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Checklists

A substantial number were forced landings (with and without damage) due to unexplained engine failures that could not be recreated and were therefore attributed to carburetor icing. Every single one of these could have been avoided by using the checklist, as on every single (that I have flown) with a carb heat control this is an item in the descent checklist, appraoch checklist and final checklist.

There is also the danger of wrong checklists. I was taught that in case the engine shows roughness, one should apply the carb heat and also enrich the mixture. However, in real life an engine can sputter because it's running too rich and pulling carb heat would just enrich the mixture and so does pushing in the red knob. More than once I've seen checklists with dangerous advice.

There is also the danger of wrong checklists.

I wouln't call these checklists wrong - it's just so that reality is more complex than what can be described on a single sheet of paper. So the manufacturer and/or checklist author is forced to cover only the most probable cause in his checklist, leaving additional troubleshooting and correcting to the knowledge and experience of the pilot.

The abnormal and emergency checklists of the aircraft I fly at work are little books about the size and contents of a C172 POH (so that Mr. Manufacturer can cover himself from liability claims should something go wrong) where almost every checklist ends with: "If problem persists: Continue with Checklist C9" making sure that eventually - should you be lucky to live long enough - you will come up with the right solution for your problem. Certainly not the way to go in a single-pilot single-engine aircraft.

EDDS - Stuttgart

Didn't yet see mentioned :

When I was taught (at Shoreham mostly, on C 150's) the Instructors insisted on a using a written check list for the internal items, preceded by a walk round prodding & looking at various bits, inc. seeing the mass balance weights hiding in the ailerons were in place. Pre-landing too had a list.

Cabin checks required one to jab one's finger at whatever was mentioned & IMHO tying this physical action to the words helped ensure the brain was engaged too.

In early learning days we sat at home with a cardboard 'panel' doing 'checks', my kids now in their 40's can still join in the chanted sequence. And I find it best to stick to the one good sequence.

Thus after over 40 years of only flying light a/c I still wear a knee-pad with TTMMFFGGHH spelt out and still jab at non existent levers to include 'pitch set to fine' & 'undercarriage Down & Locked' etc. in my BUMPFHH.

mike hallam

P.S. Hasel & Freda too.

To a large extent, it is the "UK FTO" process to use checklists and to require the student to point out each item as it is checked.

I think this is changing however, from what I have seen recently.

TTMMFFGGHH

I could never remember any of those acronyms.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

I recently saw a list of accidents and incidents of piston singles. A substantial number were forced landings (with and without damage) due to unexplained engine failures that could not be recreated and were therefore attributed to carburetor icing. Every single one of these could have been avoided by using the checklist, as on every single (that I have flown) with a carb heat control this is an item in the descent checklist, appraoch checklist and final checklist.

Crikey, don't fly an L4 (Mil J3) Cub! If you rely on a checklist to tell you to operate the carb heat control the engine won't run for long on most UK days!

You should NOT rely on a check list for this, or for checking you Ts & Ps in flight. I have a vison of 'what next' sitting in the wreckage after his forced landing muttering in a bewildered voice "...but I followed the checklist religiously!".

Some things, as a pilot, you should just know. Like regularly getting rid of any carb ice if you fly behind a C60, and knowing the kind of days when it'll be worse. It's about awareness of what you are doing, and thinking about what you are doing, rather than relying on a printed list to do it by rote.

Barton is my spiritual home.

One thing I don't understand in some of the replies:

a checklist lists what to check

It does not (or should not say) what to do if a check fails, or leaves doubt. THAT is where one's pilot's abilities and responsability come in. The sole purpose of a checklist must be to help make sure no check was forgotten. Remedies have no place in it.

EBZH Kiewit, Belgium

We pilots have piloting skills appropriate to the aircraft type(s) we fly. Those skills should include knowing what has to be done to operate that aircraft safely in accordance with its design and equipment, in all configurations.

A checklist is a supplement to these skills, but should not replace them. Sure, using a checklist at every point when you're being checked out, and new to the type is wise. I would hope that there would come a point for every light aircraft pilot, who has become well familiar with the type they are flying, that a checklist is not a required reference anymore. The proper operation of the aircraft should just flow from instinct and skill. if you think that you need to use a checklist - you do.

When I was checked out in the Caravan, I used the checklist. After my 10th circuit that day, I no longer used it in flight. But, I still used it for the prestart/pre takeoff (there's no excuse to overtemp an engine during a start, 'cause you didn't check the bleed air off!). When I flew it again after a 9 month absence, I used the checklist again for the first few circuits.

If conditions are very stressful, or you are very tired, reverting to a checklist might be very wise, no matter what you're flying...

Home runway, in central Ontario, Canada, Canada

I can still remember and use all the acronyms from my microlight PPL 20 years ago. Since then I have tended to rely more upon "stuff on my kneeboard". The reason is clear to me - in a typical year I fly typically a dozen types, and trying to do everything right on all (any!) of those from memory is just a recipe for trouble.

BUT, most aircraft, most of the time, I do try to make sure that I can do the airborne checks and any emergency drills from memory - or at least the vital actions, to keep things on an even keel until I have mental space to double check from the checklist anything I've missed.

As an instructor I do seem to mostly (not always to be fair) fly with low recency low ability pilots who do need to use a checklist on the ground, at-least, to avoid screwing up. So I strongly encourage it - although I'm a lot less worried in simple aeroplanes about what checklist they use so long as they can cope with it and it picks up the main points.

However I'm always very aware of checklist abuse. Flying clubs who produce a checklist longer than that for most medium airliners and expect pilots to use it on a C172 or similarly "complex" aeroplane do nobody any favours - they're teaching bad habits, not least in encouraging pilots to spend much too much time faffing about in the cockpit than lookout out of the window and flying the aeroplane. They're also often, probably subconsciously, encouraging single-pilot-pilots to adopt something closer to the airline "challenge and response" checklist use pattern than the more appropriate small aeroplane "read-do" approach. (Or remember - do!). Similarly checklists that jump all around the cockpit in response to emergencies instead of a smooth circular or linear flow across the cockpit are just going to be got wrong by a pilot under stress. Over-long or over-detailed checklists also stop pilots thinking for themselves as much as they should, which is a very bad thing.

BUT because some checklists are poor, is not a reason not to have a checklist. As short as practicable, logical, and ideally using simple flows that somebody can do once they've got to know the aeroplane well can do intuitively and from memory - absolutely. But I still want it there, and expect to see somebody rusty or new to an aeroplane using the damned thing.

G

Boffin at large
Various, southern UK.

It seems to me that my use of the term "self-righteous" has not been taken well by some.

I think the word "amateur" may have connotations different from those intended too.

You should possibly consider that you may not be the only professional on here and you may not max out on the experience stakes either.

EGKB Biggin Hill
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