Checklists

[torquetubes1]

What's your company's policy on checklist?

Before Start Checklist.... Do you do all the items first then go through the checklist, or do you do the items one at a time as you go through the checklist?

Same thing for the After Start, Take off, Landing checklists, etc.???

Thank you.

[compressor stall]

Do the actions, then confirm completed with the checklist. Far more efficient in Single Pilot IFR, especially when you get a "flow" going. Allows more time to monitor the engines, speed, profile etc.

[Dockjock]

Yep. Its a "check" list after all, not a "do" list. Much, much faster to use a flow first and then check using the list.

[big pistons forever]

There remains much confusion between do list and check lists

My definition is as follows

Do list = read (single pilot) or respond ( multi-crew ) then do each item in turn untill end of list

Check list= action are done by memory and then checked against list after all are completed.

For example a single pilot muti IFR check list I made for a corporate Cessna 340 worked as follows. DL=do list, C =check list

Prestart=DL
Afterstart=DL
Taxi=CL
Pretakeoff=DL
Climb=CL
Cruise=DL
Descent and Approach=DL
Landing=CL
Afterlanding=CL
Shutdown=DL

I also went to a lot of effort to have all checks flow cleanly around the cockpit. I HATE list that have you jumping around all over the place.

[GlueBall]

Big Piston: ...that's a lot of lists to digest for single pilot ops. When I was in your shoes, flying scheduled commuter C402Cs, the operator had a simplified "approved" checklist mounted on the sunvisors above the left seats. It was "insurance" against pilot wannabes and private pilot-passengers who might be inclined to report us for allegedly not using a checklist. :ooh:

[big pistons forever]

I kept the list as brief as possible and it had some "starred" items ( ie only done on first flight of the day ). However the reality is there are lots of killer items especially for piston twins which have very little system automation and lack configuration warning systems. This operation was very different than a commuter airline where a small group of pilots fly a few routes on a regular basis. The C340 was operated about 150 hrs a year a did a lot of unforgiving heavy duty winter mountain IFR.

[flite idol]

yep one of my main pet-peeves on the flight deck. Most normal duties are performed in an organised flow ie initial set-up/before-start/after-start/climb etc! Once the flow is complete and at the appropriate time the CHECK list, whether challenge-response or silently should be performed to verify that all normal tasks have been completed. The most obvious and common clue that a pilot is using the checklist as a DO list is at the "circuit breakers-checked/in" line usually on the before start check list. That is the point that the vast majority of pilots I fly with strain to check the CB panels. I suppose as long as it is accomplished then no harm no foul. Abnormal or emergency check lists are a slightly different kettle of whatsits and unless specifically trained as a "memory" item or flow are usually performed as DO list.

[Ross Joy]

Checklists are a safety issue and should always be used.
I have had a safe thirty plus years of flying and have used a checklist most of the time. The only time I would not was when flying into a bush strip at night. The only check after leaving 10,000 feet was three greens on final.
The "Checklist" is much faster than a "To Do" list, but is also easer to believe a check has been completed when in a hurry.

What about Emergencies, do you remember them all when there has been no reason to recall them from one year to the next?

A cabin fire at night, single pilot, and at 30,000 feet, is the first thing that springs to mind, Oxygen mask ON! or is it another two or three checks away? you might remember when you start coughing.

To assist in these situations there is a company that has developed a talking checklist that will access emergencies at the press of a button and be programmed in areas where they might be needed. Easy to program, it turns text into speech, easy to use as most checks can be accessed from two buttons on the control wheel, it's like having a co-pilot to assist you through all checks. Check them out at www.airocorp.com

[Intruder]

I don't know about Airbus, but was able to visit the Customer Engineering shop at Boeing several months ago, and talked with the guys who develop procedures, checklists, and the like. Their philosophy is that DOING all the items first in the form of a cockpit "flow" (sequential sweep of all appropriate flight deck panels) precedes the CHECKlist for each phase of flight.

For example, the Before-Start flows are completed, then the challenge-reply Before-Start Checklist accomplished as a verification step after the cockpit is configured.