11,000 hours including 2,500 GA and I don't think I have ever taken off without checking the controls. I remember a guy failing his private pilot checkride with one of the faults being not checking for correct control movement. Was looking straight ahead.
I also tend to check the elevator trim as well. On some aircraft you can't see it from the cockpit like the Cessna 170. So as part of the walkaround when I get to the right side door, I check by standing outside the aircraft and holding the control column aft to raise the elevator and then check the trim. Nose up is tab down, nose down is tab up. Check that takeoff position in near neutral. Takes a few seconds.
Stabilators really need to be check with the control near neutral as the anti-servo(trim) tab moves with control movement.
Chances are everything will be moving in the correct direction if the previous flight was OK for the last guy but be especially paranoid about proper direction movement after significant maintenance.
Then again, the Diamond DA-20 is just a spring being adjusted inside the tail to create force on the elevator so all you can do is look at the trim light in the cockpit. But once again, if it was rigged to operate in the proper direction on the previous flight and there has been no maintenance, it probably still is.
Last edited by JammedStab; 10th Apr 2015 at 03:43.