On Mar 24, 3:48*pm, "noel.wade" wrote:
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


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

Too long for me: who cares about the altimeter once in the pattern,
you should always be looking for traffic and announcing on the radio,
and items such as speed, trim, flaps, and spoilers are aircraft and
pattern specific/airmanship issues, IMHO. I've trimmed mine down to
"Wind Water Wheels" (once prior to the pattern, as a reminder to start
thinking about how these decision items need to be taken care of) and
once again before turning base (to make sure everything is considered
and configured) and then concentrate on flying the glider without
hitting anybody or breaking anything.

This is my equivalent of the classic GUMP check, beloved of all power
pilots.

The key (for me at least) is to then continually analyse how the
pattern is going, and if something isn't right, fix it (i.e. if you
are not coming down fast enough, maybe you need to pull the correct
handle to get the spoilers out, doofus!) But first of all, fly the
glider...

The trouble with long checklists is that since many of the items are
not done simultaneously, you either have to repeat the checklist
multiple times, or interrupt it and continue, etc.. Which takes away
brain bytes that better used flying the glider...

And I really believe the pattern is absolutely no place for a long
written checklist!

Anyway, it has worked for me so far....

Kirk
66