Tips For CPL Instructors

[iflyforpie]

Yes MichaelP proper training to do a walk around is a must from day one. For engines and airframes in ground school it was a field trip to the hangar with the aircraft cowls off to show the students what makes the plane fly and what to look for in a walkaround (one of the advantages of being an AME as well).

In the 150 example you gave, a simple movement of the elevator through full travel-observing the stops and paying attention to any restriction or noise-would have exposed an interference in the system in about three seconds. But like you say, many students and instructors either don't recognize or don't look for the stops.

Another thing I taught my students was that after maintenance was the most critical time for a walkaround. No hurt pride here (unless they find something of course). A complete and thorough walk around is SOP when I dispatch a plane from the shop, followed by another one done by the pilot.

I suppose I will retract my statement about a walkaround taking less than five minutes. Mine takes less than five minutes primarily because I know the aircraft very well.

[AuxBatOn]

Five minutes is alright if you know what you are looking at. Sadly too many students don't.
Even with a Commercial student, a knowledgeable instructor should do a dual walk around.

If after 50 to 200 hours on a type you don't know what to look for on a walk around, should you really be flying that aircraft

Show the guy/gal once, go around twice with him/her on subsequent flights then 5 minutes is all it should take.

[mcrit]

Show the guy/gal once, go around twice with him/her on subsequent flights then 5 minutes is all it should take.

That depends. If you have a ground crew that are checking things for you while they turn the a/c around, then yes, 5 minutes is good. If you don't have a ground crew (as is the case for many air taxi operators and flight schools) then the only look-see that a/c gets between 50 hr inspections is what you give it during the walk around. I'd rather see a student error on the side of caution in this case.
I'll pass along a really good instructional tip; make your students understand that doing something right is more important than doing it fast. If they concentrate on doing it right speed will follow along as a natural consequence of that. I've seen this principle work in teaching everything from CPR to titrations.

[AuxBatOn]

If the aircraft has just flown and nothing was wrong, then you don't have to take forever. Make sure there is no bird strike, tires are okay, panels secured, rivets are all there, no tail strike, no leaks and no major dents. Basically, look at the overall condition of the airplane. When I'll do a more thorough walk around is on the first flight of the day.

[767]

If the aircraft has just flown and nothing was wrong, then you don't have to take forever. Make sure there is no bird strike, tires are okay, panels secured, rivets are all there, no tail strike, no leaks and no major dents. Basically, look at the overall condition of the airplane. When I'll do a more thorough walk around is on the first flight of the day.

Well sir, I think its about time I say that it looks like I have to disagree with you on most of your posts. Maybe its becuase we have different opinions. I dont care how fast or how slow you do your walkaround, just make sure its SAFE! At the same time, i respect your opinions, so dont take it the wrong way or anything. happy flying~

[AuxBatOn]

Well sir, I think its about time I say that it looks like I have to disagree with you on most of your posts. Maybe its becuase we have different opinions. I dont care how fast or how slow you do your walkaround, just make sure its SAFE! At the same time, i respect your opinions, so dont take it the wrong way or anything. happy flying~

Don't worry, I don't get overworked when someone thinks differently...

We do agree that we have to make sure it is safe. But we could do a 100 hr inspection to make sure it's safe too

I'd rather spend 5 minutes knowing what to look for and making sure it's okay than 15 minutes looking like I know what I'm doing but not really looking for the right things.

[MichaelP]

I'll take this a step further.
Where cowlings have quick release fasteners they are removed before the first flight of the day for a full inspection as part of the "Check A" we used to do in the UK.
I had words with a TC inspector about this and he said that on no account may a pilot do this in Canada. So I asked how we were supposed to check the oil in a Cherokee... You can open both sides as well to look for everything from leaks to cracks in the exhaust.

The specific aircraft in question is the Cessna 152 where the whole top cowling can be removed easily. This is especially important during bird breeding season!

I encourage everyone to remove the Katana's top cowling to check the Rotax 912 thoroughly before the first flight of the day. We have "Elementary Maintenance" cards for this process, but in other countries this is not required, the cowlings are meant to be able to be removed by a simple pilot.

One day at Sechelt I did a post flight walk around and saw a hole in the left cowling. The exhaust had broken.
I found rides for everyone back to Boundary Bay, borrowed some tools, and took the whole left side exhaust off (Aztec E) and sent it back to CZBB.
Any renters out there prepared to do that?

Which leads onto another thing...
The Cessna Aerobat did a drunken wobble up to our hangar and the crew fell out when they opened the doors, literally!
A cracked exhaust caused them severe CO poisoning.
Yes, you might have just flown the aeroplane, but is the exhaust still intact?
Hard to see in most Cessnas... But look for the evidence.
Post flight I like to look at the colour of the exhaust to see that I leaned it properly, and incidently maybe I detect a crack.

[mcrit]

Which leads onto another thing...
The Cessna Aerobat did a drunken wobble up to our hangar and the crew fell out when they opened the doors, literally!
A cracked exhaust caused them severe CO poisoning.
Yes, you might have just flown the aeroplane, but is the exhaust still intact?
Hard to see in most Cessnas... But look for the evidence.
Post flight I like to look at the colour of the exhaust to see that I leaned it properly, and incidently maybe I detect a crack

Well put.

[AuxBatOn]

I'll take this a step further.
Which leads onto another thing...
The Cessna Aerobat did a drunken wobble up to our hangar and the crew fell out when they opened the doors, literally!
A cracked exhaust caused them severe CO poisoning.
Yes, you might have just flown the aeroplane, but is the exhaust still intact?
Hard to see in most Cessnas... But look for the evidence.
Post flight I like to look at the colour of the exhaust to see that I leaned it properly, and incidently maybe I detect a crack.

