Being rushed or just too slow?

mshunter said:
If that level is below what the POH says, something needs to be done with the engine. There are two numbers that matter, one to the pilot, and one to the A&P. Min safe is going to be less than what the dip stick says. IIRC, on an O-360, you can run one as low as 2 qts before you have to tear down and inspect for engine damage. Personally, I am not taking off with anything less than min on the dip stick. Will the engine probably be fine, yeah, it probably will be. But it's like constantly running you engone low on coolant. It will cause higher oil temps, and eventually lead to a pre-mature failure of something.
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Yeah all I was trying to say is that as long as the oil is between min and max, you're probably alright - but the A&P or CFI probably has the best idea as to where "Normoal" with the particular aircraft sits.
 
My school's policy is that you should have the airplane ready with all preflight items done before the flight block. I have some commercial students show up 2 hours before and not finish by the time our block starts and others who are done in 20 minutes. Personally, it takes me about 15 minutes for weather brief, airport info, NOTAMs and performance and about another 15 for the walkaround.
 
I had a student who would schedule me at 8 am 3 days a week. When he showed up, he'd BS with dispatch for a while, take his time preflighting, and essentially want me to check weather for him and have a million questions. We started giving him 4 hour blocks instead of 2 hours. No sweat off my sack. I charge for ground :) Some people just need a little more hand holding.
 
Some of it has to do with the expectations of the CFI--If you're post-solo, I'd suggest that you consider talking with your CFI about finishing all your preflight activities before meeting up, and bringing questions to him afterward if possible. Otherwise ... if you're post-solo, you're learning to be PIC. Being a PIC means taking as long as you feel you need to ensure the aircraft is airworthy; in time you'll learn where to look to make the process more efficient, and you'll grow familiar enough with the airplane to spot anything unusual quickly, but for now it's your job. That said, if the CFI is paid by the hour, waiting for you, and you're not 'on the clock', it's probably something you should have done beforehand.

It's also possible that you're taking a -very- long time, and the CFI is trying to whittle you down a bit so that you won't tick off your DPE when it comes to the checkride.

-Fox
 
dustoff17 said:
Agreed



Couldn't disagree more. Too many factors at play here (i.e. what type of aircraft, etc)
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If you are including checking weather/weight and balance then I could see 30 at the most for a local flight. I've never taken more than 15 mins to do an exterior preflight from 152s to transport category jets. Unless you are into fondling every part on the airplane you are either grossly inefficient or have a fetish for airplanes if it takes you any longer.
 
mikecweb said:
If you are including checking weather/weight and balance then I could see 30 at the most for a local flight. I've never taken more than 15 mins to do an exterior preflight from 152s to transport category jets. Unless you are into fondling every part on the airplane you are either grossly inefficient or have a fetish for airplanes if it takes you any longer.
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Grossly inefficient or have a fetish...or you don't want to be violated, or your company requires checking a lengthy list of items, or you're unfamiliar with the aircraft, or...

To set a "one size fits all" time limit of 15 minutes is ridiculous. I'm kinda surprised to see you writing this sort of garbage. I usually agree with your posts, but far from it on this one.
 
mikecweb said:
If you are including checking weather/weight and balance then I could see 30 at the most for a local flight. I've never taken more than 15 mins to do an exterior preflight from 152s to transport category jets. Unless you are into fondling every part on the airplane you are either grossly inefficient or have a fetish for airplanes if it takes you any longer.
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What if I'm all three?
 
jrh said:
Grossly inefficient or have a fetish...or you don't want to be violated, or your company requires checking a lengthy list of items, or you're unfamiliar with the aircraft, or...

To set a "one size fits all" time limit of 15 minutes is ridiculous. I'm kinda surprised to see you writing this sort of garbage. I usually agree with your posts, but far from it on this one.
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I'd disagree with you and say most of what I post is garbage.
I'll give you this, at every company and every airplane (not that many) I've flown hasn't required mor than a 15 min exterior preflight. I've also never had to check tire pressures so that might be why.
 
beasly said:
o_O

Could you translate that please?

thx.
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That means you're not performing all the preflight and pre-start functions, then leaving the airplane such that later during an alert, you can start and take off rapidly. It's a military airplane thing.
 
As I was told on one of my first days at Uncle Sam's Flying School: "You're not BUYING the jet, you're just FLYING the jet."
 
Hacker15e said:
As I was told on one of my first days at Uncle Sam's Flying School: "You're not BUYING the jet, you're just FLYING the jet."
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OR: Without a good preflight, "You're not BUYING the jet, you're just DYING in the jet".

Either one with work, I guess
 
I taught at a school where the instructor was required to be present at the aircraft for the preflight, but I never rushed anyone. I sometimes would hide my keys or other stuff on the aircraft to see how closely the student was looking at the airplane. I never felt a reason to rush. I even had a student take out rubber gloves every preflight to check if the oil on the belly was fresh or old. I also started charging from the time the student walked in the door until the time they left, so they could take all the time they needed.
 
dustoff17 said:
OR: Without a good preflight, "You're not BUYING the jet, you're just DYING in the jet".

Either one with work, I guess
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The difference is, the saying that the USAF taught is meant to indicate that the preflight is just a skin-deep check, and not a pre-buy inspection.
 
Hacker15e said:
The difference is, the saying that the USAF taught is meant to indicate that the preflight is just a skin-deep check, and not a pre-buy inspection.
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This is pretty much the philosophy behind most large 121 pre flight exterior inspections. We're really just checking a handful of things and the general condition of the plane. There are so many systems and moving parts on these machines you can't possibly check everything or know everything about them. That is what the service checks and routine checks carried out by trained mx personal are for.
 
Hacker15e said:
That means you're not performing all the preflight and pre-start functions, then leaving the airplane such that later during an alert, you can start and take off rapidly. It's a military airplane thing.
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Cool--cocked like a pistol--I get it.

thx
 
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