Pace/Chubbychopper;

If I remember rightly the keys down the intake was Arnold Palmer the golfer.

All our aircraft keys have red remove before flight flags on them and stow on a hook in the cockpit just to help avoid that one.

Whilst parked for any length of time they go in the external power socket so that all crew know where they are. We started that after a member of PPRUNE left an aircraft (locked) in Las Vegas and jumped on a flight back to the UK with the aircraft keys in his pocket, and the new crew and all the passengers in Vegas!

SND

P.S He's reading this as I type, reckon my next sim trip may be a bit interesting..................

Our aircraft door key is the same as the ignition key so if the keys are left in the door we ain't goin' nowhere.............

Nearly got knocked out by the fuel cap after having left it on top of the tank of my tiger moth. As I started the take off run and the tail came up, the cap flew off just missing my head!!! Then spent half an hour looking for it having aborted the take off. Won't do that again !!!!!

Do not have an ignition key :{ but is now on hook just behind pilots and on checklist.
We also place keys when away in external power socket as I am a bugger with keys at best of times :E

Pace

I've done exactly that on a PA28 fuel cap and (can't be bothered to search but...) posted on here, too. There's no chain (you're probably thinking of Cessnas though in my experience they are often broken).

My then five or six year old son prodded me just after rotation and said 'Daddy! Daddy!' I told him to shut up but luckily he ignored me.

I'd left the fuel cap on the wing; ATC recovered it from the threshold a little less well painted but otherwise in good nick.

Tim

At least you fessed up to it Tim, I still don't know the rightful owners of the four fuel dipsticks that I recovered from the Cessna tanks on one of the annual checks.

I used to work for an operation that used diesel (Thielert) engined 172s, and as such the wing tanks had to be absolutely airtight, so they were installed with the 'flip up' and twist type fuel caps which, if you've ever used them, you will know how tight they can be to, well, flip up! Especially in the cold morning!

So it became routine for me to climb up, pull out my car keys, use them to lever the catch up, lay them next to the hole (too lazy to put back in my pocket immediately), etc etc.

Heh... It was about 7 hours later one day, after 3 separate flights around the country, and after landing and going to my car that I realised they weren't in me pocket!

It was a grass strip... With about 1.5 miles of grass (some of it long) taxiway in total...

:\

Yes, but did you find your keys?

I lost the bolt that fastens the tailplane on my pegasus glider at RAF Benson in the tall grass. Didn't realise it was missing until attempting to rerig the glider next morning.

Fortunately my son in law had a metal detector.

We rolled up to the gate at Benson, were escorted to the scene of my arrival the day before, and fortunately the tracks were still visible in the grass...
The Military Policeman said "that looks like a neat gadget, can I have a go?"
and on his first sweep over the grass it got all excited. There, hiding, was the bolt, still firmly clutched in the grip of the derigging tool!

I had the a/c keys in my hand the other day, God knows why, mind in neutral as normal. I was refuelling a Cessna, fuel hose over shoulder, nozzle in same hand as keys, nozzle in tank delivering fuel when keys slipped from hand.

You know when you make a putt and the ball doesn't quite make it into the cup but has a good look on it's way round? I just managed to grab the key fob as it entered the tank, fuel happily gushing all over the wing.

We live and learn.

A bit like putting the keys in the exhaust pipe of a rental car, when you return it after hours!

Hmm, that's a nice G-V. I wonder if they left the keys? ;)

I think leaving the fuel cap off is one of the few basic errors I've not yet made, but there's still time...

PS - my favourite example of, shall we say, over-enthusiastic "literally":
Pity he didn't notice the report was loaded.

Good on you for coming clean. And I'm sure everyone who reads this will be a touch more aware.
Happened to us once at an RAF base. The fuellers (plural, there always seems to be three of them) had left one of the caps off. Luckily the last item on the start Cx was "props, fuel caps all clear" which picked it up.

I keep trying to get it nicked :ok: so the owner can be persuaded to buy a nice modern CJ2 plus.

Pace