[QUOTEHow about checking the Fuel Shutoff lever in a C152 before lining up on the runway?
...apparantly your naughty passenger can reach down and turn it off after you checked it before start up QUOTE]
Thread drift, I know but funny you should mention the Fuel on/off cock in the Cessna 150/152. Most of the fuel cocks on those aircraft jammed solid with time and yet few pilots ever bothered to snag the defect in the maintenance release. Why not? Answer - they were told by the flying school instructors not to worry about it.
The fact that the POH stated the fuel cock must be turned off during a forced landing or fire, seemed to escape the attention of those pilots including instructors. Years ago I snagged a C150 fuel cock for severe binding and the aircraft owner got all indignant saying it had been like that for years and no one else had mentioned it. Several female students did not have the finger strength to turn the fuel valve which is why it was always left on after shut down. What does that tell you about the integrity of those that flew it?
Similar fuel valve defects were common in the Partenavia where in UK a jammed fuel valve was the primary cause of a fatal ditching. The pilot was unable to move the crossfeed valve but it was locked solid. The pilot drowned.
At the time, there were three Essendon based Partenavias with totally jammed fuel valves and their pilots never snagged them. An LAME showed me one of these aircraft, and I was surprised he did not advise CASA of the defect which was widely known among the owners. Even the report on the Partenavia ditching did not convince him this was a long standing serious defect in valve design. His excuse for not contacting the CASA Airworthiness people was the aircraft owner might not give him more maintenance work if it was known the LAME would contact CASA on possibly allied defects.
In the case of the Point Cook based C150 and the Essendon based Partenavias, it took a CAIR report to ATSB to force the operators owners to fix the problem. These guys were then heartily pissed off because it cost them money. Isn't general aviation wonderful...
I understand the jammed fuel valve defect still exists in some C150/152's but pilots ignore it for fear of making waves. Next time you fly a Partenavia it might be a good idea to ensure each engine cockpit fuel valves move easily between selections. Chances are they will be so stiff to turn that you may needs two hands.
Now back to the original post. You don't need printed checklists in flying school or other light aircraft. Your local CASA FOI might insist but that's his problem. Let's face it. If you can remember your Twelve Times table by heart or the names of the months of the year without Googling it, then it takes little effort to remember the checks by heart. Providing the checks are short and concise. If you have to Google the tables and the names of the months then you are definitely going need a written checklist to start your car and in an aeroplane.
Too often, written checklists are used as a crutch for those who cannot be bothered to learn the drills. These are not complex aircraft and students need to be given short concise drills applicable only to the aircraft type they fly. Anything else added to these checks are a waste of the student's time and money.
Catchy mnemonics are fun to invent; but pity the student who is forced to learn these mnemonics from different instructors who invent them. Strange that mnemonics are not used in jet transports which after all are far more complex than your average light aircraft at Moorabbin or Bankstown..
Last edited by A37575; 9th Apr 2012 at 08:43.