I have a particular way I like to do it. Then again, I lay awake at night
wondering whether anal-retentive is hyphenated or not.

I tell the pilot to pretend he and his significant other and me and my wife
want to go with him to a restaurant on a field about 50 miles away and to
plan the flight accordingly.

If, by the time we get to the airplane, (s)he hasn't asked me how much my
wife weighs, then I know (s)he hasn't done a weight and balance. If I ask
him/her what the weather is like at the target airport and (s)he mutters
vague generalities, then I know (s)he hasn't checked FSS or DUATs weather.
If (s)he doesn't use a checklist during the preflight or during pre-engine
start, then I stop right then and there and tell the pilot that perhaps they
might like to reschedule the flight for another day as I'm not comfortable
flying with them. "No charge, and here is what I observed that makes me
uncomfy...no w/b, no wtx, no checklist and maybe next week we can do it
again."

Jim

--
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought
without accepting it."
--Aristotle


What's the bi-annual flight review all about?