Plane Ownership & Complacency

[tomkk]

I thought the original post was just a "If the shoe fits ..." don't get complacent warning and that's not a bad warning if the shoe fits. If it doesn't, it doesn't ...

[9GT]

I was fortunate enough to have a CFI who also owned the local FBO and was AP/AI. He taught me how to do a thorough pre-flight, and not just by going through the motions, but explaining what are critical inspection points and why they need to be checked EVERY pre-flight. One of the points he made was the control jam nut(s) inspection in Vic's thread. He showed me how to check them & why they have a tendency to loosen during my first flight lesson. I just shake my head in bewilderment when Vic shows these stupid mistakes he points out in his safety threads. I stick my fingers and try to move them, EVERY pre-flight! Always have,,,that's what I was taught to do. Push and tug lightly on the control surfaces. Look for any movement and slop. My instructor was aware of the tendency for the rudder spar to crack on my C-152, a common issue with them with lots of hours. A normal pre-flight included moving the rudder stop-to-stop. When you reach the stops apply light but firm pressure against the stop and look at the rudder and skin itself watching for oil canning. Sure enough, mine was cracked and had to be fixed $$$$! I got the opportunity to look as they opened it up. Scary! I always look at a good thorough pre-flight as my last opportunity to find something broke, about to break, loose, worn, electrical issues, etc. on the ground, not in the air. There are no "rules" about pre-flights. Everyone is different about what THEY feel is adequate and meets their safety standards. Its obvious I am over on the cautious side and there are others, like the pilot I used as an example, way over on the complacency side. Just pointing out that there can be serious safety issues found during a good pre-flight and just because we built/own/ and are sole pilot of the aircraft, don't get complacent about the need for a thorough pre-flight. I find it sad that there a few people here that actually defend the knucklehead I used as an example.. Would anyone REALLY want to get in his plane and go for a ride with him?!

[BCP Boys]

100% agree with David and appreciate you brining this up to sort of wake us up from complacency. Axel, I understand what you are trying to accomplish as well but hear me out as I'm guilty of this myself. Several years ago before my RV days I owned a Cessna 310 and did lots of cross country. One day I had gone to the airport the night before and filled up the tanks (All of them - 130 gallons) - Next morning I got to the airport and decided to do a quick pre-flight and just sump the fuel. I got to my Right Main tank and proceed to sump . . . nothing. Not 1 drop. 50 Gallons of Avgas vanished in 12 hours inside of my locked hanger.
I was upset but so glad that I did a pre-flight. For years after that I wouldn't miss 1 single pre-flight. Even during fly-ins for Saturday morning breakfast or a $100 hamburger (which cost $200 with the 310 )
However, I have been guilty a few times with my RV that I will fly the night before, come back for an early flight and just push her out and get in because I knew I had fuel, oil, etc.

David, thanks for waking me up and making me think again

[olyolson]

Amir,

Please solve the mystery, where did the 50 gallons go? If someone did the "five finger discount" did you ever figure out who stole it and how they got in your hangar?

[BCP Boys]

never figured out where it went. I know it didn't leak. No puddles, no blue spots below the wing, just gone. 5 finger discount.
I changed locks, and 2 months later moved to a 60x60 hanger with a friend.

[WAM120RV]

David

Well done for making this post, like you I can?t believe that normally sensible people want to criticise you for posting it.

I do not believe for one minute that the people who do a night before pre flight drag their aeroplane out of the hangar and do mag and carb heat checks, then put it away. I know I don?t when I do this.

Even if I had, I would still do mags and carb heat before committing aviation the next day.

Don?t be disheartened by those who just want to argue and Attack common sense, remember not everyone has it.

[precession]

Temperature, humidity and dew point usually change overnight, and as everyone knows, that can lead to condensation. It is my understanding that condensation can occur within fuel tanks. Therefore, I don't feel that by sumping my tanks the night before I've assured there will be no water in them by the next morning. And I don't want any water possibly hitting the carburetor at a critical time on take off especially. I believe that's part of the logic behind the standard teaching of sumping your tanks before your first flight of the day.

I suppose someone might say if you filled the tanks right up to the very top the night before there will be no air in the tanks for moisture to possibly condense out of. Well, everyone makes their own choices (but sometimes they might impact others as well), but I think that's against standard teaching. Fuel and oil can leak out too. Taking time to do a thorough and relaxed pre-flight the night before on a plane that's going to be in a locked hangar nobody else has access to sounds like a great idea to me. I personally wouldn't feel that is a reason to skip everything the next morning though.

