Originally Posted by
Genghis the Engineer
But I have to agree about manuals - regardless of some national regulations, I see no real value in having the POH on board any single pilot aeroplane.
G
I personally try not to make absolute pronouncements about anything in flying. I have been flying out of the same airport for 30 years. I don't carry any maps with me when I am flying locally as I am very familiar with the area. However I don't extrapolate the fact that I don't need a map for some flights to I don't need a map for any flight.
POH's are obviously quite variable and yes some are not very useful. However most of the people reading this thread are probably flying a Cessna or Piper made after 1975. These will have GAMA format and contain quite a bit of information some of which may become unexpectedly useful.
A personal example example of why having the manual on board is a good idea. I was off with a friend in a C 172S for a 150 $ hamburger one Sunday. After our personal low cholesterol warning light was extinguished we go to start up for the flight back and the battery is weak enough that it won't quite start. A local fellow sees what is happening and brings over a power cart. Now some systems require the battery master to be off with external power connected and for others it has to be on. Failure to get this right can damage the electrical system. So which one for this airplane ? Well a quick check of the manual and the answer is master off.
So what would you have done since you make a point of not carrying an aircraft manual ?