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Critique My Checklist (RV-6)

DeltaRomeo

doug reeves: unfluencer
Staff member
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(5th line of Before Takeoff explained).....Gas(verify L or R), Instruments(Baro, HDG bug, Altitude level-off set), Flaps(up), Trim(for T/O), Strobes(OFF), Transponder(ALT), Pump(OFF), CanopyCanopy(both latches secure - RV6 tip up has two), BeltBelt(both belts secure), Controls(free/correct). 12 seconds to say and point.. If you can remember GIFT and STP you're most of the way there.

In the last 18 years, I've started the engine in the chocks, taken off with the pitot cover on, taken off with one of the two canopy latches unlatched, and left the oil door open (it pops up at rotation). Using this checklist faithfully would have caught those. I'd like to avoid doing these things again.

Yours in safely RVating,
 
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I can’t see anything wrong with it, Doug. If you put an abnormal/emergency checklist on the back, it would be perfect. I particularly like the way it Is formatted. Looks like what I was used to when I was paid to fly - very professional. I wish I could make mine look like that. Even though mine is in laminated in plastic, it is crude compared to what I had before and what you have created. I also have a condensed QR checklist stuck on my IP in front of my face with things that could kill me if I forget them, just for 3 critical phases of flight. These items are also on my expanded checklist. My emergency checklist is separate, but I would prefer to have it on the back of my normal checklist, like you are proposing for yours.

Yours looks good to me.
 
I would add under "Engine Start"...Stick full back!

Under "Taking Runway"...Flaps as Required

Under "After take off"...Flaps Up

Under "Before Landing"...Flaps as Required

Under "After Landing"...Flaps Up

This is just me. I always use 15° flaps for take off. You're off the ground quicker and by doing it every time, you develop a habit and don't forget to raise them after take off. My routine is to raise the flaps when I turn off the boost pump.
 
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Yep, missed that one Mel. Should be some reference to flaps prior to takeoff. I simply have “Flaps Up” on the before start checklist. [ed. There is, Scott....it's the 'F' in GIFTSTPCCBBC - "Flaps (for T/O)" in the Before Takeoff section. Flaps would also be covered in the 'Preflight.....Perform' line, as well as part of the post-flight section (Flaps.....UP). v/r,dr] I only have 2 (manual) flap positions on my airplane - Up and Down - so I don’t use flaps for takeoff, and I leave them down after landing (usually - maybe alter that on windy/gusty landings), because my grandkids love my hangar and want to climb in the airplane, so I’m protecting my flaps from damage.
 
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Thanks all!

Scott: I’m working on the back now (Emergency, etc)

Mel/Scott: I added ‘Stick Back’. ‘F’ in GIFT STP is ‘Flaps for T/O’, but I did add ‘Flaps…..Verify UP’ to the After T/O section. I’d missed that. I’ve never been a flaps 15 T/O guy (but you never know - I could change) <g>.

Chris: Thanks for the Prop typo…..fixed.

Slowly morphing into what works best for me, it gives me something to test each flight, and I promise I’ll host the native Mac Pages file online when I’m done if anyone wants to use it as a starting point (the margins and dot leaders are all set up). I’ve tried to basically duplicate the style of the Phenom QRH I’m spending time with occasionally.

Really appreciate the suggestions!


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AFTER SHUTDOWN...

Do you have manual flaps? [ed. Yes. v/r,dr] If so disregard the question, if not, how do you get the flaps up after all the switches are off?

Also, I've seen most people park with their flaps in the down position (I do) to disuade people from stepping on them getting in/out of the airplane.

-Rick
 
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I like it.... use it.
If you need to modify it do so, but don't make it longer.This is a RV not a B737 two crew transport. It's a nice size now...

Personally I use flow top to bottom, front to back, CIGARS, Lights/Camera/Action, GUMPS and Aviate/Navigate/Communicate.
Emergency committed to memory and reviewed the before you fly first flight of day. T/O brief to self out loud normal and IF engine failure early or late (plan, speeds).

