Pre-flight Checks... any problems found?
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Pre-flight Checks... any problems found?
As a low hours PPL student I am now doing some of the preflight checks etc....
My Instructor has told me a few of the problems he has encountered in his years of flying...
What problems you have found during your checks?
My Instructor has told me a few of the problems he has encountered in his years of flying...
What problems you have found during your checks?
Last edited by Caullystone; 2nd Sep 2007 at 19:12.
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Groundcrew gloves in engine intakes, zeuss fasteners undone, crack on stbd undercarriage leg locking ring, knackered tyres! (not all at the same time thankfully). It's worth taking your time over.
Standby for the rush!
PingDit
Standby for the rush!
PingDit
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Another student
Student learning on a Cessna 152
I've had rough running on one set of cylinders when doing the mag check, had to abandoned the flight for the day.
Common problem of low volt light coming on the ground, switched the master switch off and on to get rid of that.
On take off had a door come open.
I've had rough running on one set of cylinders when doing the mag check, had to abandoned the flight for the day.
Common problem of low volt light coming on the ground, switched the master switch off and on to get rid of that.
On take off had a door come open.
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Look out for loose screws securing the rocker box covers on Lycomings. Worth giving them a tweak with the plain screwdriver end of your fuel tester when doing the check A. (But try not to burr the screw slot!).
Aileron hinge cracked.
Damaged aileron caused by mishandling on the ground.
Missing split pin in main undercarriage scissor links (post maintenance).
Loose hot air box.
Primer line fractured just below the nut securing the line to the cylinder.
All on a PA28-140.
Have a go at the walk - around check competitions that are held at events like the PFA rally. You'll be surprised at how many faults we miss........
Aileron hinge cracked.
Damaged aileron caused by mishandling on the ground.
Missing split pin in main undercarriage scissor links (post maintenance).
Loose hot air box.
Primer line fractured just below the nut securing the line to the cylinder.
All on a PA28-140.
Have a go at the walk - around check competitions that are held at events like the PFA rally. You'll be surprised at how many faults we miss........
Upto The Buffers
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Had a fuel drain absolutely full of water on a club aircraft before now (later found out it had been grounded at another airfield for almost a week due mag failure). Drained a couple of litres from each tank, giving the wings a shake to dislodge any trapped pockets, was all looking good before long.
Started spluttering like chuff at 500ft on the climb-out. Had enough alt to do a turn-back and landed downwind (managed not to soil myself). Turned out fuel-filter was full of it, which no amount of fuel draining would cure.
Mr_B - rough mags are quite commonly down to mucky plugs. Can usually be cleared by agressive leaning and a decent ground run, then checking the mags again, usually clears it.
Started spluttering like chuff at 500ft on the climb-out. Had enough alt to do a turn-back and landed downwind (managed not to soil myself). Turned out fuel-filter was full of it, which no amount of fuel draining would cure.
Mr_B - rough mags are quite commonly down to mucky plugs. Can usually be cleared by agressive leaning and a decent ground run, then checking the mags again, usually clears it.
Last edited by Shunter; 2nd Sep 2007 at 19:37. Reason: More info
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I've strained out water from fuel tanks - (not caused by condensation)- a leaky seal at the filler end on one wing was permitting ingress.
Flat tailwheel tyre when I flew a taildragger with an inflatable tailwheel.
Blown fuse in R22 BII - discovered when trying to engage clutch.
Various blown bulbs - particularly Robinson landing lights.
Dent in cowling discovered immediately after release of R44 from workshop I once used - no responsibility admitted by engineering so I never went back and now warn others off. New workshop ensures my aircraft is clean and polished when I go to collect it and is serviced by people who seem to take pride in what they do.
Cockpit full of grass - thoughtful mower man had cut grass next to adjacent cockpit vent.
Aircraft covered in grass - the day after I have cleaned and polished it and the thoughtful mower man had once again struck.
Hole in tail rotor blade - Never properly resolved cause for this - maybe a stone, maybe other ground equipment. Grounded me for a while.
IMHO the best opportunity to discover problems is when you are washing the aircraft. No dent or ding will be able to hide.
So it's worth doing, it gets quicker but no less thorough with time and familiarity.
