Last Bits

If you’ve been doing preflight inspections for any length of time, there are no secrets to the process. Or are there? Can you get better at how you are going about it? If you’ve ever missed something and later said, “Oh shoot, I totally didn’t see that,” then perhaps there’s room for improvement.

There’s also the “I don’t know what I don’t know” affliction. It sounds non-sensical but is fundamental to our understanding of how to inspect. It’s a reflection of feeling as if we really do know all the secrets to our inspections because we feel that way, and we truly believe that we’ve seen everything we need to. We may be missing things because we don’t understand enough details to find faults. This is a classic self-fulfilling prophecy.

If you want to get better at your preflight inspections, consider the following “secrets.”

Time pressure. This is the biggie. It expands as your audience expands. As onlookers gawk at your beautiful masterpiece after the $200 hamburger, you will not want to spend much time looking things over before you jump in, start up, and then impress everyone with a high-speed take-off. The secret? Block out the time you need to go through your checklist. I do know this sounds overly simple but just sit on the porch at a small airport and watch what pilots actually do. 

Distractions. Also high on the occurrence list, you will find yourself distracted by people asking you questions, by your phone, other activities at the airport, and noise. We assume that we can jump back in and pick up where we left off, but we rarely do. The secret? Integrate the preflight into your flight planning and treat it as a standalone unit. Have a defined checklist for several different scenarios. You won’t need to do the same inspection when you’ve just run into the flight office for a chat and then returned, but you should know what you need to examine before you jump in and go. While you may not need to go into great detail, do check the basics. Fuel and tires come to mind, with a thorough walk-around. 

Undeveloped checklists. Things are missing. A poorly developed checklist will cause havoc. Or they are too busy and not organized. The secret? Spend thoughtful quiet time developing your checklists. Make sure you have the items from the manufacturer recommendations, the builders group items, and any other specialty items. It sounds silly, but you’ll skip the things that aren’t on your list and think you covered everything. Analyze what problems you are routinely seeing on the airplane. You should take copious notes in the first 100 hours of flight. Then refine your preflight to match what things you should pay the most attention to. Over time you can refine your lists so that they are less time-consuming but deliver the safety levels you need.

No post flight inspections. They can be short and fast. Look under the belly; stand back and look at the stance of the aircraft; and double-check the master and fuel switches.

The last secret to preflight inspections? Automate them. Choose an app or simply record them in your phone and play back to yourself. If you love written lists, make up multiple copies and laminate them.