Going traveling with a chopper is not everybody’s cup of coffee. In order to avoid and reduce the risk of nasty surprises, you have to get really prepared. Doing these top 20 things that I have listed here before you take off will make your life easier.
- Auxiliary fuel pump — Turn this off as it won’t be needed along with the flight.
- Instruments and radios — Checked and set to the required frequency so that you maintain a stable communication pattern.
- Landing gear position lights — Checked and confirmed to work properly and that they are highly visible.
- Altimeter — Set and make sure it works. It will determine the altitude that you are flying on.
- Directional gyro — Set to help you determine the direction to which your light is headed to and also to help you in picking the coordinates.
- Fuel gauges — Should be checked to determine if you have enough fuel for the distance that you intend to cover or if you might need a refill.
- Propeller — Exercise the propeller to determine if it is working properly or in case there is some fault.
- Flaps — If you are using a plane with flaps then you should ensure that the flaps perform efficiently and as required.
- Seat belts/shoulder harnesses — Make sure that all these are actually fastened and that they work properly.
Other Items
- Parking brake — Off
- Trim — Set
- Flight controls — Free and correct
- Magnetos — Checked
- The engine idle — Checked
Final items
- Doors and Windows — Locked
- Mixture — Full rich unless above 3,000 feet msl
- Lights — Landing, taxi, strobes on
- Camera — Transponder on
- Action — Engine instruments checked
Before Landing Checklist
- Fuel selector — Fullest tank
- Directional gyro — Aligned with the magnetic compass
- Seat belts/shoulder harnesses — secure
- Mixture — Full rich unless airport above 3,000 feet msl
- Cowl flaps — As required
Final items
- Landing gear — Down
- Propeller — High rpm
- Flaps — As required
The segmented checklist will enhance your personal ability to manage the cockpit and also comply with the required standards of operating procedures. It is good at avoiding possible accidents.