Good stuff as always Dudley.

I invented my own 'cross check' in perhaps the lowest tech retract -
sailplanes. All the retract sailplanes I flew had a 2 part vent window.
I never used the sliding window in flight but used it to cross check
gear operation. The key was the 'roar' that the open window caused.
Rule was "drop & lock gear, listen for gear wind noise, open window to
drown out the noise"

Doing off field 'emergency' landings in gliders is the definition of
distracting. People, cows, geese, power lines, barb wire, ditches,
jumpers, and other sailplanes were all encountered, but the worse was
the promise of continued flight from a low altitude thermal. A 'save'
called for gear up and window closed so I can hear the audio variometer.
Losing the thermal at 500' means gear down, window open. I've been
'distracted' multiple times at 500' and performed that cross check
multiple times before saving or landing.

Then there are tow rope breaks and 'showing off' with worm burner
finishes or even touch and go's - all distractions from routine. My
rule was - can't land without window open, can't open window unless gear
down and heard. 48 off-field glider landings and various idiot
manuevers, no gear ups.

It's not whether you will be distracted, it's what you do when you are
distracted. A cross check needs to be drilled deep in your flying soul.

....But I was never meaningfully drilled on the use of a cross check
during my very limited complex experience. My instructors didn't do
what Dudley outlined and I know I'm "one of those that will" until I
drill that hole. If you don't get what Dudley is saying, you may want
to read it again. Good stuff.

Dudley Henriques wrote:


You're right, and the way to approach this issue is by realizing exactly
this, then setting up a personal regimen for a pre-landing cross-check that
is deliberately formated to be an exact final cross check procedure executed
the same way as a habit pattern every time you fly.
There are many of these axioms in use, and every pilot has his/her own
favorite. It doesn't matter which one is used, as long as it's used exactly
the same way every time you fly and at the same place in the approach every
time. This has to become an ingrained habit pattern.
My own personal cross check in ADDITION to the required regular pre-landing
checklists, and the one I taught for years to every pilot I trained was the
following; done on final.
This cross check was always said aloud and each item had to be touched and
verified as it was spoken.
"All good pilots must land fine check"
Each word was spoken individually as it was checked
All: Altimeter
Good; Gas
Pilots; Prop
Must; Mixture
Land; Landing Gear
Fine; Flaps
Check; Carb Heat (if applicable)
50 years in retracts. No wheels up landings :-)))
Dudley Henriques