I'd recommend using it as a CHECK list not a DO list. Each item look, take a beat and respond. I say that because there can be an expectancy where you see what you want. Ask me how I know... Don't ask :)

Before Start - Personally I would find more value AFTER start, oil pressure and LEAN the HECK out of it for taxi.... Pilots wounder why they have fouled plugs and have lead deposited. All taxi should be lean.... Should you enrich for run-up? No not really, may be a little, but also consider high density altitude and lean for max RPM.

PS After Shut Down- You say all switches off than later flaps up. Likely not going to work. I bring flaps up after landing clear of runway. Frankly I would skip the After Shut Down section, but it is your check list. Do you really need to be told to put headset away? I think it is fine; just not my opinion.

Before shut down I may do a short runup and lean to miss. Then I shut down. You should see an RPM rise. Bottom line it cleans the plugs out.

The after-take off, en-route, descent.... some of this is normal procedures and should be memorized or Mnemonics... head out of cockpit, but no criticism; if this helps you. Not sure if you have EFIS or avionics with checklist, consider going paperless.

Mnemonics
CIGARS - Controls (free correct), Instruments (Baro Compass correct), Gas (tank as desired), Attitude (Trim), Run Up (Engine Inst, mixture as Req, L&R ignition, Prop exercise), Safety (belts, canopy, T/O brief)
Taking Runway - Lights/Camera/Action - Lights (self explanatory), Camera (transponder), Action (T/O clearance or call departure, flow "L" or "?" pattern: canopy, mixture, boost, flap trim)
GUMPS - Gas (tank as desired + pump), Undercarriage (Gear down & welded/ Flaps), Mixture (rich or as needed for high density Alt, Prop (High RPM), Safety (Belts, lights, pray :)
After landing - Flaps up, Transponder off, LEAN mixture - (Routine normal procedure by memory and flow pattern)
AVIATE, NAVIGATE, COMMUNICATE - For any emergency or flight regime, commit to memory speeds.
TURN, TIME, TRANSITION, TWIST, TALK - IFR transition IAF, FAF
 
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My checklists have a couple of items yours do not. Rationale on parentheses. Differences are mostly technique/preference? not the stuff that will kill you. BTW: That stuff gets bold type in my checklist.

You also include some items I don?t have, and I appreciate the opportunity to make improvements!

In ?Before Start?
- Passenger Brief COMPLETE

In "After Engine Start?
- Oil Pressure CHECK
- Volts/Amps. CHARGING (no point in taxiing if these are misbehaving)

Last item in ?Before Takeoff? is
- Engine failure on TO - (This is a recommitment to specific Altitudes/turn directions to:
A).Stop on runway,
B). Land straight ahead/available open field
C). Land on another runway
D). Return to TO runway via the impossible turn
E). Abbreviated pattern to land into the wind
The specifics depend on aircraft performance, airport layout, surroundings, DA, traffic, etc. I like knowing exactly what I will do if the engine quits, without having to figure it out when the fan stops and time is critical. This is a useful carryover from my glider training where every aero tow anticipates an untimely rope break.)

In ?Taking Runway?
- Mixture RICH (I sometimes lean during taxi or during/after run-up but want to take off full rich)
- Flaps AS REQUIRED (half or none depending on conditions)

In ?After Landing?
- Flaps up (I prefer to taxi with flaps up, so have this here rather than in ?After Shutdown?. In fact, I usually lower the flaps again after shutdown to facilitate egress.)

The best checklist is the one that YOU USE ? every time.

