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Which acronyms do you use

When reading this threat I start wondering up which were the “must-know” acronyms for flying.

During navigations, my instructor told me to remember
HAT before a turning point (Heading, Altitude, Time) and THARIF at a turning point (Time, Heading, Altitude, Radio, Instruments, Fuel) but that are the only two.
For the before start/before take-off I used the checklists of the plane.

But now that I fly on different planes, I notice that the checklists are not all with the same level of details. I wonder if using systematically the same acronyms whatever plane would not increase safety (by avoiding forgetting some things).

Hence the question: which acronym do you use ?

On internet I found:
Run-up & ground check – CIGAR controls check, instruments set, gas (proper tank, pump on, etc), attitude (flaps, trim, etc.), runup
Line-Up Check BLITTS: boost pump on, lights as required, instruments set, transponder on, takeoff time noted, seat (belts, doors secured)
Enroute FLARE: flaps set (if extended during takeoff), lights as required, auxiliary fuel pump off (if on for departure), radar transponder on, engine (lean mixture when at altitude)
Before Landing GUMPS: gas (proper tank, pump on or off, etc.), undercarriage, mixture set, prop set and/or primer in/locked, switches (lights, pitot heat, etc.)
After Landing FACTS : flaps up, auxiliary fuel pump off, cowl flaps, transponder standby, switches (pitot heat, lights, etc.)

Any others ? Which one to use during the landing circuit (downwind, base, final,…) ?
BTW what’s BUMPFFAILDH or BUMPFITCH ?

jfw
Belgium: EBGB (Grimbergen, Brussels) - EBNM (Namur), Belgium

I am and always have been truly, madly deeply against this acronym stuff. But there is one which even I think is worth remembering – because it will come naturally in the situation where it is needed (sorry for the foul language but this is how it goes): FUCK after an engine failure in a twin:

F – Forward (or firewall): every lever that can be moved forward
U – Up: Everything that can be pulled up (gear and flaps)
C – Clean up: Maintain direction, establish a safe speed (blue line if possible), trim the aircraft in all axes
K – Kill: (i.e. feather) the failed engine

NB: These are all memory items anyway which need to be performed quickly – it is not a checklist replacement like this BUTZLIWUTZLI nonsense. After you are through with FUCK and got you Mayday call out you will need to consult your Engine Failure checklist because there is a lot more to do than just those four items.

Last Edited by what_next at 28 Sep 09:52
EDDS - Stuttgart

BUFFPEARL : (both for after take off and landing. they can have slightly different meanings but then you still run through all the items). On take off, I use it soon right after take off and then a bit later. Also use on downwind.
Brakes
Undercariage
Flaps
Fuel (pump)
Power setting (basically all 3 levers if applicable)
Engine (checking all green)
Altimeter
Radio (check next frequency set up e.g. Tower, ID / Tune nav aids)
Light

FATRED (en route)
Fuel
Altitude / Altimeter setting
Threats (Ice / Carb heat if applicable)
Radios (prepare radio/nav for what’s next)
Engine (check all greens)
Direction (check DI, navigation plan)

Why is that what_next?
- Because it discourages use of paper checklists in the air?
- Because each plane might need it’s own specific and use of acronyms discourages that?
- Other reason?

Noe wrote:

- Because each plane might need it’s own specific and use of acronyms discourages that?

Mostly because of that. If you fly one single plane only, acronyms might do. But, as someone wrote on that other thread, different planes require different checklists.
And the most stupid thing I have read anywhere since a long, long time is this practice of modifying the acronymised checklists depending on the plane. So we do our BUTZLIWUTZLI on downwind, but since today we fly a fixed float seaplane, we skip the first “Z”, the second “U” and “I” but add an “R” instead. Pure madness.

EDDS - Stuttgart

what_next wrote:

I am and always have been truly, madly deeply against this acronym stuff.

They don’t work for me, too. But I can imagine some brains working in that way. I think there is more than one way to skin a cat, but I do find that most students / pilots are much better with a flow / pattern check than with acronyms, especially if they are not remotely pronouncable. In my Lake the landing flow check consists of

Brandhahn, Höhengas, Drehzahl, Ladedruck, Hydraulikdruck, Klappen, Landefläche und Fahrwerk, Wasserruder, Trimmung, Landelicht, Hydraulikpumpe, Kraftstoffpumpe, Generator, Hauptschalter, Magnete. Try to pronounce or memorise BHDLHKLFWTLHKGHM. (In English this would be Fuel valve, Mixture, Prop, Manifold, Hydraulic pressure, Flaps, Landing area and Gear, Water rudder, Trim, Landing light, Hydraulic pump, Fuel pump, Alternator, Main switch, Magnetos. FMPMHFLGWTLHFAMM)

Even the basic final check would be Prop, Landing Area, Gear position, Gear indication, visual Gear Check, Flaps, Water Rudder. These are the Items for not having a bad day. PLGGGFW. Not for me.

mh
Aufwind GmbH
EKPB, Germany

The only two that I use are:

FREDA Fuel, Radio, Engine, Direction & Altitude for enroute checks and
HASELL Height, Airframe, Engine, Lookout, Location before doing any steep turns, PFLs or stalls.

FREDA is done in a nice calm environment with not much going on, so there is plenty of time to make sure I don’t miss one.
HASELL because I don’t do these on a high % of flights, it’s good to have something to help remember, and they are done at a time when I’m not short of time.

I gave up with all others, because, to be honest, I spent more time trying to recall the letters and then match them to a check, than actually remembering the checks. I was thought BUMPFITCH or something similar for downwind checks, but it’s far easier and quicker to just remember the checks themselves. That way I spend more time actually checking PROPERLY rather than speding too much time trying to remeber what’s the next letter and what it stands for.

I also use Red, Blue and Three Greens on final, but that’s not an acronym (or more correctly a memonic).

EIWT Weston, Ireland

I’m with what_next on this. This acronym business has always seemed very strange to me. There are any number of acronyms out there and different pilots recommend different ones. Give me a checklist any day.

I can see that there is some sense in using acronyms for memory items, like FUCK and FREDA, but if you can’t remember these things without going through acronyms in your head then you have a problem anyway.

ESKC (Uppsala/Sundbro), Sweden

I would not want to be an FI flying with a girl student called Freda Although innuendo like that would be nothing new in the GA scene

I don’t use any acronyms. I could never remember what they stood for. However, having forgotten to set the altimeter to the QNH at the end of my 7hr flight back from Brac, I think it is time for me to do a pre-approach checklist… I already have one for flying an ILS, VOR or NDB approach, where the GPS is set up in the OBS mode to show the inbound track, and one could never do an acronym for that sort of thing. These things are really totally type-specific.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Only one: GUMPS. Usually three times: downwind, base and final.
G: gas on fullest tank
U: undercarriage down and locked
M: mixture rich
P: prop fine
S: switches (i.e. landing light, etc) and seat belts (tight)

I’ve never believed in these mnemonics, don’t work for me. I use a checklist for pre-flight (inside, the walkaround I do by memory) and en route checks are part of the instrument scan anyway. YMMV

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