[WAM120RV]

I should add to what I said in my previous post that I am currently rebuilding my RV9 due to exactly this kind of complacency by a joint owner. They don?t run on water!

Which is why it is annoying that two posters criticised the thread starter!

[scsmith]

When operating a glider towplane out of a dirt field with no hard pad to do run-ups on, we used to do a rolling mag check on the AM warm-up flight. Any stationary run-up on that airport would result in lots of rock chips in the prop.
So for the first flight of the day, roll out of the tie down, keep moving, when on centerline of the runway, go to 2100 rpm, and while accelerating, reach over and do a mag check. Then, apply full power and continue the takeoff.
An observer watching this first flight of the day might very well assume that no mag check was done. (unless they had keen ears and made a point to listen).

Out here in the west, with drier climates, condensation in tanks is extremely unlikely. How many times have I left the tanks 1/4 full for weeks, and then sump-checked the tanks and found nothing. Enough times that I can tell you with absolute certainty that if I sump-checked the tanks last night, they are safe to fly this morning.
If I gave the plane a bath last night at the wash rack, I fully expect to find a little water this morning. Otherwise....no.

I tailor my pre-flight to my knowledge and understanding of the airplane:

A rental or club plane gets an extremely thorough going over. I have found unreported damage from the previous user - the result of hitting a wingtip on a post during landing roll-out. I once pre-flighted a glider that was fairly new to the fleet (it had been flying for about two weeks). When I moved the controls, it seemed like the ailerons were kind of sloppy to me. So I pulled out the seat and stuck my head way in the back. I found a castellated nut sitting on the gear well, a washer hanging by the last thread, and an AN bolt backed half way out of the aileron bell crank connection. I walked into the shop, grabbed a wrench and a cotter pin, and ten minutes later I was on tow. The funny/scary thing? After properly installing that control linkage bolt, the aileron slop felt exactly the same. Had I been a bit more familiar with the airplane, I would have dismissed it.

My own airplane, I'm looking for things that seem out of place, anything changed. I once checked the oil on my Citabria and noticed a small puddle of oil under the cowl cooling exit. Now if I were unfamiliar with the airplane, I would probably have asked the line crew if that airplane was known to leak a little oil. But it was my airplane and I knew it did not leak oil. So I pulled the cowl off. Following the oil trail to its source, the oil pressure gauge tap in the block, I grabbed the fitting and gave it a wiggle. It broke off in my hand.

What I don't do is inspect things that have not changed in 500 hrs, were fine at last condition inspection, and I am certain are still fine. I don't wiggle my control surfaces for slop in the hinges at every preflight. Such slop would take time to develop, not something that is going to change overnight. I don't look at every Nylock nut on every control hinge. Because they were installed 500 hrs ago with fresh nuts, torqued properly, and have not changed. Have you EVER found a Nylock nut that was properly assembled actually come loose? Perhaps one that is on something that is periodically disassembled and has been on and off multiple times. Not a hinge bolt.

What I do check EVERY time:
(1) The jam nuts on the rod-bearing hinges.
(2) the plastic clevis fork on the trim tab. (I wouldn't check regularly if it was metal. I think this plastic part is a vulnerability.)
(3) fuel state
(4) oil state
(5) propeller surfaces
(6) pitot tube and fuel vents for foreign (or domestic) obstructions
(7) air in the tires
(8) listen and look as I pull the plane out of the hangar for anything unusual
(9) mag check
(10) prop cycled
(11) controls free

Numbers 1--5 can be done the night before. If I skipped (7), I sure would notice it during (8). It is an interesting observation that a locked hangar isn't a guarantee of fuel state from the night before. I will change my attitude and procedure on that based on this discussion. Its not impossible that someone could steal fuel overnight. Would I notice it on my fuel gages and EMS? I think so, but not positive. So....I'll check the tanks in the morning from now on. Thanks.

[SMO]

Originally Posted by scsmith

Out here in the west, with drier climates, condensation in tanks is extremely unlikely.

Certainly agree with this. I sump my tanks before every flight but have never found water - 200 hours on the Rocket, 100 hours on the Decathlon, 100 hours on the RV-4, and many rental planes before that. And I rarely fill the tanks more than 1/2 full.

But I still sump the tanks before flight - whenever I get thinking it is a waste of time I tell myself "it only takes once to make for a bad day".