On pre-flight inspections

In article 27c00ba5-0fd1-4c1a-8b46-0240e2afe90d@
32g2000yqj.googlegroups.com, says...
Has any of you has ever discovered something during the pre-flight
inspection that necessitated a significant deferrment of your flight
plan or a cancelation altogether? Just curious, that's all.

While a student pilot, Tomahawk fuel selector valve broken/faulty -
leaked fuel onto the inside of the engine cowl.

But... didn't pick it up during pre-flight (valve worked OK in the off
position, which it was "parked" in). Noted it in the cabin, very strong
fuel smell after startup. Shutdown and re-inspected the engine, fuel
was visibly leaking in the ON position (not sure what side/tank was
selected, IIRC the Tomahawk has a left/right/off (no both?)).

Reported it and then carried on in a different Tramahawk.

--
Duncan

"D Ramapriya" wrote in message
...
Has any of you has ever discovered something during the pre-flight
inspection that necessitated a significant deferrment of your flight
plan or a cancelation altogether?

One day I had pulled a glider out to the flight line and completed my
pre-flight, only to find that the tow pilot was taking a bathroom break.
Just to kill time, I wandered over to the tow plane and gave it a casual
once-over. To my shock, I discovered that one of the struts on the
horizontal stabilizer was broken loose from its fuselage attachment. That
plane's next flight might have been its last!

Needless to day, there were no more tows that day.

Vaughn

"a" wrote in message
...

I did watch a PA28 do turns around a tiedown once because the PIC
didn't untie the left wing before trying to taxi out.

I once watched a rental 172 return from an apparently uneventful flight with
the rudder lock still attached to the rudder. Take-home lesson: Some folks
fly flat-footed.

Also, at least twice I have ran down and stopped planes on the taxiway with
flags flying from left-on pitot covers. Take-home lesson: One good reason
to put flags on them is so someone else can save your bacon after you do a
crappy preflight.

Vaughn

On Jul 27, 3:13*am, D Ramapriya wrote:
On Jul 27, 10:36*am, Dudley Henriques wrote:





Probably sucked in during post-landing taxi to the apron from the
previous flight?

Ramapriya

Nope. Saw the child who did it, although didn't actually see him do
it. He was being carried by his father on the line at one of our show
sites in 1971. Have used the incident in a hundred safety lectures on
pre-flights. I had preflighted the airplane for my next display and
had run across the ramp to grab a coke from a snack wagon. Saw the man
and his kid before I left. Came back and re-preflighted the airplane
again because it was out of my direct sight since I had done the last
one.
Caught the bear in the carb tunnel on the second preflight.
Rule number ONE for display pilots, and for all pilots for that matter
as far as I'm concerned anyway! ANYTIME the airplane is out of your
sight for ANY reason after you have done a preflight inspection, do it
again!
Dudley Henriques

Nice story

If only the two pilots on that fateful Aeroperu 603 had done one, 70
souls + an entire company + a nice 757 would all still have been alive
and functional.

Ramapriya

When it comes to flying and one's attitude about flying, a pilot is
well advised to remember the immortal words of race driver Tom Sneva,
who after hitting the wall at Indy at 200 plus, was asked by a
reporter as he was walking back to his pit if he would like to be able
to enter that turn again and do it right the next time.
Sneva looked at the man and said,
"If if's and buts were candy and nuts, we'd all have a Merry
Christmas"
DH

On Jul 27, 3:21*pm, Stealth Pilot
wrote:

Correct me if I'm wrong but engine runups are part of the mechanics'
pre-handover (of the aircraft) routine, right? It's after that that
the aircraft is towed on to the ramp and delivered to the pilots. I've
only ever seen runups being performed near uninhabited areas outside
hangars.

Ramapriya

this is recreational.aviation.piloting.
just about all of us do our own runnups because we dont employ
mechanics. they are done just before takeoff.

do you do things differently where you live????

Stealth Pilot


I guess I got my wires crossed in a way, as a pilot friend kindly
pointed out to me in private :\

I was thinking of the everyday scene that I see en route home, in the
Emirates hangars at a spot circa here http://wikimapia.org/#lat=25.2653253...3&z=17&l=0&m=b
where some aircraft's engines get runup every other day by mechanics
standing around.

