Good Habits

[VLift]

With the wealth of experience here there must be many, many good habits to share within the community. . .In each helicopter I bring to a hover, and every time, I make a point of confirming that the controls are responding normally for the conditions when the aircraft is very light on the gear and before committing it above the stabilization of ground contact. I've caught hung landing gear twice and, many years ago, a friend caught miss-rigged flight controls this way. . .Let’s share the knowledge.

[paco]

Always check behind before you take off.

Phil

[RW-1]

Right after I stabalize in my initial hover, I check MP I'm pulling against what I predicted on the chart prior to liftoff.

Before liftoff I also have my CFI ensure the skid chocks are removed :) (Get's him every time "Made ya look!")

[CTD]

Do a walkaround every time before you get in a helicopter.

[Cyclic Hotline]

Unless you are exclusively doing long-line work.

Release the longline prior to every shut-down!

When you are doing you're walkround (see above) hook up the long line if you need it for the next mission.

This way you will never take-off unknowingly with a long-line attached. I cannot tell you how many close calls I have witnessed with this, as well (unfortunately) as accidents.

[Steve76]

Always triple check three greens and the brakes on ....... or off as required.

[paco]

Following on from checking the longline, do a walkaround after you land as well.

Phil

[Vfrpilotpb]

I am pedantic in the way I do the pre flight, to the point of double checking certain items, I alwys DIP the tanks, or open them to see the actual motion lotion, no matter what the gauges say, then sit in the craft and get the old grey matter up to speed by going through in my mind what will be expected of me in the next 5 minutes and after. <img src="smile.gif" border="0">

[Hughes500]

Check cylic friction are fully off in both planes before taking off. Before transitioning away 90 degree turn and look behind you. <img src="eek.gif" border="0">

[Devil 49]

Learn all you can about your machine.

Read your Rotorcraft Flight Manual often.

It takes skill to hover well, and hovering well means taking all the time necesary to do it right.

[ROCKY2]

Make sure you're in the right aircraft :)

[Hezbollah]

Open your side window if you are going to hover v close to obstructions - because you arent going to want to take your hands off to open it when it starts to steam up. Learnt that today - you never stop learning if you stay alive!

[captk]

I make it a habit of doing a daily inspection at the end of the flying day as well as preflight. Better to find an unservicability the evening before a flight rather than immediately before a flight as it gives the engineers more time to fix the problem hence less interuption to the flying program and more servicability.. .Also a quick walk around before every flight to ensure cowls and lockers are all locked and shut and everyhing else secure. Nothing worse than being in flight wondering if you shut that rear locker!! . .Brings to mind a job I had many years ago flying a payroll from Melbourne to the Latrobe Valley. I had quite a lot of money sitting in a strongbox in the rear locker. Halfway during the flight I quietly wondered if the rear locker was shut properly!!

[sprocket]

Make sure those unused seat belts are are inside!. .Maybe not a saftey issue but the panels and paintwork can take a real beating.

[before landing check list]

You all have some very good ones. I always check where my tail rotor is going prior to any peddle turns. regardless of altitude.. . j

[Heli-Ice]

I was taught to do the DI on the H300 when I started my flight training so I've made it a habit of doing it before every flight and after last flight of the day. Hover check is also one of my habits.

Always plan ahead if possible and I agree with ROCKY2 :)

Heli-Ice

[ 26 January 2002: Message edited by: Heli-Ice ]</p>

[Lu Zuckerman]

Looking at it from another perspective, always stay on the good side of the person(s) maintaining your machine.

[Weight and Balance]

Oh my god, I'm going to agree with Lu.

Every FTE job I've had, I make sure that the designers, maintainers, pilots, and builders know me very well. They also have to know my wife and kids, and understand how much they depend on me.

When people find out I ride in experimental aircraft for a living, they often ask me what my scariest flight was. I always say "my last ride in an airliner." :)

I don't know who designed it, who built it, who fixes it, and who's flying it.

[rotorfan]

Two lessons learned on R22 prefright, er, preflight inspections.

