Page 18 - Volume 14 Number 10

know how long it takes to complete a full run-up and that, on a daily basis, some of the items may be deemed unnecessary (fuel sumps, tire pressure, etc.). Any time an aircraft comes out of maintenance you want to trust that your shop did everything correct, but it is up to you to verify it. Remember? Trust but verify.
Look at a typical maintenance visit. After doing your best to describe any outstanding squawks and agreeing on all the items to be completed, you leave the aircraft in your shop’s hands. Depending on the maintenance to be done, the first thing is to clean out the cockpit and cabin and put everything in a box or bags for temporary storage. That includes headsets, cords, charts, pens, pencils, manuals, checklists, etc. ... everything you are used to using on every flight. Then the actual maintenance begins. Flight controls are checked, trims are moved, friction locks are loosened, circuit breakers are pulled, seats are moved or even removed, switches and levers are changed and that is just in the cockpit!
After the maintenance is complete, it would be nice if all was put back just as it was found. However, expecting maintenance to put everything back the way they found it is unrealistic. This is where you and your memory come into play. You try to remember where levers were switched and if you even have all the items that were with the aircraft when you dropped it off. Your phone might be your best friend here. Take pictures of the cockpit
when you drop it off, note everything that was there and make sure you have it when you begin your after- maintenance checks. I have heard stories of “unloading the box” of items and thinking you had it all only to realize there were no charts for the approach.
Or, after landing, noticing that the control locks were nowhere to be found. Of course, forgetting to bring new databases to load often presents us with an illegal IFR machine. So begin this preflight inspection as if you had never seen or flown this airplane before.
Preflight from a Pilot’s Perspective
Below are some examples of surprises told by Tom Clements that he personally experienced or has firsthand knowledge from stories told to him by colleagues and customers.
Static Air Line Drains Left Open
My company, Flight Review, Inc., owned and operated a 1972 C90 throughout the 1990s. Once I was picking it up by myself from a shop we often used after a routine Phase inspection. It was a lovely clear morning. I did a thorough exterior and interior preflight inspection and performed all of the run-up checks before takeoff. I lifted off at about 100 KIAS, pitched up to my standard +10 degrees attitude, retracted the landing gear, did a quick
16 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
OCTOBER 2020