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Old March 24th 10, 08:48 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
noel.wade
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Posts: 681
Default Landing Checklist

GUMPS and FUSTALL were taught to me when getting my PPL-SEL ticket
(which I got before finding joy in gliders)...

But the landing checklist I learned at Warner Springs (Sky Sailing)
has stuck with me best:

G ear
F laps
W ind
A ltimeter
T rim
T raffic
S poilers

I got into the habit of announcing it prior to (or just entering)
downwind, even if the aircraft I was in didn't have retractable gear
or flaps. Each step in the mnemonic is a single word, and each word
is short and succinct (unlike words such as "undercarriage"). And at
the end you're looking outside for both your spoiler check and while
looking for traffic - that "head outside the cockpit" is something
that I think other checklists don't necessarily cover well.

But the bottom line is: Does the checklist work well for you, and
does it help you get on the ground reliably and safely (for both you
and the others around you)? Any checklist that does these things is a
good one in my book!

--Noel