Flight Training - June 2019 - 6

ALWAYS LEARNING BY KOLLIN STAGNITO

EDITOR'S PICKS OF THE MONTH
AVIATION CHECKLIST APPS AND AOPA
ON SOCIAL MEDIA

ForeFlight Mobile electronic flight bag
foreflight.com/products/checklist
Garmin Pilot EFB
youtube.com/watch?v=RSI5cxmYvvo

Vice President of Publications/Editor
KOLLIN STAGNITO learned many valuable
lessons about flying and aircraft ownership
when he bought a 1969 Cessna 150 at the
age of 23.
kollin.stagnito@aopa.org

MiraCheck CoPilot dedicated checklist app
miracheck.com
FltPlan Go EFB
fltplan.com
Instagram @flywithaopa
Facebook facebook.com/AOPApilots
facebook.com/AOPAFlightTrainingMag
Twitter @aopa
LinkedIn linkedin.com/company/aopa
YouTube youtube.com/AOPALive
youtube.com/AirSafetyInstitute
Let me know what resources you love-and
what's missing. We want to continue to bring
you the best information to help you earn your
wings-and discover what you'll be able to do
with aviation after you've earned your pilot
certificate.
kollin.stagnito@aopa.org

DEBUNKED

Budd Davisson provides a compelling list of 20 aviation myths
in "Mythbusters," which begins on p. 34. His advice is straightforward-"Don't believe these myths. Here is an aviation
myth that I briefly believed: You were the last person to fly the
airplane yesterday, so there's no need to do a thorough preflight
this morning.
I was a 23-year-old, naïve owner of a 1969 Cessna 150 with barely 70 hours in
my logbook when I learned a huge lesson about preflighting an aircraft. My old
college roommate was in town, and we agreed we would fly into Chicago's Merrill
C. Meigs Field airport just for fun. I had flown the previous evening and decided
to do an "abbreviated" preflight before we jumped into the airplane. I made sure
to cover the important items: check the fuel quantity, sump the fuel tanks, check
the oil, and make sure the controls are free and that nothing hit the airplane while
tied down overnight. Good to go.
I fired up the engine and taxied to the fuel pump to top off before our little
adventure. Little did I know our adventure would start immediately. Upon reaching the fuel pump, I applied brakes to slow down, but only one brake worked-the
other brake pedal went to the floor. The working brake enabled my Cessna 150 to
make a hard turn directly toward the fuel pump. Panicked, I turned off the ignition, jumped out of the airplane, and pulled on the wing strut with the desperate
hope I could stop the airplane before it hit the pump. I was not strong enough to
slow the momentum of a 1,600-pound airplane and, seemingly in slow motion,
it advanced toward the pump until the left wing hit a metal light pole-which
6 FLIGHT TRAINING JUNE 2019

stopped the airplane a few feet from the
pump. I may have avoided an explosion
that day, but I was embarrassed, and my
airplane was damaged.
It turns out a seal in the right brake
caliper failed overnight and I did not
notice the red brake fluid on the blacktop
during my abbreviated preflight. I also
failed to do a brake check immediately
after taxiing away from my tiedown spot
before the incident. Either action would
have prevented the costly mistake. Every
flight since, I remember that seemingly
innocent chain of events and force myself
to slow down and be thorough during
both the preflight and before-flight
checklists. A little voice in my head says,
"Don't repeat the fuel pump episode!"
Things can-and will-happen to the
airplane overnight. Seals leak, electrical
connections break, batteries die, instruments fail, animals build nests, and much
more. Follow the checklist and expect
the worst as you preflight. If you don't
like the checklist you are using, you can
make your own on your computer and
print it out, or you can create your own in
several electronic flight bags (EFBs). Just
make sure your checklist includes all of
the items recommended in the airplane's
pilot's operating handbook (POH). FT

http://www.foreflight.com/products/checklist http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSI5cxmYvvo http://www.miracheck.com http://www.fltplan.com http://www.facebook.com/AOPApilots http://www.facebook.com/AOPAFlightTrainingMag http://www.linkedin.com/company/aopa http://www.youtube.com/AOPALive http://www.youtube.com/AirSafetyInstitute

Flight Training - June 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - June 2019