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Old September 6th 04, 03:25 PM
F.L. Whiteley
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Thanks for your reply.

S-Speed, appropriate for conditions and glider. Never heard it used for
straps. OBTW, was member over time of four UK clubs, two civil, two RAF,
plus flew irregularly at 9-10 others, last in 1995. Thinking back, hadn't
flown with anyone that had become instructor since sometime in the '80's.

Regards,

Frank

"Chris Reed" wrote in message
...
Frank,

Not a troll. There's no BGA-mandated checklist for pre-landing checks, as
far as I know (this kind of thing changes regularly), and in any event as

a
basic instructor I'm not permitted to let the student fly below 500 feet

or
to teach this stuff, so what I wrote was about my own flying practices.
Certainly, in my pre-solo training (following the then BGA manual) in

1996/7
I wan't taught pre-landing checks.

What I was trying to respond to was the suggestion that consciously

checking
Lookout is useless because we should all lookout in any event - I think

this
*is* a useful reminder, as it's helpful to recognise the change in lookout
mode.

I believe I have the current BGA position right (though I don't speak for
the BGA in any way!) as follows: landing checklists are potentially
problematic because on training aircraft some parts don't apply - thus,

e.g.
learning to say "Undercarriage - fixed" can cement the idea in a student's
mind that there is no need for action, so when moving to retractable
undercarriage they don't lower it. Instead, instructors teach the
appropriate elements which would form a checklist so that they become
entrenched as part of the routine for landing rather than items to be

ticked
off on a mental checklist. Water and Flaps carry the same penalty.

(For what it's worth, I understand my wheels-up landing met all the common
criteria - 10th flight on retractable, so I'm just becoming comfortable

with
it and not consciously thinking about the differences from previous
aircraft; high workload (trying to scratch away from a winch launch); and
distractions (other aircraft in the circuit and the launch point in an
unfamiliar place). Result - reversion to primary training which, of

course,
was on fixed wheel aircraft).

In terms of my own flying (whether with students or solo) the thought
processes go roughly as follows:

W - not considered, as I currently fly nothing which carries water

ballast.

U - do I have retractable undercarriage, and if so is it down? This is a
conscious element of my preparation for landing.

F - as for W

S - straps (though I always have to think, if someone asks me what

WUFSTALL
means, whether this is not speed - thus in my mind it's a bad acronym
because it's not unique, and different from HASSL for stall/spin

manoeuvres
because even if you can't remember which S is straps, one of them has to
be). I check these regularly throughout the flight, so this is an

entrenched
item and not one requiring a conscious check

T - as above, I trim for every airspeed change, so this is entrenched
behaviour. I also don't like the way this substitutes for thinking about

my
approach speed, as I could instead trim for my current speed. So my
conscious thought here is "What approach speed", which requires me to

check
wind direction (not in checks), wind shear/gradient (not in checks), need
for a speed reserve if I might need to land long (aircraft fails to clear
the runway, not in checks) etc. etc.

A - airbrakes need checking if they might have frozen shut, but not
otherwise so far as I can see. Not confusing the airbrake lever with some
other lever is important, and I consciously check this if I'm flying an
aircraft where I could make this mistake.

LL - a conscious element because of the change of lookout mode.

There's also a whole set of other matters to think about which aren't on

any
standard checklist, such as should the audio vario be turned off to avoid
distractions, is it appropriate to use my tailchute or not, would a radio
call announcing my presence be helpful, pointless or downright unhelpful

(as
recently when a gaggle of competition fliers all lucked out overhead at

the
same time and arrived from multiple directions) and so on.

It seems to me that the big question is whether pre-landing checks should

be
taught or not. Some think yes, to deal with the pilot who isn't thinking
properly about the landing. Some think no, because the pilot must be

taught
to think, rather than follow a list.

I was taught under the second philosophy, and I guess that's what became
entrenched in my approach to the issue, though if the BGA decides to
introduce teaching checklists for this, I'll learn and teach them.

The pre-launch checks (whichever version you use) are different - you
haven't started flying yet, and the brain needs to begin the switch-on
process.

"F.L. Whiteley" wrote in message
...
Is this a troll?

Personally I can't believe a UK basic instructor is saying this

publicly.
Are you still giving ab-initio lessons? Perhaps you should chant this,

or
something like WULFSTALL, in the circuit and think about what each item

is
and what the implications are if you don't do each one. You seem to

already
know about one, but the others are so embarassing they can kill you.
Doubtless you do this appropriately during your annual club checks, but

lack
of clarity of what each item reflects or the need is disturbing. Please
re-read your post, print a copy and hand carry it to your CFI at

Rattlesden.

Frank Whiteley
Colorado

"Chris Reed" wrote in message
...
I quite like the "lookout" element of USTALL (though I don't actually

chant
the checklist to myself on circuit). What I use it for is a reminder

that,
in addition to my normal lookout, I also need to pay attention to the

other
side of the circuit, look for aircraft on long, straight in

approaches,
and
look at what's happening on the ground. This is a different mode of

lookout
to XC or local soaring, and I usually find myself muttering "lookout"

at
some point to remind me of the change of mode.

But I take the point - if the pilot doesn't lookout except in response

to
a
checklist, I'd like to be in a different part of the sky.

S (straps or speed?) is pretty useless on downwind, T (trim) ditto,

and
A
(airbrakes I think) is wierd - if you can't find them you're in

trouble,
though if I flew a flapped glider or had the UC lever on the same side

as
the airbrake (LS4s excepted) I'd add a mental note to check which

lever
I
intended to use for approach control.

U is quite clear in my mind, having landed wheels up once already, and
hoping not to do it again.

"Ian Johnston" wrote in

message
news:cCUlhtvFIYkV-pn2-zikdWvOGpoiF@localhost...
You should see some of the downwind checklists/mnemonics in use in

the
UK. They include things like "trim" - for people who wouldn't

normally
think of using the trimmer, I presume - and, most bizarrely of all,
"lookout". I'm not sure that I want to share the sky with people who
need a mnemonic to remind them to look out...