Re 5 mile final... I've flown a 0.5 mile final, can't say I've ever flown one 10X that long :-)
Please, is it really that hard to understand what I wanted to write? Only accept a short approach (whatever that is depends on your aeroplane and your level of skill and preparation!) if you are ready for it and don't let others decide that for you.
alexisvc: Never be the frist one to fly the plane after Annual or 100 h inspection
Or take the mechanic who signed for the inspection with you. Tell him beforehand and you can be sure that he will do his best...
Silence in the cockpit after turning final!
"Sterile Cockpit" (=silence apart from necessary callouts) below 10,000ft it is with most commercial operators. Very difficult to maintain though.
Have the most important items for the FINAL checklist in your head
Have all items of all checklists in your head. (Almost) all checklists (with very few exceptions) should be treated as follow-up checklists, i.e. you only pull the list out after having performed your actions to verify that nothing was forgotten. For some reason unbeknown to me many PPL instructors still don't teach it that way.
Or take the mechanic who signed for the inspection with you.
I tried this and they always refused - except one who is an A&P/IA & ATP & CFII, but those are extremely rare.
I dealt with this by requiring all inspection covers to be left off when I came to collect the plane. The company I mostly used didn't like that at all, but they also refused to go on the first flight, so they decided the inspection cover requirement was a smaller thing to stomach. They still put them all on on one occasion, but I got them all opened.
This is a real issue. Every significant issue I have ever had was immediately post-maintenance, but never post- maintenance which I have done myself with the A&P (last 2 years on everything, and sine 2005 on 50hr checks).
Every significant issue I have ever had was immediately post-maintenance, but never post- maintenance which I have done myself with the A&P (last 2 years on everything, and since 2005 on 50hr checks)
No maintenance is done on my aircraft without my direct involvement, except any work that requires shipping parts off-site for overhaul. I think that really does help safety, because it puts me in a position to reject anything that makes me feel in any way uncomfortable. Sometimes, mulling something over for a day or so generates a better solution, I talk it over with the A&P mechanic, and we re-do the work.
Recently I sent my propeller off to a repair station for overhaul, got it back and reinstalled it. I spent last weekend getting the low pitch setting where it needed to be (the overhaul shop did not get it quite right) so the the aircraft benefited from the time spent. That kind of diligence would be very expensive if I were paying for it, assuming that the mechanic were familiar enough to get it right regardless of cost. The way I do it, the A&P mechanic and I work together as a friendly mutually-respectful team and the result is optimized. Its not really a business transaction, and nobody's primary income is depending on it. That provides the time to get it right.
Checklist are not adding to safety that much on the simple aircrafts we fly. I threw them out completely. I sometimes miss items or forget to put on the pitot heat (will get a warning when climbing higher to lower temps automatically). The main issues would be departing from a very short runway without setting the proper flap settings, so I have a flow check that I run through at fixed points in flight and before flight which runs from left to right on the dashboard (not too many options there on the SR22) and then down the middle console. I always take my time at the runup to double check, but have no paper or other checklist around anymore.
My shop flies my aircraft before I do. I am never the one who flies it first and I will not.
Checklists: There are DO-lists that should NOT be done from memory. Also NOBODY can remember all checklist items for his aircraft, and even if he can he will at one point forget one item.
It depends - when you fly a J3 Cub you should be able to fly it without checklist. But I would NOT fly a TBM850 without checklists.
(Of course you don't need paper inthe SR22, because you have all checklists on the MFD). I am trying to discipline myself to use ONLY those.
Also NOBODY can remember all checklist items for his aircraft,
When I did my MCC training on a B737 simulator we were supposed to memorise all normal checklists (not the abnormal and emergenciy ones, as these are, like you wrote, read-and-do-checklists) - this meant rehearsing for an hour every evening during the 8 (or 10) days the course took. In the end, everybody knew his checklist. Mind you, there are actors who have a repertoire of more then ten Shakespeare plays, so what is a page of checklist items by comparison?
1)Autopilot for IFR flying.
2) Terrain database on your GPS (CFIT remains a big killer)
Never be the first one to fly the plane after Annual or 100 h inspection>
With our LAA Permit to Fly system, I'm often the first to fly after work done - but I've been involved in doing the work. Last December, X and I fitted a new exhaust, but didn't get a proper seal. It wasn't noticeable on ground run with the coul off - me in cockpit, X checking. As it was too dark for us to fly it, I flew it alone next morning, spotted the sound difference on take-off, called ATC, did a low level circuit, and landed. I've had the throttle jam on short final, and, on another 2 occasions, a gascolator leak, a few hours after professional work, when the Jodel1050 was on a C of A. We've had fewer problems doing the work ourselves and getting it checked by an LAA Inspector.
Well, I am also not using the checklists in the MFD. The issue is that I don't run the checklist and that the items that really make a difference are just a few: (setting the flaps and power settings correct on departure on short runways is one of them). The TBM850 is not that much different if equipped with the Garmin G1000. It also depends on how frequent you fly the plane. If I have not been flying for some time, I have a small paper checklist of A5 size which has the essential items I should not miss.
Said in other terms, - Forgetting to turn on the pitot heat is not critical, I will get a warning while climbing out - Forgetting to turn on the landing light is not critical, the plane will fly just fine without it - Forgetting to close the door firmly is not critical, but just annoying - Forgetting to set the right QNH can be essential, but retracting the flaps after takeoff is something I would get a warning for in the SR22. - However, some items are critical and cannot be forgotten but how many items are on that sort-list? Forget about the rest on your checklist. They don't help you.
