"Mark Dickson" wrote in message
...
I guess they will all serve their purpose, but I can
never understand checklists that include things that
you will do anyway. Speed - surely we don't need a
check to fly at the correct speed. Trim - don't we
all adjust the trim when we change attitude/speed.
Lookout and land - you're not telling us you wouldn't
lookout and check the landing area and actually land
without having it in a checklist? Checklists should,
IMO, only include things that you physically need to
do prior to landing. Waterballast should be in there,
you're more likely to need a reminder to dump it than
you are a reminder to do the things you should always
be doing anyway; like looking out, flying at an appropriate
speed and trimming.

The above makes sense; but while we are at it, I feel that the landing
checklist should not include things that the glider does not need. When we
teach a new student a generic landing check such as USTALL or some such and
there is no handle in the glider marked "Undercarrage", then what are we really
teaching the student? Answer: we are teaching the student to mouth
"Undercarrage" and then do nothing! Given the law of primacy, we are setting
them up for a future wheels-up accident. For this reason, the landing checklist
should be specific to the glider and probably posted in the cockpit.

Vaughn





At 15:24 06 January 2006, Jettester wrote:

FAA recommended checklist for the traffic pattern
FUSTALL

F - Flaps (on some gliders you may not want to change
the flaps
throughout the pattern due to high forces)
U - Undercarriage
S - Speeds (based upon wind and sink expected)
T - Trim Set
A - Airbrakes / Spoilers (I have had occurrences where
one popped all
the way out when first opened.. I'd like to know that
on downwind!
(ASW-17 .. Yes the hotelier fittings were pinned!!),
also on the 2-33 -
if the handle goes all the way back against the stop
the brake will not
work, etc..)
L - Lookout (Safe landing area.. otherwise land somewhere
else)
L - Land