SB
Flat tailwheel tyre when I flew a taildragger with an inflatable tailwheel.
Blown fuse in R22 BII - discovered when trying to engage clutch.
Various blown bulbs - particularly Robinson landing lights.
Dent in cowling discovered immediately after release of R44 from workshop I once used - no responsibility admitted by engineering so I never went back and now warn others off. New workshop ensures my aircraft is clean and polished when I go to collect it and is serviced by people who seem to take pride in what they do.
Cockpit full of grass - thoughtful mower man had cut grass next to adjacent cockpit vent.
Aircraft covered in grass - the day after I have cleaned and polished it and the thoughtful mower man had once again struck.
Hole in tail rotor blade - Never properly resolved cause for this - maybe a stone, maybe other ground equipment. Grounded me for a while.
IMHO the best opportunity to discover problems is when you are washing the aircraft. No dent or ding will be able to hide.
So it's worth doing, it gets quicker but no less thorough with time and familiarity.
SB
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I've found quite a number of faults over the years, all pretty mundane and what you would expect from time to time though.
Squashed oleos (club)
Dings in prop that needed filing out (group_
Faulty stall warners (club)
Faulty pitot heaters (club)
Faulty lights (club and group)
Loose screws on cowling (club)
Oil leak in engine bay (group)
Bald tires (group)
Very worn disc pads (club)
Weeping brake calipers (club)
Blocked pitot (club)
Seized brake (group)
Tripping alternator (group)
Failed Turn Coordinator (club)
Detached dorsal faring (group)
Water in fuel (club)
Plenty of abandoned pens and pencils happily rolling around the floor (club)
I think that's it.
Squashed oleos (club)
Dings in prop that needed filing out (group_
Faulty stall warners (club)
Faulty pitot heaters (club)
Faulty lights (club and group)
Loose screws on cowling (club)
Oil leak in engine bay (group)
Bald tires (group)
Very worn disc pads (club)
Weeping brake calipers (club)
Blocked pitot (club)
Seized brake (group)
Tripping alternator (group)
Failed Turn Coordinator (club)
Detached dorsal faring (group)
Water in fuel (club)
Plenty of abandoned pens and pencils happily rolling around the floor (club)
I think that's it.
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I was a student that flew 4 or 5 different C152s at the school... all of them had faults. 2 of them always had a rough running engine on the left mag and I was always told that it was fine (in fact, I was told I was fine for every fault I found).
- Low voltage light.
- Doors open in flight, even after checking them properly.
- Window locks broken, so I couldn't close them.
- Mixture control would always pop out.
- Parking breaks didn't work.
- DI would never be aligned with compass for more than 30 secs.
- Radios never switched off.
- Dents all over the wings.
- Cracks in the fuselage.
- For one aircraft, I'm not sure if the carb heat worked (engine RPM never dropped - but I was told that it was working).
I guess that's normal. The C152s still flew.
- Low voltage light.
- Doors open in flight, even after checking them properly.
- Window locks broken, so I couldn't close them.
- Mixture control would always pop out.
- Parking breaks didn't work.
- DI would never be aligned with compass for more than 30 secs.
- Radios never switched off.
- Dents all over the wings.
- Cracks in the fuselage.
- For one aircraft, I'm not sure if the carb heat worked (engine RPM never dropped - but I was told that it was working).
I guess that's normal. The C152s still flew.
Spoon PPRuNerist & Mad Inistrator
Leaking compass - almost completely empty. 
Vacuum failure - HSI failed, caught while doing taxi checks, so flight aborted.
SD
Vacuum failure - HSI failed, caught while doing taxi checks, so flight aborted.
