Learning to fly, or thinking of learning? Post your questions, comments and experiences here

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By riverrock
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1884594
I've also never heard the term "transit check" but will do a slightly reduced check between my own sorties - eg, skipping fuel contamination. I would do a full check on my first flight (perhaps as the previous person is getting out of the aircraft).

A side note - little point in checking for fuel contamination straight after re-fueling as the action of refueling will stir up the tank.
So I would do a contamination check if it has been sitting any length of time since fueling (such as first flight of the day).
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By TopCat
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1884610
T6Harvard wrote:I'd thought the oil level check was the crucial one :)

Have you looked at the dipstick immediately after a flight? The oil will be almost clear even if it was quite black beforehand, and the level will be a) almost impossible to see and b) wrong, as it won't all have drained into the sump.

Next time try it.

Top tip: don't burn yourself. :D
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By T6Harvard
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1884616
Yes, I understand that the oil does not drain back from the engine very quickly but best part of an hour after shut down I thought it was a good idea. After all, I have to check it at 10.30 am just after it landed with another eager student on board...

Oil in engine = vital. It's been drummed into me (see what I did there?)

You live and learn :D
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By Paul_Sengupta
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1884688
VRB_20kt wrote:Hot engine oil drains back to the sump of a small Continental quite fast enough to measure after you've parked for a few minutes and given the permitted oil consumption of them I for one am not about to stop checking.


Same with me and my Lycoming.

Has anyone mentioned checking the prop for nicks or is that just me being paranoid? :D
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By David Wood
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1884967
Transit Check is a pretty widely-used term. But it is also very broad in its definition. It covers anything from an A-Check(-] to 'kick the tyres and light the fires.'

For me; do a 360 slow walk round the aeroplane to ensure that it looks OK (ie, nothing has fallen off or become deflated, broken or bent since you last looked); check the fuel and if you don’t dip the oil then at least check for oil loss. Oil, like blood, makes a surprisingly large mess per unit volume. So an oil leak is usually pretty obvious in terms of streaking or dripping. If in doubt, dip.
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#1886639
Indeed - we had a leaky prop hub and it looked awful but the actual oil loss wasn’t even measurable.

As above, my instructor (2001) did call them Transit Checks: quick visual check (did I bend anything? Did someone taxy into it while my back was turned?), fuel (Pipers being notoriously inaccurate on the gauges), oil if we’ve had a good lunch and it’s been long enough to be worth it.
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By T6Harvard
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1886643
Thanks All.

I implemented the Transit Check between my double lesson this week.

Had a good look round, moved ailerons and elevator to listen for any impediments, and I dipped the oil even though I knew it would be under-reading (on the basis that if it read 4 quarts, as anticipated, we'd be fine :) ). I told my Instructor what had been checked and he was happy with that, re-iterating that oil level would read lower than reality.

As we'd started with max fuel I didn't dip.
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By T6Harvard
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1886760
@VRB_20kt Time between shutdown and dipping was 45 mins.
Difference between dips was small, less than 0.25 qt.

However, the first dip was done pretty much immediately after she returned with another student so already under reading on the dipstick.

I just used the exercise as a rough and ready check for peace of mind that there was sufficient oil somewhere in there :D
#1886779
Bathman wrote:I always check the oil after a 30 minute landaway on my Rotax 912. After all it does burn an egg cup every 50 hours.


Isn’t the check checking that something hasn’t gone wrong rather than normal ops? (if it needs topping up)

i.e. you’re checking that it’s still basically the same so that you know there’s not a fault, you’re not checking to see if it needs topping up.

If I’ve flown for an hour, I check the oil not because it might need topping up, but because if it’s gone down a quart, it’s indicating there’s something wrong with the engine.