses and fingers in there and know what stuff is supposed to look like. He also wouldn't give anyone the keys until he flew it himself - good guy)
Pulling stuff off to have a look is not for everyone. If it isn't put back on properly safety is threatened, not improved. As a pilot/instructor/mechanic I can think of any number of pilots that should leave well enough alone. Besides, many items aren't even remotely visible unless the airplane is extensively opened up. Under the floor, for instance, are many cables and pulleys and wires and hydraulic and fuel lines and structural items that you'll never see unless the seats and carpet and floor panels are all torn out.
We regularly see flight controls damaged by aggressive preflighting. Cessna's single-engine control surface skins on everything but the rudder
are structural, corrugated to impart stiffness, and have minimal internal support. Forcing an aileron can buckle or curve those skins, whereupon they act like trim tabs and make the airplane fly wing-heavy. Forcing elevators, especially at the balance weight, loosens the rivets and causes expensive headaches. Forcing the rudder, or just moving it while holding the trailing edge, buckles the skins and can loosen the hinge bracket rivets or even crack the brackets. People seem to think these machines are as sturdy as their cars. Theyr'e not; they're designed to hande strong winds from the right direction, not to take physical abuse.
Canadian law requires an independent inspection after any flight or engine control has been disturbed. A second technician has to look at things like pulleys and safety, turnbuckles and lockwiring, hinges and their pins and/or bolts/and/or cotter pins, check for correct sense of movement and travel limits and so on, and sign a separate entry in the log. This came about after too many backward-aileron hookups and the like and their subsequent crashes, and the rate of those accidents has decreased tremendously.
Looking under the panel after maintenance can be difficult but is a good idea, looking for anything obviously disconnected or fouling the flight controls, but how are you going to see the disconnected encoder plug when it's hidden above a bunch of other stuff? Or the screw waiting to fall between the bus bar and instrument panel? And that's even if you know what you're looking at. Not many people do. And not many are sufficiently flexible or acrobatic to have a look under there with the seats in the airplane. With the seats out it's a pain for me with my stiffening old bod.
There are things you CAN do: Ask your mechanic, politely, if he carries lots of liability insurance. DON'T pressure him into hurrying up the job or you'll almost certainly get something overlooked. DON'T insist that the thing that really needs fixing is "just left alone for now." DON'T cheap out on the job. DO buy him donuts or whatever else he likes to show your appreciation for a job well done; he'll treat your airplane with more respect because you respected him.
Dan
