Originally Posted by
India Four Two
Concerning checklists, for the SE aircraft I fly - mostly Scout and 182 towplanes these days - I use memorized checklists. I will admit that I occasionally miss something but nothing that would kill me.
The most embarrassing one recently was that I didn't notice the previous pilot had turned the fuel Off and was surprised when the engine stopped after starting. Of course I should have twigged that something was wrong when I didn't get the usual resistance when operating the primer.
Perhaps your pre-takeoff procedure works well for you but I would strongly recommend checking your killer items just prior to takeoff and after setting yourself up for takeoff. In a 182 that might be: trim, flaps, fuel selector, mixture, carb heat(if installed), primer, mags, and fuel pump. Any of these can cause grief, especially on a runway requiring max performance.
Due to whatever issue it might be, some posters here seem to feel that I think I am perfect but I know much better than them. I know that I make plenty of mistakes. Your fuel selector off and not clueing in that the primer had no resistance as a result reminded me that I have come to the conclusion that, when in the process of making a significant mistake, there is usually a warning or clue of some sort that is brushed aside with some kind of excuse made up for the out of the ordinary hint.
Example: even though I am perfect
as other poster have repeatedly stated, I nearly landed in a field beside a runway once(and not that close to the runway either) instead of on it. It was winter and the runway was snow covered along with most of the surrounding area. I sighted from quite a few miles back what appeared to me to look very much like the runway. A long, narrow dark area that jumped out of the whiteness, it was so obvious. So I lined up with it. My hint later on was the two white PAPI lights that I saw off to the left. A passenger actually asked about them and I made some silly statement that perhaps they were snowmobiles.
At about 100 feet or less, it did become obvious that I was lined up with a long thin dirt field(which somehow didn't have snow on most of it) and did a go-around but what if it had been poorer lighting such as in the evening. Maybe I would have landed in the field.
I made up a silly excuse and brushed aside the good hint that I was doing something wrong.
Try to recognize a situation like this when making an excuse to explain something out of the ordinary. There was no resistance to the primer....ahh, it must be not working. Really? How likely is that? What other reason could there be?