Interested in soaring safety? Read this

On Dec 16, 1:39 am, Ian wrote:
Security blankets are not necessarily a Good Thing. After all, it
seems you may have missed your taped over static ports because they
weren't on your check list ... what's going to be next? Not that I'm
knocking the whole idea, you understand - I have a nice laminated list
of rigging and derigging stuff.

Okay, Ian, I'll fess up: that static port episode was before I
religiously used checklists in anything that weighed less than 4,000
pounds. It became one of those pivotal (thankfully non-fatal and
inexpensive) events that convinced me that it doesn't matter how
simple the aircraft is. As Max Stanley is quoted: "The Piper Cub is
the safest aircraft in the world -- it can just barely kill you."

Religious use of a checklist doesn't necessarily mean plastering the
sides of your cockpit, and spending more time looking at the paper
than the scenery: Reviewing a checklist prior to the flight (even the
night before) can re-etch the memory of how to do it right, and
quickly. And frequently, you go through the motions (using cranial or
muscle memory) and then REVIEW the checklist -- and sometimes catch
the item that was forgotten.

P.S.: The mere act of WRITING a checklist helps you truly understand
the aircraft systems (simple or not), the proper operating procedures
(and perhaps a better "flow" of the steps than the manufacturer
originally suggested). The benefit of this remains -- although less
so -- even if you never use the list again. Look at pilots &
instructors who fly multiple types of aircraft: They use checklists
(sometimes very short ones that are referred to as "cheat sheets") so
they refresh their mind that this aircraft has a best L/D speed of y
and a min sink speed of x (or for power, Vx, Vy, Vglide, VLE, VLO,
Vfe, Vmc, Va, Vne, Vno). The "best" instructors share their cheat
sheets with their students, but implore (or force) their students to
fabricate their own.

P.P.S.: Jack is right: Big Iron Crews do NOT necessarily have more
time. Especially in Flight Test, I have witnessed where pre-briefing
a checklist made the difference between incident (safe return) and
disaster. During most normal operations they do have more time -- in
part thanks to orderly and well arranged checklists!

P.P.P.S: Yes, there's a checklist for thermalling: Somebody's
already in thermal: follow his direction of turn. Nobody else? Try
my luck to the left...

Last note: I haven't seen it quite so much with the major airlines
(except for basic aviation skills), but in the military there are
Emergency Procedures and there are BOLD FACE EMERGENCY PROCEDURES:
All pilots flying a given type are required to memorize Bold Face
procedures!

Okay, final note: If you look in all of the manuals, there is never
any additional procedures or writing after the word EJECT.

-Pete
#309

On 17 Dec, 09:04, 309 wrote:

P.S.: The mere act of WRITING a checklist helps you truly understand
the aircraft systems (simple or not), the proper operating procedures
(and perhaps a better "flow" of the steps than the manufacturer
originally suggested).

I wrote my rigging and derigging instructions on the basis that
someone someday might have to take my glider apart while I was
elsewhere (in hospital? under arrest? dead?). It was quite instructive
to commit to writing all the wrinkles I had developed myself.

The benefit of this remains -- although less
so -- even if you never use the list again. Look at pilots &
instructors who fly multiple types of aircraft: They use checklists
(sometimes very short ones that are referred to as "cheat sheets") so
they refresh their mind that this aircraft has a best L/D speed of y
and a min sink speed of x (or for power, Vx, Vy, Vglide, VLE, VLO,
Vfe, Vmc, Va, Vne, Vno).

I had the pleasure of working with Anne Welch some years ago. When she
was in the Air Transport Auxiliary during the Second Big
Unpleasantness she wrote many of the single sheet briefing notes
designed to let a (good) pilot do a basic delivery flight in a new
type safely. They make fascinating reading - who operating manuals
stripped to the absolute minimum. Undercarriage up with three pulls on
this lever, down with five pumps on that. Take off vacuum and rpm so,
cruise so, landing so.

All BGA gliders have a placard giving Vne, Vwinch, Vaerotow and
Vroughair, and I make it my policy /always/ to reread that before /
every/ launch. Good grief, I'm a checklist user!

Ian