Peter
 
Looks great! I would move a few things but please don?t be insulted my my recommendations!
1. I would move ?Clear Prop? to right before you start the engine. All those steps in preparation for starting the engine are great, but you are heads down, and right before I hit the starter, I look up and yell ?Clear Prop?. I prefer ?Clear Prop? over just ?Clear? because I feel it communicates more, especially to a non pilot who could be on the ramp.
2. Unless the manufacturers say differently, I would prefer to turn on the alternator field after the engine start to watch the amps come alive. I do like that the alternator is on before you turn on avionics though, to avoid the spike.
3. With a constant speed prop, I prefer to reduce the manifold pressure before making a reduction in rpm. I would go 24.5, then when you reduce rpm to 2500, it?ll probably bring up the MP to the intended 25 inches.
4. Before landing, if the lights are LED, I would probably leave them on the entire flight, or at least turn them on in the initial descent. I used to not be a fan of landing lights during the day, but that changed when they helped me spot a plane that I wouldn?t have seen otherwise. I also don?t move the prop full forward until I have throttled back to the point that the rpm has fallen ?off the governor? so it doesn?t surge or make a bunch of unnecessary noise. The point is to have it available for go around, and I don?t feel the need to make a bunch of noise in the pattern.
Pumping the brakes may be controversial. I know a guy who was flying a plane that he didn?t realize had a parking brake. The valve vibrated closed and after he landed, as he applied brakes, the plane stopped. Had he pumped the brakes in the air, it probably would have nosed over on touchdown. I understand the benefits of checking brake pressure before landing, but I also remember his story, so I typically don?t do it.
5. After landing, I would retract flaps and set trim. Perhaps you decide to taxi back and takeoff again, you would be ready. No sense in delaying that until your shutdown checklist. I say ?Flaps up, clean up? meaning trim, pumps, lights, etc...I also like to lean aggressively the mixture for taxi. You can?t hurt it at taxi power, and if you lean aggressively, the engine won?t allow you to attempt a takeoff without you moving it richer.
6. I might add a shutdown checklist, where you momentarily check mags off, then on again to verify mag switch grounding (I used to not do this, but I feel it?s a good idea, and it won?t pop the exhaust components at idle) then avionics off, alternator off, mixture ICO..
 
Very clean and readable layout.

I´m following another checklist philosophy however. I would not add power settings, lights (except mandatory lights) and things like this in a checklist, these items might be variable the other day.

A few points I see at this time:
- No flight control check before T/O! Assume your pax is blocking the stick with his 10" iPad. [ed. The 'C' in GIFTSTPC2B2C in the before takeoff section stands for 'Controls free and correct' v/r,dr]
- no altimeters, I know in the US you always fly QNH up to 18000`, but the checklist should cover all areas and may be instrument approaches in weather. [ed. The 'I' in GIFTSTPC2B2C in the before takeoff section stands for 'Instruments set - Baro, Altimeter bug, Heading bug' v/r,dr]
- I think mixture for T/O and landing should read set or similar, not full rich. Full rich doesn´t cover high altitude airports. You know it but somebody flying your plane with your checklist might not. At least this guy is then not instructed to set things incorrectly.
 
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(5th line of Before Takeoff explained).....Gas(verify L or R), Instruments(Baro, HDG bug, Altitude level-off set), Flaps(up), Trim(for T/O), Strobes(OFF), Transponder(ALT), Pump(OFF), CanopyCanopy(both latches secure - RV6 tip up has two), BeltBelt(both belts secure), Controls(free/correct).


Curious: Why turn the strobes On at engine start, Off after runup, and On again when taking the runway, instead of just leaving them on full time?

[ed. In my case it's because they are LED and uncomfortably, almost painfully bright when standing nearby, and blind planes taxiing next to you or waiting at the runup area (i.e. formation practice). Flying the Caravan and PC-12 I learned from the corporate/airline folks that strobes usually stay off until you get cleared to T/O. I bump them before engine start just to send one more reminder, this one visual, that there is someone in my plane and it's about to come to life (I don't have a rotating beacon). v/r,dr]
 
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GIFTSTPC2B2C2???

Shouldn't an aircraft checklist should be for anyone getting in to safely start and fly that aircraft. If so, I wouldn't abbreviate something that only you know what it is.... i.e. GIFTSTPC2B2C2, as that will be skipped by the next pilot for sure.

[ed. Not in my opinion. This checklist is for my RV-6 only and for my use. And the description of all the letters is on the back of the checklist if I need to brief another pilot for some reason. v/r,dr]
 
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Checklist

Looks pretty complete. I would consider either adding text or a flow to:

After Start: check systems( oil press-amps-vac-whatever) before starting to taxi.

