Page 21 - July22T

AOPA Finance
http://finance.aopa.org
Everything was in its place. I would need to do very little besides fly, move the heading bug, and switch radio frequencies between take- off and landing.
All that preparation came in handy when the autopilot tripped off repeat- edly on my short, solid-IMC hop and I had to hand-fly the entire flight.
First Flight of the Day
We don’t see this much in light airplanes, but some flight manuals identify checklist steps that must be done prior to every flight and oth- ers that need to be done only before the first flight of the day. A good example is the flaps check in the Pilot’s Operating Handbooks of the piston Beechcraft models I frequently fly. They call for running the flaps through all positions to check the flap motor stops when the flaps reach the full down position. Also that the flaps (and motor) stop in the Approach position both when running the flaps down (from fully up) and when re- tracting the flaps (from fully down). I consider this a “first flight of the day” check and will skip this step when running the Before Takeoff checklist on subsequent flights. An- other common first-flight-of-the-day item is cycling the propeller during engine runup. Other checks, such as controls free and correct, electric trim check (in case it triggers a run- away) and magneto check (to detect fouled or failed spark plugs), must be done before every flight.
Just as your preflight walkaround inspection before the first flight of the day is undoubtedly more com- plex and takes more time than your walkaround after a quick fuel stop during a day of flying, you may be able to cull some Before Takeoff sys- tem checks from the items you per- form at the beginning of the second or third leg of a full day of flying.
Subsequent Flights
The hazard of doing this is complacency. Don’t rush through the checklists before you board or during the Before Takeoff checks. Take a look at your checklists and decide if there are any steps you don’t have to
do before every single flight. If you eliminate any steps, do so not because they take time, but only if they are items that aren’t critical. You might highlight the Every Flight items or even make a second abbreviated checklist for takeoffs after the day’s first flight is complete. Still, use these amended checklists.
One last thing: If you make more than two flights in a single day, I suggest performing the full, first- flight checklists on subsequent flights. I especially recommend this if the later flight occurs at night. In part, this might catch something that has broken during the busy day. It also reflects the different settings of some items in darkness compared to when operating in daylight. Mainly, though, I suggest this to help slow you down and pace yourself, compensating somewhat for accumulated fatigue.
Bring Your A Game
The NTSB Probable Cause state- ment for the piston-twin accident that opened this article may suggest otherwise, but we don’t know for sure what may have contributed to the fatal loss of control. What we do know is that the theorized pilot-induced loss of control, or some undetected in- strument or systems failure, or both, happened in the first few minutes of the flight.
You don’t know for certain how well you or the airplane will perform until you’ve already committed your- self to flight. You have to bring your A game to even the first few minutes. What warm-up we get is in mental preparation and physical workload re- duction techniques completed before advancing power for takeoff, backed up by careful completion of systems and operational checklists.
Thomas P. Turner is an ATP CFII/MEI, holds a master's Degree in Aviation Safety, and was the 2010 National FAA Safety Team Repre- sentative of the Year.Subscribe to Tom’s free FLYING LESSONS Weekly e-newsletter at www.mastery- flight-training.com.
July 2022 / TWIN & TURBINE • 19