"Vaughn Simon" wrote in message
...

"Mike" wrote in message
news:Imibk.517$HY.404@trnddc01...

If you miss damage during the pre-flight, then you're not doing a
pre-flight.

Nonsense. If you are human, and especially if you lack x-ray vision,
you can miss damage on a preflight.

The chances of any such 'invisible' damage being a safety of flight issue
are pretty much nil. Someone might crinkle a firewall with a wheelbarrow
landing or overstress the airframe, but the chances of that being a safety
of flight issue in the near term are next to nothing. But if someone bangs
up a wing or a tail against a hanger, flat spots a tire, or has a prop
strike this is going to show up during a proper pre-flight.

I teach my students that they are looking for damage for two reasons: 1)
To preserve their own lives. 2) So that they do not get blamed for
something someone else did.

For the average young student pilot (all young folks think they are
immortal) I feel that reason #2 is more motivating. I don't care WHY
they do the proper preflight, I just want them to do it.

So what trick do you use to get them to do the runup?