Checks
 

Tomgee88,

Don't forget about your 'IMSAFE' check before leaving the club building to commence your flight.

Illnesses, do I have any that might make flying inadvisable?
Medication, am I on any that might affect my flying ability?
Stress, am I under stress on a scale that might affect my flying ability?
Alchohol, how much have I had within the last 12 hours?
Fatigue, am I properly rested and fit to fly?
Eating, have I had sufficient food to avoid pangs of hunger in flight that might interfere with my concentration?

Broomstick.

I use BUMP FGH on the downwind leg

B - Brakes off
U - Undercarriage down and locked
M - Mixture Rich
P - T's and P's in the green

(carb heat then goes on)

F - Fuel greatest tank and pump on
G - gyro, DI checked with compass
H - Hatches and Harness's secure

(carb heat to cold)

and then use the FREDA check every 10 minutes in the cruise.

My advice? Use the acronyms that you were originally taught and, more importantly, learn them off by heart! You cannot afford to be pulling out checklists when you're joining the circuit or flying downwind - you have too many other things to look at and be doing. Personally I prefer the RAF way of doing things, ie. don't use any written checklists at all. It's very easy to memorise pre-startup checks and vital actions, and you are far more likely to skip a written check accidentally than you are to to miss a memorised check. As the RAF addage goes: "if it's there, check it; if it's not, don't."

As for the CRAP check, you've got enough to do on finals without introducing further pointless checks (after all, you're not flying an airliner). All this stuff should have been done before your turned finals. An examiner friend of mine was recently conducting an initial IR test, and the candidate insisted on doing a CRAP check - unfortunately, although he recited it word perfect, he hadn't actually received landing permission. Needless to say, he failed his IR.

Original check when lining up
 

Hi

I always liked this pre-line up check that my instructor came up with....

S-P-L-A-T-T-E-D

S - stobe
P - pitot heat
L - lights
A - altimiter pressure settings
T - transponder
T - T's & P's
E - engine mixture & carb heat
D - DI & compass alingment

It might not be an official one but it alsways helped me remember these points.

OH - & he also said to check for any "numpsies" landing the wrong way!!

wxjonah