Clear Prop

Brakes held. Seats and harnesses secure. Circuit breakers are in. Fuel Shut-off is pulled out. Fuel selector valve is on both. Fuel quantity is good. Lights/radios/equipment are off.

Throttle to 1/4 inch, mixture to idle cut off. Master switch on. Rotating beacon on. Engine is cool; auxilary pump is on. Mixture in. Positive fuel flow confirmed. Mixture out. Auxilary pump off. Window open: "Clear Prop!" Ignition to Start. Wait for the kick. Mixture to rich. Throttle to 1000 rpm. Oil temperature and pressure is good. Check the ignition, the starter should be disengaged and the key on "both." Electronics on.

Call ATIS and confirm the weather report. Switch to ground frequency. Ask for permission to taxi to the active. Taxi at a speed equivalent to a brisk walk.

Find a clear spot on the run up. Check that there are no aircraft in the prop wash. Hold the brakes. Increase throttle to 1800 rpms. Switch to the left magneto. Be sure the dip in RPMs is no greater than 150. Switch to the right magneto. Be sure the dip in RPMs is no greater than 150. Switch back to Both. Check the annunciator panel and the engine instruments.

Reduce power to 1000. Adjust the heading indicator to the magnetic compass. Adjust the altimeter setting to the barometric indication the ATIS reported if you haven't already done so (I usually do this when I get the ATIS report.) Check the ailerons, elevator, and rudder for free and correct movement to control inputs.

Hold the brakes. Check if the magnetos are on both. Trim the airplane for take off. Brief the passengers: "If the engine fails on the runway before rotation, I will get off the runway as soon as possible. If the engine fails after rotation and there is sufficient runway remaining, I will settle the airplane down on the runway and get off as soon as posssible. If the engine fails after rotation and there is not enough runway remaining, I will come down straight and avoid as many obstacles as I can. If the engine fails after rotation, above 1000 AGL, I will do a 180 turn into the wind and try to land on the run way." Check the fuel quantity, the fuel shut off valve and the fuel selector valve (both). Turn on the lights, taxi and strobe. Taxi to the active runway.

Contact tower. When they give permission, taxi out to the runway, align with the centerline. Check the fuel selector, the trim and the mixture. Go full power. Confirm that the airspeed indicator is working. When the aircraft reaches Vr(rotation speed) pull back gently. Trim the aircraft for Vy and have a good flight.

On the way back, call tower before entering the airspace (7-10 miles out). Follow their pattern entry instructions. When you arrive either abeam the runway numbers or a good distance out on base or final, reduce power, bring the airplane down to flap speed and retract the first notch of flaps. As the airplane slows down, retract and reduce more flaps and power. When you get to final about 1 mile out, all 30 degrees should be down. Maintain best glide speed. (65 knots in a C-172) Maintain glideslope using, if they are available, the lights at the end of the runway (VASI, PAPI, etc). Maintain centerline. Maintain wind corrections. When the aircraft is over the grass, power to idle. Once the airplane is over the runway, watch the far end of the runway and use your peripheral vision to determine your altitude. Once about 5 feet above the ground, pull the nose up gently. Touch down on the mains. Bring the nose wheel down and roll off the nearest taxi way.

"So you'll put down your rock and I'll put down my sword and we'll kill each other like civilized human beings?" -The Man in Black

J Kuhl Signing Off

The FAA Is Not a Joke

A year ago, William Wier was the pilot of a Cessna 172 that crashed into Baker Mountain in Maine. He and his 3 passengers all died.

According to the report, the pilot was low to the ground, with ten degrees of wing flaps and at full power.

What the hell was this man thinking? Was he asking
to stall at a low altitude?

There are minimum safe altitudes, mountainous terrain and obstructions marked on the sectional charts and in the FAR/AIM (the FAA's rulebook) for a reason. You never ever ever fly lower than safety permits, especially in mountainous terrain, especially in a configuration that may lead to a stall.

Rules in Aviation exist to keep pilots safe. General aviation piloting is a very safe hobby or profession, however, if you break rules, you are asking for trouble and it will get you killed some day.

My professor at Daniel Webster always said "If you cheat in this class, you will die." Although it was funny when he said it, it was true. If you do not pay attention to the rules in aviation, YOU WILL DIE and possible kill someone else at the same time. Flying is fun, but it is also serious, which is why the FAA regulates pilots and aircraft so heavily.

Please, if you want to fly, go for it, but follow the rules.

"if you cheat in this class, you will die" - Professor Price

J Kuhl Signing Off