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I used to fly a Maule, which is very difficult to climb in/out of. Once, I taxied up to the gas pumps, swung the tail around, shut down and opened up the door with a crowd watching - boy was I a cool kid in the throaty STOL taildragger. Pulled off my David Clarks and put them up on the glare shield and proceeded to climb out with the swagger of a Mustang driver while the adoring audience watched.
Then I hooked my foot in the cord of my headsets, which were still plugged in to the panel, got it wrapped around my ankle, missed the step and fell out of the pilot's seat, bounced off the wing strut and landed on by face on the ramp with my foot still tied inside the cockpit. "Somebody put some gas in this thing and let me get the h*** out of here, please." |
These, of course, were the replacement David Clarks. I ran over my first set with a Cessna 152 as a student pilot. :rolleyes:
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Not all that long after I received my Private ticket I took a girl out on a date. Where else is a 17yo with a pilots license going to take a girl...flying of course. We made the short hop from long beach over to Catalina went hiking and had a nice lunch. Feeling great about myself we headed out to the plane. As we walked up I saw the rotating beacon still on. I really hoped I could get the thing to fire off and save the embarrasment, but it wasn't to be. I had to call the cart over for a jump-start... :rolleyes:
Not the same type of situation, but a reminder that you should always listen, sometime the world is trying to tell you something: Durring my PP training I was finally signed-off and ready for my long solo cross country. My instructor was out for a couple days, so another instructor signed me off. The weather briefing called for clear skys so I decided to go. I preflighted and hoped into start. I then realized I didn't pull the pilot side chock. Ok, back out, pull the chock...no big deal. I start up and as soon as I do, the oil door popped open, guess it wasn't latched all the way. Shutdown, close door, start back up. Finally get to take off. As soon as I rotate, the seat back goes all the way down. Luckily I'm not as ham-fisted as I though since I didn't pull the yoke when I fell back, so I didn't stall the thing. So now I'm climing out holding onto the glareshield. Once I get to some altitude I level off to see if I can get the seat right. I grap the lever and nothing, cable is broken. I end up poping the dor open so I can reach the rear of the seat and grab the latching mechanism. I get the seat fixed and settle back in. I then realize that clouds are moving in over my coastline route. I just said screw it, I'm going home. |
eye candy
I have found that the likelyhood of doing something stupid or
embarrassing is directly proportional to the visual appeal of your passenger..... Jim RV-9A 350 hrs |
Use a checklist?
Done all those and more. Canopy unlatched, transponder off, gust lock in place, coffee cup on roof (the boss), belt out the door, etc. Once I departed into lousy weather with one of my bags still in the car--should have made two trips due to use of umbrella. Almost every time I forgot something was the result of one and/or two things. Distraction while doing something and not using a checklist. Think I will dust that checklist off and use it every time.
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Pro pilots never forget chocks (yea right)...
I worked for an FBO/Charter/Air Ambulance company mostly operating King Airs. Chock issues happened often enough that we had a good-natured rule.... you had to have an ATP to jump the chocks. Only a commercial certificate = shut down and climb out for the walk of shame.
When I worked lineservice during college, there were multiple times I got the call over unicom from guys who wanted me to come pull the chocks after they had started.....not only no, but h*#l no.... unless it was a jet, which made it a much safer proposition. |
My boss was always In a hurry. Once he jumped us in the break room after an inspection because we had arranged his ink pens incorrectly. He said "I need everything in that plane right, because you guys know when I get in there the last thing I'm thinking about is flying".
Anyway' one day he whipped in, jumped in the cornquest and took off. Leaving the SUV on the ramp......running........locked.........with the dog inside. Having a routine is nice, but having your brain engaged is critical. I tell myself, don't go HUMA......head up my ***, otherwise known as "under the hood". |
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