Ramapriya

On Jul 27, 4:47*pm, "vaughn"
wrote:

One day I had pulled a glider out to the flight line and completed my
pre-flight, only to find that the tow pilot was taking a bathroom break.
Just to kill time, I wandered over to the tow plane and gave it a casual
once-over. *To my shock, I discovered that one of the struts on the
horizontal stabilizer was broken loose from its fuselage attachment. *That
plane's next flight might have been its last!


This one made my day, Vaughan (or is it spelt Vaugn?). When I began
the thread, I thought people would've noticed in their pre-flights
issues ranging from the minor to semi-major but nothing potentially
catastrophic. This one though really looks like it'd have been
curtains. Harald's too, of course.

Thanks for the story!

Ramapriya

In article
,
D Ramapriya wrote:

On Jul 27, 3:21*pm, Stealth Pilot
wrote:

Correct me if I'm wrong but engine runups are part of the mechanics'
pre-handover (of the aircraft) routine, right? It's after that that
the aircraft is towed on to the ramp and delivered to the pilots. I've
only ever seen runups being performed near uninhabited areas outside
hangars.

Ramapriya

this is recreational.aviation.piloting.
just about all of us do our own runnups because we dont employ
mechanics. they are done just before takeoff.

do you do things differently where you live????

Stealth Pilot


I guess I got my wires crossed in a way, as a pilot friend kindly
pointed out to me in private :\

I was thinking of the everyday scene that I see en route home, in the
Emirates hangars

That is indeed a very different world.

rg

"vaughn" wrote in message
...

"a" wrote in message
...

I did watch a PA28 do turns around a tiedown once because the PIC
didn't untie the left wing before trying to taxi out.

I once watched a rental 172 return from an apparently uneventful flight
with the rudder lock still attached to the rudder. Take-home lesson: Some
folks fly flat-footed.

Also, at least twice I have ran down and stopped planes on the taxiway
with flags flying from left-on pitot covers. Take-home lesson: One good
reason to put flags on them is so someone else can save your bacon after
you do a crappy preflight.

Vaughn


I nearly started an engine with a propeller lock still in place--and was
fortunate enough to have someone wave my down in time. Due to lucky timing
and the good samaritan, there was no damage.

On another occassion I saw one of the twin engine air taxis, I don't recall
whether it was a Navajo or a C402, pull away with a rudder lock still in
place. There was no radio available and no way to get a motor vehicle onto
the ramp quickly enough; but the tower had a listed telephone number on that
field, so I was able to call them before he got to the runway.

Peter

"Dave Doe" wrote in message
...
In article 27c00ba5-0fd1-4c1a-8b46-0240e2afe90d@
32g2000yqj.googlegroups.com, says...
Has any of you has ever discovered something during the pre-flight
inspection that necessitated a significant deferrment of your flight
plan or a cancelation altogether? Just curious, that's all.

While a student pilot, Tomahawk fuel selector valve broken/faulty -
leaked fuel onto the inside of the engine cowl.

But... didn't pick it up during pre-flight (valve worked OK in the off
position, which it was "parked" in). Noted it in the cabin, very strong
fuel smell after startup. Shutdown and re-inspected the engine, fuel
was visibly leaking in the ON position (not sure what side/tank was
selected, IIRC the Tomahawk has a left/right/off (no both?)).

Reported it and then carried on in a different Tramahawk.

--
Duncan

You're right, there is no "both" position.

Peter

D Ramapriya schreef:
Has any of you has ever discovered something during the pre-flight
inspection that necessitated a significant deferrment of your flight
plan or a cancelation altogether? Just curious, that's all.

-) two springs missing that should have held exhaust pipes together.
instructor judged we could fly, though
-) fatigue cracks in a bracket that hold the oil cooler.
instructor judged we could fly, though
-) oil cooler still partially covered for the winter cold on a sunny day
in May. instructor judged we could fly, though

So no, I never was significantly delayed in my 40 or so hours of
tuition, but problems do show up.
KA