TopCat wrote:David Wood wrote:lobstaboy wrote:I can see his point, but I do use checklists myself.
Me too. But I emphasis to students that its a check list, not an action list.
Not sure I agree with that, for the downwind checks. Some of them are checks (eg Ts & Ps), some of them are actions (fuel pump, landing light). You wouldn't have done the actions beforehand, and only need to check them pre-landing.
I think of the check items as actions, where the action is to check. And if the check doesn't give you the result you want, chances are there will be an action. Like for instance if all of a sudden you have no oil pressure, that's an immediate mayday to get everyone out of the way so that you don't have to go around. Obviously you'd hopefully have seen it dropping and made the call before downwind, but the point stands I think.
I'd go further, actually, to say that there is absolutely zero purpose in checking anything if you don't have an action to go with the wrong result of the check.
Could you explain why you emphasise as you say?
I'm afraid that I fundamentally disagree. They are checks; even though we tend use them as action prompts. I wrote an article for GASCO some years ago which rehearsed the argument. But in a nutshell, here's why:
I'm checking out Pilot Smith on an aircraft with retractable undercarriage. Whilst he's not looking (usually on the climb-out) I pull the CB so that the gear won't go down when he operates the switch.
So, if he's an action-list man he starts his downwind checks just as he's been taught.
"Brakes; off"; he says and checks. They are, all good so far;
"Undercarriage down", he says. He moves the lever. Nothing happens, but he doesn't notice because he's not
checking, and in any case he's already moved on to the next item.
"Mixture rich";
Etc.
We then both wait (he in contented ignorance, me in anticipation) for the Final Approach Checks*.
Pilot Jones, on the other hand has been taught that these are Check lists. So he's already configured the aeroplane before he starts his downwind checks - and he uses the downwind checks to check that all is well. In particular, he has lowered the undercarriage
before starting the checks. When he gets to the check item he
checks that they are down, finds that they are not (and I fail to catch him out
)
I'd say that >50% of the pilots I do this to fail to notice on the downwind that the undercarriage is not down. This is often despite occasional comments like "Hmmm, the airspeed's a bit high, isn't it?" They are Action List pilots and they
will one day land with the wheels up if they don't mend their ways.
*What is truly frightening is that in around 10-20% of those that failed to notice that they hadn't lowered the undercarriage correctly during their downwind checks also fail to carry out their Final Approach Checks properly. They do so for exactly the same reason: they treat it as an Action List:
"Reds" they physically check that the Mixture Lever is fully forward;
"Blues" they push the Prop Lever fully forward;
"and Greens" they glance down (sometimes they even touch the lights) and assure me that the gear is down.
I usually leave it to about 100' before asking them to check again....