On 29/06/18 23:54, Jonathan St. Cloud wrote:
Thought this should have it's own thread. I had never heard of a DI sign off book, but as the other items I have seen from the BGA, I will incorporate this to my daily flight routine.


It might be of interest to know the daily inspection regime and training
pilots under the BGA stick to.

There's the DI, which anyone deemed competent by the local club can do.
It's normal for early-solo and pre-solo pilots who have been
vocationally trained on task to do these checks. It's not meant to be an
annual, but just a check for anything untoward from the last flight or
rigging. If the glider has been rigged since it last flown, and
independent rigging check is done by a 2nd person to confirm the
controls are properly connected.

The check goes about as follows:

- Inside the cockpit:
- Instruments are good
- Controls move as expected, and the appropriate control surfaces
move the right way
- Dual controls checked to feel connected to each other
- Panel is secure, nothing flapping in the breeze
- Batteries are secure, and electrical instruments power up
- No loose objects in the cockpit
- Straps are checked for fraying
- Strap release is checked under tension to release correctly
- Canopy jettison visually inspected (e.g. the locking wire is
present on something like a K21)
- Any ballast present is normally noted, but left alone
- Wing pins / bayonets checked

- Airframe:
- Wheels are at a good pressure, run freely, and no grinding in the
bearings when rotated under pressure
- Statics checked to not be blocked
- Canopy cleaned if mucky from the hanger
- Gel coat visually inspected for signs of cracking, particularly
along the leading edge of the wings, the base of the fin and
around the A/B box
- Tail plane checked to be attached securely by wiggling in various
directions
- Wings checked in the same way
- Visual inspection hatches and windows are checked for foreign
objects (like the windows at the tail of a Grob 103)
- External control linkages are checked (like the bearings on the
elevators of a K13 wing)

We're normally taught to do this in some methodical way. I go
anticlockwise around the glider from nose to nose.

- Positive control checks
- As you'd expect, 2 people, one moving the controls one holding the
control surface confirming pressure in both directions of
movement.
- When checking the A/Bs the person on the wing does a visual
inspection of the box to make sure no bits of tree have found
their way in there

Once all of this is done, the DI book is signed and dated. The minor
defects column contains a list of things which should be seen to but
aren't a risk worth grounding the plane for, the major defects column
grounds the plane. One would also put any minor servicing which has been
performed if a defect has been seen there and then.

Example minor defect: "As above. Also: Rear PTT button loose on stick"

Example major defect: "Front straps frayed."


This all works quite nicely, as when approaching a glider the first
thing we check is a DI book. When an aircraft is grounded, the DI book
is moved to the club office, and a note is left in the aircraft not to
fly it.


It only takes about 15 minutes to complete the DI, so it's a simple
step. The training on the DI inspection is good for new pilots getting
to know all the aircraft they will fly. Typically a pilot is signed off
on one aircraft type at a time, particularly as at my club we used to
fly wood and glass in our 2seat fleet.


Hope that's of interest to someone. Chip in if I missed an obvious thing
to check.

- Simon