SNS3Guppy
In Europe we tend to refer to Mullti Crew as in an MCC course as opposed to Single Pilot but technically you are correct as a Crew is more than one
I take on fully what you are saying above and am in no way promoting being sloppy with checks.
As I said in my original post on this thread it was spurred by a complaint on another thread of a Pitts pilot pulling onto the runway and taking off in front of his aircraft back tracking onto remaining runway behind the numbers.
I can imagine the delays and frustration before that aircraft entered the runway that caused the Pitts pilot to line up on the numbers and go.
That got me thinking of a King Air Owner I fly with on occasion who is very methodical but slow with his checks often taking 20 minutes to complete.
I had been on an earlier flight to the south of France and he had flown the return with another co pilot.
They were running late as it was and delayed further by a Slot. His slow methodical checks meant that he missed that slot although being warned by ATC a number of times and was sent back to the parking lot with another Slot a further 1.5 hrs later.
As another poster here stated that in the military in the UK they are expected to learn the checks by memory and then have a checklist.
Obviously if you are renting an unfamiliar aircraft you will need to go through all the checks step by step not only so you dont miss something but also to familiarise yourself with the aircraft.
I can remember borrowing a TB20 which I had never flown although I had flown other TB20s I climbed into a cloudbase at 500 feet into IMC to be met by a strong chemical smell. The aircraft was fitted with TKS anti icing and the tiny matchstick switch was almost out of sight by my knee.
So for me its about doing everything you possibly can before the PAX arrive, knowing your aircraft so it fits like a glove! Knowing your checks but using the checklist if you are in a tight slot situation which is often the case at least here in Europe to confirm.
Obviously in an emergency other than the memory items it is straight to the emergency checklist lock stock and barrel
Pace