SD
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Screw on Spinner
Water in tanks
Incredable low oil
Low voltage warning light
When helping with some maintenence (PFA) we almost missed off some lock wiring till I spotted it so always work in pairs likelyhood of both missing it small
Dave
Water in tanks
Incredable low oil
Low voltage warning light
When helping with some maintenence (PFA) we almost missed off some lock wiring till I spotted it so always work in pairs likelyhood of both missing it small
Dave
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Walkaround:
Ice on wings (instructor: "well done for spotting that, let's go flying anyway")
Not enough oil (more than once, fixed by a man with an oil can)
Squeaky aileron hinges (fixed by a man with a different oil can)
U/S beacon (instructor: "do the strobes work? OK, I suggest you notice the beacon failure when you come back from flying")
Earthing braid on elevator almost worn through, only a couple of strands left (instructor: "it's OK for today, but we'll certainly put this in the book for the next check")
Water in fuel (only found once, but took a bit of clearing)
Fuel quantity wasn't what I expected from the paperwork (in both directions, including once so empty that the previous pilot was bloody lucky to land it normally)
U/S handbrake (but if I'd been properly awake I'd have known that before getting into the aircraft, as it was properly documented in the paperwork)
After starting:
Front suspension bottoming out (rejected aircraft, took a different one)
Failed power check (instructor showed me how to burn the crud off the plugs)
After take-off:
Oil pressure well above upper red line (instructor took control, flew circuit, landed, gave aircraft to engineers; turned out to be an instrument error mis-reporting a healthy engine) (neither of us noticed this during power checks or on the runway
)
Ice on wings (instructor: "well done for spotting that, let's go flying anyway")
Not enough oil (more than once, fixed by a man with an oil can)
Squeaky aileron hinges (fixed by a man with a different oil can)
U/S beacon (instructor: "do the strobes work? OK, I suggest you notice the beacon failure when you come back from flying")
Earthing braid on elevator almost worn through, only a couple of strands left (instructor: "it's OK for today, but we'll certainly put this in the book for the next check")
Water in fuel (only found once, but took a bit of clearing)
Fuel quantity wasn't what I expected from the paperwork (in both directions, including once so empty that the previous pilot was bloody lucky to land it normally)
U/S handbrake (but if I'd been properly awake I'd have known that before getting into the aircraft, as it was properly documented in the paperwork)
After starting:
Front suspension bottoming out (rejected aircraft, took a different one)
Failed power check (instructor showed me how to burn the crud off the plugs)
After take-off:
Oil pressure well above upper red line (instructor took control, flew circuit, landed, gave aircraft to engineers; turned out to be an instrument error mis-reporting a healthy engine) (neither of us noticed this during power checks or on the runway
)
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On take off had a door come open.
Happened to me on my first ever flight with a passenger.
But I'd seen it before, so calmly reached over and shut the door, explaining to the passenger that it's the seat belt that's keeping him in the aircraft, all the door does is keep the draught off.
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The worst - trim connected the wrong way prior to a test flight! The same a/c had the pitot/static mixed up - noticed no ASI on take-off roll.
In the last few months.....
Broken exhaust joint
Broken exhaust stud
loose spats
blocked pitot
tailspring on point of collapsing
On my own a/c I notice most of the defects when I wash/polish it. The w/round then becomes more of a confirmation of serviceability than a defect spotting exercise.
In the last few months.....
Broken exhaust joint
Broken exhaust stud
loose spats
blocked pitot
tailspring on point of collapsing
On my own a/c I notice most of the defects when I wash/polish it. The w/round then becomes more of a confirmation of serviceability than a defect spotting exercise.
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Some things I have found so far during preflights (PA-38):-
-U/S Landing Light
-Loose starboard strobe light
-Grit in fuel
-Small dent in metalwork just below the windshield on port side... caused by the door being snatched from your grasp on a windy day... oops
Also had a funny one when I tried straining the fuel bowl and no fuel came out.
Me: "Er, there's no fuel coming out of the drain."
Instructor: "That's because the fuel selector is off."
D'oh!
-U/S Landing Light
-Loose starboard strobe light
-Grit in fuel
-Small dent in metalwork just below the windshield on port side... caused by the door being snatched from your grasp on a windy day... oops
Also had a funny one when I tried straining the fuel bowl and no fuel came out.
Me: "Er, there's no fuel coming out of the drain."
Instructor: "That's because the fuel selector is off."
D'oh!
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For one aircraft, I'm not sure if the carb heat worked (engine RPM never dropped - but I was told that it was working).
Braver man than me, Gungadin ....
FF
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The carb heat came off in my hand during initial start-up checks once - soooo irritating as it was my first flight after a long spell of bad weather and its the closest I've come to tears since the budgie died 