Originally Posted by
Level Attitude
4) .
5) Mixture:
Sounds like a good system check but I am unaware of it being required
in any POH - or of it being performed in practise?
It would seem to me that making sure the carburator is working properly would be a good thing to know before going flying. If there is other ways to do it I would be very interested to hear. As I commented on in the Be a Better Pilot thread it is important to know that the carb is not set too lean. A lean mixture at full power is deadly for the engine as the high CHT's will burn the cylinders. A lack of a RPM rise when the mixture is leaned with carb heat on during the tuneup is likely caused by inadequate fuel flow and should be investigated. I have twice snagged an aircraft fir this. The first time it turned out the carb jet was dirty, but the second time was due to the wrong carb being installed, and the aircraft had flown like that for over 100 hrs.
Re brakes: Yes the brakes should be checked as you roll from your parking spot, but I often see the aircraft roll a few feet and the make a sharp lurch down as the brakes are jammed full on. A gentle application will tell you all is well and in general if the nose is bobbing up and down when braking you are overdoing it. An excellent practice is when braking to a stop, ease up on the brake pressure just before the aircraft stops, this will allow the aircraft to come to nice smooth stop.