Enroute or Cruise segment: add Monitor Fuel Balance

After Landing: Trim(s) Set for Takeoff (maybe ?Centered? has this covered)

I have a flow for the Taking the Runway/Line Up segment to final check the things that can hurt you, in RVs I start with the canopy latch then on a path that makes sense (it flows) I will check boost pump, trims, mixture rich, both ignitions, park brake, strobes, ect

I use the same format to make checklists for several of the planes I fly. Office Depot has card stock to print checklists on and When done I go back to the store to have them laminate with 8 or 10 mil material. Mine are 3.5? wide and 9? tall, printed on both sides. The back is printed upside down from the front, it?s easier to flip it end over end with 1 hand than to turn it around.

Don Broussard
RV9 Rebuild in Progress
57 Pacer
 
[ed. In my case it's because they are LED and uncomfortably, almost painfully bright when standing nearby, and blind planes taxiing next to you or waiting at the runup area (i.e. formation practice). Flying the Caravan and PC-12 I learned from the corporate/airline folks that strobes usually stay off until you get cleared to T/O. I bump them before engine start just to send one more reminder, this one visual, that there is someone in my plane and it's about to come to life (I don't have a rotating beacon). v/r,dr]
Ah, okay, that makes sense.

(on a semi-related note: When you reply in-line like this there's no indication that there's a new reply... clicking "new replies" in a thread takes you to the newest reply by someone else. The only people who see your reply are people who happen to scroll through, or people who come along to the thread after you've posted so everything is "new" to them.)
 
Feet on brakes?

I don't think I'd need an item to remind me to put my feet on the brakes when starting. Not necessary in my opinion. Anyone in the pattern, please advise;)
 
I'm on downwind...

I don't think I'd need an item to remind me to put my feet on the brakes when starting. Not necessary in my opinion. Anyone in the pattern, please advise;)
I see lots of checklists that say "parking brake set" at this point, perhaps Doug does not have one, so replaced it with "feet on brakes".
 
Some of these have already been mentioned, but here goes.

?Engine Start?

Move ?Clear!? to the last thing before hitting start. What if a bicyclist comes into the area after your warning?

Add ?Flaps T.O.? before ?Master.? In general, get the airplane configured now, before the engine is running. That saves on gas and the hazard of a turning prop on the ramp. If you have adjustable cowl flaps, add ?Cowl Flaps T.O.? here.

?Before Takeoff? and ?Taking Runway?

Move the ?Taking Runway? items to the ?Before Takeoff? section and eliminate the ?Taking Runway? section. Once you move on to the runway, focus your attention out of the plane.

If you wear distance vision glasses or are wearing reading glasses for the cockpit check, add ?Glasses? to the ?Before Takeoff? section.

Add ?All Lights On? to the ?Before Takeoff? section for maximum visibility, if you can handle the drain.

?After Takeoff?

Eliminate the ?Landing Lights? action. Keep those lights on.

?Before Landing?

Eliminate the ?All Lights? action because they are already on.

Add a ?Shutdown? section.

It might contain prop, throttle and mixture positions, switches on or off during shutdown as your systems require (e.g., on my non-RV, I start and keep the pre-oiler on during shutdown, shutting it off afterwards).

Dave
 
Add ?Flaps T.O.? before ?Master.? In general, get the airplane configured now, before the engine is running. That saves on gas and the hazard of a turning prop on the ramp. If you have adjustable cowl flaps, add ?Cowl Flaps T.O.? here.
Dave

I would respectively disagree with this. You don't want flaps down during start. If for some reason the throttle is advanced too far, an unexpected engine speed with flaps down can contribute to a nose-over. Also taxiing with flaps down can cause FOD to the flaps.
 
If you've got safety of flight stuff in the same checklist as "nice to remember but not a big deal if you forget it" stuff it seems like it would be easy to lose it in the clutter.

Do we really need a checklist to remember to put our glasses on or make sure theres a pencil handy?

just my opinion...
 
