Page 8 - April21T

Standard Aero
As a pilot gains familiarity with an airplane, some items become unnecessary. My engine start checklist is now two items instead of nine in the POH. Some of the dropped items are common sense, such as “Magnetos/ start switch – start (release to BOTH when engine starts).” It’s a safe bet that all pilots understand this is how to get the engine to start making noise. If they don’t, they will remain safely on the ground. The two I kept are “Switches – OFF, THEN SET,” and “Oil pressure – CHECK.” The first step reminds me to verify the Avionics Master and any battery-draining accessories are off before powering up the Masters, and the second to check the oil pressure after starting – a critical step that is easy to miss.
Starting a cold Continental IO-550 is easy to do with a flow: Masters and alternators on. Mixtures/props/throttles full forward. Cowl flaps open. Boost pump low to check operation, high until fuel flow peaks, then off. Throttles closed, then open half, clear, then start the engine. Verify oil pressure is up before doing anything else. The other start conditions – hot and flood starts, for example – sit on another page, so I don’t have to wade through those before running the after-start checks.
The landing checklist is even shorter: “Gear – down,” which is the single most important item. I reinforce this with the airline practice of keeping my hand on the gear switch until I see three green lights. A final flow, what I call the over-the-fence checks (completed on short final, about when I cross the airport fence), includes gear down, props forward, and click the autopilot disconnect switch to shut off the yaw damper. I’ve forgotten that last step more than once; it’s hard to move the rudder on the roll- out with the YD engaged. Putting it into this flow solved the problem, as would placing it in an earlier checklist.
Maintaining
This is an iterative process. I didn’t bother printing the first few versions on nice paper since I found missing items, poor or inefficient flows, and extra steps, even after many dry runs in the hangar and my home office. Every year, while the plane is in for its annual inspection, I submit the checklists to the same process – I dismantle and inspect them, making whatever changes are needed.
Conclusion
Pilot-made checklists are a great chance to improve efficiency and safety. Even better, it is an opportunity to learn airplane systems in much greater detail because it requires the pilot to consider each item in the POH checklist. Hangar flying is a critical part of creating a checklist. The best way to develop flows is by sitting in the pilot’s seat, touching the controls, rehearsing tasks, and taking notes. These flows then become the basis for the revised and improved checklist.
6 • TWIN & TURBINE / April 2021
Alex Jones is a physician and owner-pilot in the Chicago area. He has flown a Baron for the past six years and is currently transitioning to a King Air. You can contact Alex at joneshvna@gmail.com.