There's a somewhat separate question of what the right contents for
the procedures and checklists should be!

With apologies to pilots whose memories never fail even under stress,
I'm one of those guys who does use a very detailed written checklist.
Chewing gum isn't on it but things like food, drinking water, reading
glasses, and landout jacket are. But I don't wait until I'm #1 on the
takeoff line to use it.

One reason is that it's in sections. The first and longest section is
the post-assembly checklist with all the stuff on the glider, arranged
in the proper walkaround order. I can do that immediately after
rigging. Then there's another list of all the stuff that should be in
the cockpit--things that wouldn't kill me if I forgot but which might
make life less comfortable.

Then there are sections for task items (applies only to contests: task
sheet, retrieve telephone #, etc.), on the grid (tail dolly, etc.),
and pre-takeoff (I use the very old SSA A-B-C-C-C-D sequence that I
committed to memory back in the mid 1960s).

I've got a section for landing out: remove multi-probe, download trace
to CF card, etc., since in the pre-cellular world I once got to a pay
telephone without my wallet or the retrieve #.

There's even a section for my crew to use for hooking up the trailer.

I keep a copy in the cockpit at all times. If I do things out of
sequence, I literally check off each item with a pencil. On a normal
day at the gliderport, I just run my thumb down the list and make sure
I'm not interrupted during one of the sections.

OK, maybe this is overkill. But whether I'm crewless or accompanied by
my wife and two 10-year-old daughters, it seems like I'm always rushed
before takeoff. Having a written checklist not only guarantees I won't
forget something but gives me peace of mind when I launch that I've
done everything right and lets me focus on flying safely.

And in the post-Clem Bowman/Genesis accident era, it gives my family
the same peace of mind. I'll confess that in the past 40 years, I've
taken off without my map (pre-GPS days), with my dive brakes open,
without taping, and with a landing gear door hanging loose. And that
doesn't count the time I was on the line ready to launch with the tail
dolly still attached.

It's fun to scoff about obsessive/compulsive types reaching for their
checklist and pencil during a spin recovery. But I'll continue to
use my written checklist before every flight, as I noted in the safety
talk I gave at this year's U.S. Standard Class Nationals.

Chip Bearden