Always check your flight controls BEFORE starting your engine

I dutifully followed the checklist, which called for checking flight
controls free and correct after starting the engine. After fifteen
years of flying never having had any problems with the flight controls,
today I was in the runup area and found that my right rudder pedal
didn't have full travel. I had to taxi back to the FBO and shut down
before I could extract what turned out to be a flashlight (someone
else's) from underneath the copilot's right rudder pedal.

Oh well, at least I got a nice flashlight out of it.

rg

On 2008-09-23 17:14:17 -0700, Ron Garret said:

I dutifully followed the checklist, which called for checking flight
controls free and correct after starting the engine. After fifteen
years of flying never having had any problems with the flight controls,
today I was in the runup area and found that my right rudder pedal
didn't have full travel. I had to taxi back to the FBO and shut down
before I could extract what turned out to be a flashlight (someone
else's) from underneath the copilot's right rudder pedal.

Oh well, at least I got a nice flashlight out of it.

rg

Gee. I would have tried to return the flashlight to its rightful owner.
--
Waddling Eagle
World Famous Flight Instructor

"C J Campbell" wrote in message
news:2008092319160043658-christophercampbell@hotmailcom...
On 2008-09-23 17:14:17 -0700, Ron Garret said:

I dutifully followed the checklist, which called for checking flight
controls free and correct after starting the engine. After fifteen
years of flying never having had any problems with the flight controls,
today I was in the runup area and found that my right rudder pedal
didn't have full travel. I had to taxi back to the FBO and shut down
before I could extract what turned out to be a flashlight (someone
else's) from underneath the copilot's right rudder pedal.

Oh well, at least I got a nice flashlight out of it.

rg

Gee. I would have tried to return the flashlight to its rightful owner.
--
Waddling Eagle
World Famous Flight Instructor


I would not ask where you would deliver it too... LOL
BT

I always check my brakes, right then left, immediately upon rolling
forward to taxi.
I once had a non-functional right brake and could only make left turns
to get back to the parking spot. Had I been a little quicker on the
uptake, I would have parked it right away and had the tug push it back
into its spot.

In article ,
John Smith wrote:

I always check my brakes, right then left, immediately upon rolling
forward to taxi.
I once had a non-functional right brake and could only make left turns
to get back to the parking spot. Had I been a little quicker on the
uptake, I would have parked it right away and had the tug push it back
into its spot.

You should be able to detect a bad brake when the pedal goes all the way
forward.

--
Remove _'s from email address to talk to me.

In article
,
Orval Fairbairn wrote:

In article ,
John Smith wrote:

I always check my brakes, right then left, immediately upon rolling
forward to taxi.
I once had a non-functional right brake and could only make left turns
to get back to the parking spot. Had I been a little quicker on the
uptake, I would have parked it right away and had the tug push it back
into its spot.

You should be able to detect a bad brake when the pedal goes all the way
forward.

It was solid until the first hard push for the right turn out of the
parking spot. It then went to the floor as the airplane was 45-degrees
into the turn.

In article 2008092319160043658-christophercampbell@hotmailcom,
C J Campbell wrote:

On 2008-09-23 17:14:17 -0700, Ron Garret said:

I dutifully followed the checklist, which called for checking flight
controls free and correct after starting the engine. After fifteen
years of flying never having had any problems with the flight controls,
today I was in the runup area and found that my right rudder pedal
didn't have full travel. I had to taxi back to the FBO and shut down
before I could extract what turned out to be a flashlight (someone
else's) from underneath the copilot's right rudder pedal.

Oh well, at least I got a nice flashlight out of it.

rg

Gee. I would have tried to return the flashlight to its rightful owner.

I figured that the owner must not care too much about it if he was
willing to leave it under the rudder pedal.

rg

On 9/23/08 10:16 PM, in article
2008092319160043658-christophercampbell@hotmailcom, "C J Campbell"
wrote:

On 2008-09-23 17:14:17 -0700, Ron Garret said:

I dutifully followed the checklist, which called for checking flight
controls free and correct after starting the engine. After fifteen
years of flying never having had any problems with the flight controls,
today I was in the runup area and found that my right rudder pedal
didn't have full travel. I had to taxi back to the FBO and shut down
before I could extract what turned out to be a flashlight (someone
else's) from underneath the copilot's right rudder pedal.

Oh well, at least I got a nice flashlight out of it.

rg

Gee. I would have tried to return the flashlight to its rightful owner.

Hey..I'm missing a Fleshlight! ...oh, wait, never mind.
--
Jeff 'The Wizard of Draws' Bucchino
Cartoons with a Touch of Magic �

http://www.wizardofdraws.com
http://www.cartoonclipart.com

And why do you say *BEFORE* ? ( Methinks you would have caught this in
the normal checklist sequence without hazard).

Well, I always check the controls before starting the engine, out of c/l
sequence, cause I like to _listen_ as well as observe and feel the travel...
T



Ron Garret wrote:
I dutifully followed the checklist, which called for checking flight
controls free and correct after starting the engine. After fifteen
years of flying never having had any problems with the flight controls,
today I was in the runup area and found that my right rudder pedal
didn't have full travel. I had to taxi back to the FBO and shut down
before I could extract what turned out to be a flashlight (someone
else's) from underneath the copilot's right rudder pedal.

Oh well, at least I got a nice flashlight out of it.

rg

Better check 'em again right before takeoff.


One morning in Baton Rouge, a TV cameraman I was flying shifted his camera
rig just as we left the hold short line and blocked his yoke's aft travel,
unbeknownst to me.

At rotation time on a short runway, I couldn't. That led to an unplanned
off-pavement excursion. No damage done besides the loss of 10 years off my
life, but the experience does teach that a lot of **** can happen between
the ramp and rotation.


--
Dan
T-182T at 4R4