BPF, I take the point about the piece of paper you give to the guy on lesson 1, vs the more streamlined version you might encourage as they progress (once they actually know what they need to do with the DG etc).
My primer check is at the end of the after-start list although, to be totally honest, when I learned to fly a C150 in the warmish parts of Australia, the primer was hardly ever unlocked - some quick pumps of the throttle are enough to get the average 0-200 away. I later learned that this was viewed as a mortal sin (with some justification) but generations of muster pilots managed well enough.
I agree re the tow-bar and similar items: these are things you really have to build into to what you call SOPs but which I might call situational awareness at all times. For what it's worth, I never leave the tow bar attached to an aircraft if I'm not actually holding it: if I have to walk away, I put the tow bar in front of one of the main wheels where, if I do run over it (heaven forbid), it'll cause a small bump. It was something suggested to me early on and I never thought too much about it until, a few months ago, I saw an instructor about to start an Arrow with the tow-bar attached. We managed to attract his attention but it was a near thing.
And there's the famous US incident of the PA24 and the tow-bar, of course.
Last edited by tecman; 18th Aug 2014 at 02:39.
Reason: typo