Pre Flight

[flydrummer]

I did take that into consideration. However I do remember after we met, he was handed the keys and said to the dispathcer something to the effect of not knowing we were taking the aircraft given to us.

 

[Avenger29]

I don't know about that...I remember my discovery flight...

My instructor was relativly new at the school (the junior instructor, I guess) so I flew with her (and still do)...We went through a full preflight and checked everything, and she had me do everything. We then strapped in, and I logged a 1/2 hour that day- just what I paid for. I don't think this CFI did a preflight inspection before the student arrived, and may have been lax on the preflight b/c they had not had enough experience to know the troubles that can result. A lot of people get complacent in their jobs and don't check stuff. My advice: go do some 'hanger flying' and listen to the stories of those who did not preflight everything like they were supposed too. Adjust your preflight checklist accordingly. I know my father has experienced a couple of near death experiences and adjusted accordingly. For example, check the pitot tube to make sure the little flip up cover is not frozen and check the drain hole in the tail and make sure it is unclogged (do you know what 10 gallons of water in the tail does to the CG?). They don't teach you to do those two items in flight school.

I would definetly watch other CFI's do preflight, if not necessarily selecting them to teach you. You are the CFI's boss. You do not have to fly with them if you do not feel comfortable. It is as simple as that, although it is wierd for the person with minimum expertise to fire the teacher. That is a little wierd, I just can't get over that. It feels wrong as hell, but it is the truth.

Your jepps manual is correct. Don't trust the line guys with anything. Period. It is your a$$ on the line, not theirs.

 

[User546]

Simply put: Never take anyones word, and always check them yourself before every flight.

1) You want to check the fuel, make sure its really been filled to the top.

2) You should always check and make sure the right color of fuel is in your fuel tanks.

3) Make sure the gas cap is secure. Lineman don't always get the fuel caps tightened down properly, and you don't ever want to look back and see fuel streaming out of your tanks. We had this happen on one of our CJ's awhile back. Luckily a passenger had come up to the cockpit to notify the pilots.

4) Two important things to always visually check, regardless of whether or not anyone has told you "they checked, and is okay": Gas and Oil. NEVER take anyones word. I always look at it like "if this engine ceases on me inflight, and I have to make a crash landing somewhere, when the Feds come to talk to me, am I going to be absolutely positive there was sufficient oil and fuel during the preflight?"

It's good that your already working on the proper "mindset" of a good, safe pilot. Don't be afraid to be more assertive in the future, the flight instructors will see this as a good trait.

 

[TonyC]

Or is this like driving school...where they teach you to drive with your hands and 2 and 10 but in reality no one does that.

They're teaching 9 and 3 now, so your arms won't be broken by an airbag.





President Ronald Reagan put it best:

Trust, but verify.​

.

 

[Illini Pilot]

even though this is definately something the CFI should have done...you will be doing the preflights after the first lesson or two. be glad you are this aware of the dangers of taking the preflight lightly...i usually turn the preflight duties over to the student after the first couple times, but i will still watch them from the desk or wherever periodically to make sure they aren't just walking around it. its amazing to watch some of them eventually just walk around the plane and look at it, run their hand on the prop and stick the tanks. then i get the fun of busting them

 

[flydrummer]

Thanks for the replies. I hope that I maintain a good level of awareness throughout my career! And I hope someone slaps me if they see that I'm not.

 

[MFRskyknight]

Being assertive with your CFI, as awkward as it may feel with your inferior level of experience, may save your life. Especially with such critical items as fuel, oil, etc. For example, let's say you've been flying 10 minutes with the fuel needles buried in the red.

You're thinking, "Looks a little low--but those are inaccurate anyway, and he's a professional. I'm sure he's paying attention."

He's thinking anything from, "Only a few more months of this crap and I'm off to the regionals" to "Man, I'm starving; is it lunchtime yet?" to "Did I return those DVDs to Blockbuster?"

It's comforting to think of CFIs as machines who are at 110% of their game every day, but, you know, human beings and all that stuff. I don't think I can add anything more to the excellent advice given here by all so far, except that I've had one or two firsthand CFI-judgment-related experiences as a student that I would not care to repeat, so I feel I can't emphasize assertiveness enough.

MFR