Just out of interest, do you use a checklist when flying with an instructor/examiner as a part of your SEP renewal requirements?
Absolutely not! We've always been too busy trying to get that s-l-o-w roll really nice!
I did once leave my renewal too late to get a suitably qualified (tailwheel, aeros) instructor to sit in the back. So I did an hour with one of the other (flat earth) guys in a prosaic club PA38. No aeros of course, so I decided it'd be some instrument practice. He put some maps over my side of the windscreen and I put on the hood, and we did a bit of climbing, descending, vectoring onto headings while so doing - the usual 'under the hood' stuff.
I noticed that despite having cruise power set and the attitude where it should be, we were slowly descending. Himself was at a loss to explain this. So I came out from under the hood to to 'have a look'.
We were downwind of some seriously big mountains. "Lee side sink", I said. "Oh right", he said".
But at least he hadn't demanded to see my checklist (I do have a PA38 checklist in my flightbag, which was in the boot of my car at the time).
I wonder if any PA38 checklist has the line:
"If flying downwind of high hills, the aeroplane may experience a reduced rate of climb, or a descent when configured for level flight, and in extreme cases a rate of decent with full power that will have you into the ground in short order".