Aircraft Checkout Flights

[john smith]

This is a companion posting to the one entitled Head Scratcher.

When I do an aircraft checkout, I will only fly them during the
daylight. I don't want to be fumbling around in the dark in an
unfamiliar aircraft trying to find the right thing-a-ma-jig to throw,
pull or twist.
Once I am comfortable with the aircraft during daylight, I would feel at
ease to practice night landings.

Do any of the instructors on this group perform initial aircraft
checkouts at night as a matter of normal practice?

Even with an experienced pilot, a complex aircraft will provide a
certain amount of learning curve before achieving proficiency.

[Andrew Sarangan]

If the pilot wanting the checkout has never flown that type of aircraft
before, I do the checkout during the day. Otherwise I do the checkout
any time that is convenient.



john smith wrote:
> This is a companion posting to the one entitled Head Scratcher.
>
> When I do an aircraft checkout, I will only fly them during the
> daylight. I don't want to be fumbling around in the dark in an
> unfamiliar aircraft trying to find the right thing-a-ma-jig to throw,
> pull or twist.
> Once I am comfortable with the aircraft during daylight, I would feel at
> ease to practice night landings.
>
> Do any of the instructors on this group perform initial aircraft
> checkouts at night as a matter of normal practice?
>
> Even with an experienced pilot, a complex aircraft will provide a
> certain amount of learning curve before achieving proficiency.

[Dan Luke]

"john smith" wrote:
>
> Even with an experienced pilot, a complex aircraft will provide a certain
> amount of learning curve before achieving proficiency.

The only time I ever got checked out in an unfamiliar aircraft at night, the
alternator failed.

--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

[Jose[_1_]]

> When I do an aircraft checkout, I will only fly them during the daylight. I don't want to be fumbling around in the dark in an unfamiliar aircraft trying to find the right thing-a-ma-jig to throw, pull or twist.

I think this is a good policy when checking out in a new type, or a
significant cockpit variant. However, if I've been flying Archers
forever, and I go to a new airport where I (of course) need to get a
checkout before they will let me fly =their= archer, I see no reason to
have to do that one in the daytime. So, it depends on what you really
mean by a "checkout".

If you mean a checkout in an airplane which is significantly new to the
pilot, then yes, I agree with you.

Jose
--
He who laughs, lasts.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

[Morgans[_5_]]

"Dan Luke" > wrote

> The only time I ever got checked out in an unfamiliar aircraft at night,
> the alternator failed.

You must be living right. NOT ! ! ! <g>

I'll bet you are ready to jump into another one, and do it again, right?
:-)
--
Jim in NC

[NW_Pilot]

"john smith" > wrote in message
...
> This is a companion posting to the one entitled Head Scratcher.
>
> When I do an aircraft checkout, I will only fly them during the daylight.
> I don't want to be fumbling around in the dark in an unfamiliar aircraft
> trying to find the right thing-a-ma-jig to throw, pull or twist.
> Once I am comfortable with the aircraft during daylight, I would feel at
> ease to practice night landings.
>
> Do any of the instructors on this group perform initial aircraft checkouts
> at night as a matter of normal practice?
>
> Even with an experienced pilot, a complex aircraft will provide a certain
> amount of learning curve before achieving proficiency.
>

Check Out Flight Whats That????

[Dan Luke]

"Morgans" wrote:

>> The only time I ever got checked out in an unfamiliar aircraft at night,
>> the alternator failed.
>
> You must be living right. NOT ! ! ! <g>
>
> I'll bet you are ready to jump into another one, and do it again, right?

One's enough.

The CFI who checked me out knew beforehand the alt. was flakey and didn't
tell me. As we have seen recently, having a CFI aboard doesn't necessarily
confer any extra safety.

--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

[Bob Noel]

In article >,
"Dan Luke" > wrote:

> As we have seen recently, having a CFI aboard doesn't necessarily
> confer any extra safety.

Having a CFI aboard doesn't necessarily confer *sufficient* extra safety.

--
Bob Noel
Looking for a sig the
lawyers will hate

[Jim Macklin]

Flying a known "flakey" aircraft, day or night isn't wise.
But the battery should keep plenty of juice for the time
required to get back to the airport, as long as the pilot
detects the alternator failure when it happens and takes the
proper actions promptly.

You need NAV lights and a radio is nice to have. You can
crank the gear down in a complex aircraft and turn off
landing lights, radar, autopilots, the stereo, ventilation
fans, etc.

In fact, if the alternator didn't fail, I'd be tempted to
pull the CB on it if the student had not seen what happens.
But a night checkout if carrying the proper flashlights, I
have LED headlights, penlights, full and mini Mag lights
(AA and D) and I carry the LED pen even in the daylight.

A "blindfold" cockpit check may not be a bad idea.


"Dan Luke" > wrote in message
...
|
| "Morgans" wrote:
|
| >> The only time I ever got checked out in an unfamiliar
aircraft at night,
| >> the alternator failed.
| >
| > You must be living right. NOT ! ! ! <g>
| >
| > I'll bet you are ready to jump into another one, and do
it again, right?
|
| One's enough.
|
| The CFI who checked me out knew beforehand the alt. was
flakey and didn't
| tell me. As we have seen recently, having a CFI aboard
doesn't necessarily
| confer any extra safety.
|
| --
| Dan
| C172RG at BFM
|
|

[Jose[_1_]]

> Having a CFI aboard doesn't necessarily confer *sufficient* extra safety.

It sometimes reduces safety, especially if the pilots suffer "instructor
in command syndrome".

Jose
--
He who laughs, lasts.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

[NW_Pilot]

"Morgans" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Dan Luke" > wrote
>
>> The only time I ever got checked out in an unfamiliar aircraft at night,
>> the alternator failed.
>
> You must be living right. NOT ! ! ! <g>
>
> I'll bet you are ready to jump into another one, and do it again, right?
> :-)
> --
> Jim in NC
>


And people wonder how bad maintenance habits are spread or taught to
unsuspecting/knowlageable students/pilots. When I jump in to an unknown
airplane I expect the worst that every thing has not been properly
maintained and is going to fail!!! It don't matter if it's a flight school
or private owner.... If a flight instructor told me the alternator was
flakey I would say then shouldent it be fixed? how much money did you pay to
earn your certificate to lose it becuse you knew somthing was flakey? or
worse yet you knew it was flakey did not say somthing and someone died!

[john smith]

In article >,
"NW_Pilot" > wrote:

> Check Out Flight Whats That????

Right! In your business, a checkout consists of learning which switches
are shiny or have the paint worn off.