Lakeview Bill wrote:

By this reasoning, it would be appropriate for one to just make ALL of their
landings "wheels up" because they from time to time forgot to verify that
check list item.

Over the years, I have read many statements where pilots stopped filing
flight plans because they kept forgetting to close them. IMHO, this
indicates a somewhat lackadaisical attitude. If they forget to close their
flight plan, what else are they forgetting to do?

All of my forgetting to call FSS after landing and securing the aircraft
occurred within my first 40 hours after getting my private certificate.
Any pilot who states that he or she does not make varying degrees of
mistakes during this timeframe would be lying.

I won't speak for others, but for me, the first hundred hours of so of my
flying was such a new and different experience that sometimes it took me
two days to completely process each flight I took. My shirts always had
large wet spots under the arms as I was securing the aircraft.

Regarding closing a flight plan, I personally don't walk back to my car
with a "personal paper checklist" in my hand. At the time, the paper
checklist for all phases of flight (including preflight) was left in the
rental aircraft. To make the assumption that, because I forgot to call
FSS, I must therefore forget items off the paper checklist demonstrates
your unfamiliarity with the subject. No flame intended.

However, the fact that I did forget and receive a couple of phone calls
incited me to print off two 15 inch, bright red rectangles with the words
"CLOSE FLIGHT PLAN" in bold, white letters. I then covered these two
rectangles with packing tape (for durability) and secured one to my flight
bag. The other I placed above the sun visor. When I would fly VFR with a
plan I would lower the visor in my vehicle so that the words were facing me
(obviously this only worked for the return trip).

Soon thereafter I received my instrument rating and began flying most of my
cross country trips IFR. Closing an IFR flight plan after landing at an
uncontrolled airport creates much bigger problems, but these days the
experience of flying is not so overwhelming that I forget to close it.

I have often heard that "the flight ain't over 'til the wheels are on the
ground and the prop's stopped turning." A CFI friend of mind always added
"and the flight plan is closed".

In theory, that is true. In reality, see above.

Would it perhaps be better, instead of simply abandoning a safety measure
because one forgets to properly use it, to develop the routine required to
properly use the safety measure?

Carrying a PLB, using flight following, and choosing less ominous routes
are my replacement for the VFR flight plan. If I have no choice on the
routing (flying over mountainous terrain here in the US east coast), I
always file IFR.

--
Peter























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