Well, on a Piston Engine airplane, looking at the exhaust is certainly one thing I do (the best I can). But I did carry these CO detector when I flew pistons.

5 minutes is a LONG time... I'm not saying you shouldn't look at the airplane at all after it has flown, however knowing what to look at is the key. Like I said, if you know exactly what to look at, it shouldn't take you more than 5 minutes. You're not doing a 100 hr inspection. And that is much better than someone taking 15 minutes but not know what to look for.

[MichaelP]

that is much better than someone taking 15 minutes but not know what to look for

Agreed.
Flight instructors should know that the venturi on the side of the Citabria's fuselage has nothing to do with the airspeed!
The number of instructor's who do not know what a venturi does is appalling.
I've spent a lot of time on instructor correction and education in my past beginning with such things. Instructor's should never give an answer that they are not sure of, and the worst thing is for a student or PPL tell me something in serious error because his/her instructor said so.

Yesterday's appalling situation:


This is me last April doing what I do. Note the position of the Cessna 152 using the proper technique for takeoff from a gravel strip.
The instructor who is teaching now is teaching the students to hold the stick forward and keep the nosewheel firmly on the ground. They rotate more than 3/4 down the runway. It's bloody dangerous!
I educated the students in the proper procedure, and then tried to make my point with the instructor, an older pilot who will not listen.
Once again we see bad information being passed on... in this case highly dangerous and so I expect we'll see yet another prang soon.
Because of the trees at the end of 27 they takeoff on 09 regardless of the wind... I prefer the wind on my nose and the trees are not high. The above picture was taken when the temperature was over 30 deg C, elevation 900 feet AMSL.
Yesterday it was only 25 degrees, and the takeoff was at marker 2 going the other way.

Because many farangs have gone foul of the regulations here, it is a lot more difficult to get the licence conversion. I have to write two exams next week for any future validation I might get.
Whatever we do when we fly in foreign lands, we must be safe and not put in jeopardy our fellow pilot's future freedoms to fly.
I am well pissed off with a few pilots I knew here who blatantly broke the regulations and who have caused the demise of something that was so promising.
Let's do the job properly.

[iflyforpie]

I'll take this a step further.
Where cowlings have quick release fasteners they are removed before the first flight of the day for a full inspection as part of the "Check A" we used to do in the UK.
I had words with a TC inspector about this and he said that on no account may a pilot do this in Canada. So I asked how we were supposed to check the oil in a Cherokee... You can open both sides as well to look for everything from leaks to cracks in the exhaust.

Standard 625 APPENDIX A - ELEMENTARY WORK

Elementary Work Task Listings

(21) opening and closing of non-structural access panels;

Doesn't say for small privately registered aircraft and the removable portion of the cowl isn't structural on any light aircraft I know of. Kind of ridiculous that you need an elementary maintenance card for it but you need it for everything else anyways so include it.

[x-wind]

The back of the "From the Ground Up" Airmenship chapter. In point form to boot.

Note the one about letting scheduled airlines/faster traffic in first.

[MichaelP]

Note the one about letting scheduled airlines/faster traffic in first.

Not usually a problem... But be advised that a lot of the pilots of the turboprops flogging around the skies are the results of the training standards alluded to in some of these threads so beware.

The one incident that always comes to my mind was the sudden announcement of a Beech 1900 on finals for 09 at Powell River.
I was in an aeroplane climbing out off 27 at the time and fortunately our angle of climb was somewhat more than three degrees and we made an early turn onto the crosswind to get clear of his path.
From my (right) seat I watched this larger fish slide past, no problem... but it could so easily have been...
The two other aircraft in the left hand circuit for the into wind 27 were on the radio immediately and in some panic over where the 1900 was. It was just as well the 1900 did not go around as it might have been dangerous for the other aircraft as well.

Yes there's necessary airmanship, and courtesy in the air towards our fellow aviators, but sometimes so called professionals let their side down and do something stupid. Always expect the unexpected.
Rules are there for the obedience of fools and the guidance of wise men, meaning, obey the rules but not to the point of having an accident because the rules say it should be that way.

[Big Pistons Forever]

I was talking to an instructor yesterday who was just starting to teach CPL students. That got me thinking I about an old thread I started on this subject so I thought I would bump it back up. It rambles a bit but IMO has a lot of good info from a variety of posters.

[trampbike]

I just finished reading the whole thread and will probably copy past most of it, print it, and make sure I remember what's been said. Awesome thread. Thanks

[Spokes]

I would like to know when a pre-flight inspection got renamed to walkaround. A walkaround is something I do in a park on a nice sunny sunday.

[Tim]

who gives a shit what you call it? it means the same thing

[Dagwood]

BPF,

If you wrote a book entitled "How to be a better Flight Instructor" or something like that, I'd buy it!

[tired of the ground]

A cracked exhaust caused them severe CO poisoning.
Yes, you might have just flown the aeroplane, but is the exhaust still intact?
Hard to see in most Cessnas... But look for the evidence.
Post flight I like to look at the colour of the exhaust to see that I leaned it properly, and incidently maybe I detect a crack.

If you'd like a quick way to tell if you've got a cracked exhaust, just tap it with something hard (like that $100 maglite most students seem to gravitate to). If it rings, it's good. If it goes thud, have your AME pull the muff, it's probably cracked.