1) After refueling, I checked tanks visually and put the caps back on. Upwind TO, follwed by climbing left 180 toward destination. After landing, all my FW friends come out to look over the beast. One casually sez, "Is that hole supposed to be there?". I offer the only reply a highly-qualified heli pilot can, "Duhhh, what hole???" The hole on the top of the left tank, visible because there's NO BLOODY CAP. Yes, sharp reader, that is the side the tail rotor lives on. <img src="eek.gif" border="0"> Sick feeling in the gut followed. I DID put the cap on (paint stripe lined up), and I bet it was within 2 or 3 degrees of not fully tightened. I never would have believed it could loosen like that in just a few minutes. By pure dumb luck, the airport tractor used for cutting the grass had a cap that fit perfectly. <img src="wink.gif" border="0"> Still, I put it on the right side, taped it on, and felt it with my hand occasionally on the return flight. That will NOT happen to me again.

2) Picking up aircraft that just had a 100-hour inspection to ferry it home. Found carb-heat and cyclic-trim knobs in exchanged positions. Don't know whether to be more disgusted with mechanic that did the work or the inspector that was supposed to inspect it. <img src="mad.gif" border="0"> During outside walk-around, I'm distracted by conversation with my passenger, my high-time USAF pilot father. Closing on the home field, I call the tower with no response. Hmmmmmmmm, comm failure. After landing, I check the coax cable that attaches to the antenna base. It's hanging free. Even with that item on the checklist, and the list in my hand on the walk-around, I still missed it. So did the mechanic who took it off and didn't reconnect, but my fault, for sure. Moral: if you're distracted during a pre-flight, start over. Better, keep others away until you finish.

Sprocket: good point on the unused belts being inside the A/C, but also make sure they are SECURED, too, so they can't foul the controls. Same for unused headsets, etc. If doors off, make sure nothing is lose enough for the wind to carry it out the door. I'm paranoid about the TR now.. . Good thread! Keep it coming. <img src="smile.gif" border="0">

[volpe]

Always go to the effort of checking. Sitting in the machine waiting to start......bugrit I didn't check the hatches. GO TO THE EFFORT and get some cheap insurance....Get out & walk around.

Nr is God, EADI/AH is God, Situation Awareness is God. Fly the machine. <img src="cool.gif" border="0">

[Care Bear]

A couple of pearls of wisdom that were passed to me at the start of my flying career ** years ago that are as pertinent now as they were then.

Flying is fun. If it stops being fun, stop flying as you will be a liability to yourself and others!

There are old pilots and bold pilots but very few old bold pilots. Mind in my case read old bald pilot!!

Learn from every flight. If you know it all and cant learn any more please quit as there is no room for you in aviation.

Know your aircraft systems inside out, the manufacturers emergency drills will cover MOST occurances but lots of pilots have suffered situations not covered. You may have to work it out for yourself.

Flying is about options. Even on a clear day on the milk run continually consider the "What Ifs" so that WHEN the situation changes you have a plan to hand.

Fly safely ya alllllll.

[Jerka]

Smart pilots learn by their mistakes.. .Cunning pilots learn from other pilots mistakes...!

[RW-1]

Rotorfan,

Very interesting (the fuel cap).

Has anyone looked at possible fuel loss due to the cap being off in a heli (Robbie or similar type with caps on top)

I would think not, unlike the fixed wingers, to whom the lower wing pressure would begin suckingout fuel, would there be enoungh boundry airflow on the robbie fuse to make it an issue? (Certainly if one banks with afull tank and is out of trim, you might lose some :) )

Greybeard,

Then we have a lot of cunning smart pilots here .... (I know I'm one, I make 'em, and try to learn from both mine, and others, best one can hope for)

[rotorfan]

RW-1

Good question about the possible loss of fuel. I thought the same thing, but the ship didn't seem to lose any that I could tell. It might have much to do with how low the level of the fuel is below the tank top. I'm sorry I can't remember the fuel load that day.

Greybeard,

A similar one I like:

Learn from others' mistakes. You'll never live long enough to make all of them yourself.

[MightyGem]

RW, if you leave the fuel cap off a Gazelle, as you lift into the hover fuel gets sucked out of the tank straight into the engine intake.

Handy tip, when re-fuelling put the cap(s) on the pilot's seat. Hopefuly you'll then notice if you've forgotten to replace them.. . <img src="wink.gif" border="0">