I would respectively disagree with this. You don't want flaps down during start. If for some reason the throttle is advanced too far, an unexpected engine speed with flaps down can contribute to a nose-over. Also taxiing with flaps down can cause FOD to the flaps.
Also, if the flaps are electric, you're running them on your battery which then has less power to start your plane with, and needs to be charged up again. Wait until everything is running before using unneeded electricity.
 
Landing Checks

IRT your Before Landing checks:

The simplest (most common?) landing check is GUMP.......Gas, Undercarriage, Mixture, Prop. Seeing that your new checklist is heavily influenced by your recent simulator experience, you might add: Gear....down and locked.
Sure, those of us flying any RV, as well as most simple GA airplanes will joking say "down and welded", but many GA pilots aspire to flying complex or even transport category machines at some point. A big part of aviating is building that muscle memory, doing things the same way every time, and often use of the methodology of first, positioning the controls and switches in advance using a FLOW pattern, then running the CHECK list, to verify you haven't missed anything.
Some have even taken that "aspire" thing to actually install a "gear switch" on a fixed gear airplane. It doesn't DO anything (except maybe illuminate 3 green lights in the down position), but again, builds that muscle memory, that before every landing, the gear switch/lever must be properly positioned, then verify that the gear is actually down.

Doug
Seattle area
 
Looks pretty good.

I'm emphatic with my students that as a single pilot, there is to be NO MULTI-TASKING while the airplane is in motion on the ground, ie. taxiing. So, I'd remove the TAXI line altogether and incorporate the TAXI item with the After Start or Before TO.

George
 
IRT your Before Landing checks:
The simplest (most common?) landing check is GUMP.......Gas, Undercarriage, Mixture, Prop. Seeing that your new checklist is heavily influenced by your recent simulator experience, you might add: Gear....down and locked.
Sure, those of us flying any RV, as well as most simple GA airplanes will joking say "down and welded", but many GA pilots aspire to flying complex or even transport category machines at some point. A big part of aviating is building that muscle memory, doing things the same way every time, and often use of the methodology of first, positioning the controls and switches in advance using a FLOW pattern, then running the CHECK list, to verify you haven't missed anything.
Some have even taken that "aspire" thing to actually install a "gear switch" on a fixed gear airplane. It doesn't DO anything (except maybe illuminate 3 green lights in the down position), but again, builds that muscle memory, that before every landing, the gear switch/lever must be properly positioned, then verify that the gear is actually down.
Doug
Seattle area

When I built my -6 in the early '90s, I installed a gear switch, light, and horn. I used it religiously, just to keep in practice. I tied the light and horn to a micro switch on the flap handle. If I pulled one notch of flap with the gear switch "up", the light and horn would activate.
NEVER landed "gear-up" in over 25 years.
 
When I built my -6 in the early '90s, I installed a gear switch, light, and horn. I used it religiously, just to keep in practice. I tied the light and horn to a micro switch on the flap handle. If I pulled one notch of flap with the gear switch "up", the light and horn would activate.
NEVER landed "gear-up" in over 25 years.
What would you do if the light burned out and you didn't get three green on landing? Just how sure would you be that the gear was "fine"? :)
 
When I built my -6 in the early '90s, I installed a gear switch, light, and horn. I used it religiously, just to keep in practice. I tied the light and horn to a micro switch on the flap handle. If I pulled one notch of flap with the gear switch "up", the light and horn would activate.
NEVER landed "gear-up" in over 25 years.
You were not the first. Cirrus now offers from the factory a gear switch on fixed gear SR22's (option I think). A pilot I flew with late 80's came from an airline with a mixed fleet of DHC-6 Twin Otter's and other planes with retractable gear... The Otter had a gear switch and check list to match. The Piper Arrow did one better; you got too slow the gear came out automatically. It was a pain doing commercial training as you had to hold the override to keep the gear from dropping.


CHECK LIST - I'm a BIG FAN of training, currency and STANDARD PROCEDURES.... Not against checklist of course, but do you need to be told T/O Push throttle forward and when going X speed pull back on stick? Hyperbole but you'll know what I mean. Keep the check list short and to critical items. Even Turbo Jets have RECALL (memory) items that you just do, even for Emergencies.
 
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