Newbie question Re: Electronic Checklist and/or Training Apps

MauleSkinner said:
I think mnemonics should be appropriate to the situation…for example
LAND-
Lower the gear
Assess fuel settings
‘N set them appropriately
Decrease prop pitch

of course, all emergencies would be “OH ****”, so that confuses things. ;)
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I actually made one up once. The "4 Fs" for VFR diversions for the private checkride (before the days of GPS).

Find it
Figure it
Fly it
Fine tune it

There's actually a fifth F before the others - it the one you say out loud you come across the need to divert, but I didn't think we needed a mnemonic for that! :eek:
 
The FAA guidance and many CFI’s teach 5 C’s regarding getting un-lost.

I contend that in today’s world, it should be 6.

Confess
Climb
Circle
Communicate
Conserve

The 6th: Cash.

Because between Panel amount radios that do GPS, Glass PFD GPS, iPad GPS, Cell phone GPS, if you’re getting lost, you clearly don’t have enough GPS and need to go purchase additional units that receive GPS.
 
AggieMike88 said:
The FAA guidance and many CFI’s teach 5 C’s regarding getting un-lost.

I contend that in today’s world, it should be 6.

Confess
Climb
Circle
Communicate
Conserve

The 6th: Cash.

Because between Panel amount radios that do GPS, Glass PFD GPS, iPad GPS, Cell phone GPS, if you’re getting lost, you clearly don’t have enough GPS and need to go purchase additional units that receive GPS.
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7th…or probably first, before you climb…
Check water towers.
 
midlifeflyer said:
Of course I fly retracts. For the past 30 years. teach in them too. If you think treating a mnemonic that refers to the gear as an "undercarriage" as though it were the Gospel is the one and only way to double, triple, and quadruple check the gear for landing, I think the loss may be yours.
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My point was, do you pull out the checklist on short final? Or use some form of mental checklist to make sure you are full configured to land?
 
Pinecone said:
My point was, do you pull out the checklist on short final? Or use some form of mental checklist to make sure you are full configured to land?
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No, I do not pull out the checklist on final nor anywhere within 3 miles of the airport. In large part because I fly multiple types, I treat my before landing checklist as a check/briefing and not as either pure flow/check or read/do. it includes not only gas-mixture-prop-etc, but a reminder of target landing speeds. Things it makes sense to accomplish early are done early. The few remaining items become mental checklists my before landing briefing locks into my mind. But I do end up referring to it more than once - something I learned as part of the aging pilot process.

For me "gear" is a combination of the before landing briefing, final approach mantra, paranoia, and a SOP I have tried to apply so consistently as to turn it into a habit. I believe habits are powerful and while no guarantee, decreases the chance of error substantially.

it's not everybody's method but it's mine and it's worked for me for decades and that's all that counts. (Yes, I came close once - I was going to change my SOP. The gear warning ended the experiment).

Story. I was getting checked out in my first Bonanza. I had explained my gear procedures to the instructor earlier. We were arriving home and he started chuckling. I asked him why. He pointed to my right hand. We had reached one of the two triggers for my visual gear SOP and, without me realizing it, my right hand was covering the gear handle quivering in anticipation.
 
Pinecone said:
My point was, do you pull out the checklist on short final? Or use some form of mental checklist to make sure you are full configured to land?
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I do one GUMPS some minutes out while I am at least 1000' AGL and where I can do anything not already done as I still have time which might be glideslope intercept or mid-field downwind or something like that. I do a second GUMPS on short final at 500' AGL. If the gear is not already down and locked on the second GUMPS then I would do a go-around.

On short final, my focus needs to be on landing while being prepared to execute a go-around or missed approach.

I am not a huge fan of acronyms but I do find some of them to be useful in my own flying.
 
Mongoose Aviator said:
I do one GUMPS some minutes out while I am at least 1000' AGL and where I can do anything not already done as I still have time which might be glideslope intercept or mid-field downwind or something like that. I do a second GUMPS on short final at 500' AGL. If the gear is not already down and locked on the second GUMPS then I would do a go-around.
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I do a last one just before the threshold. Takes a couple of seconds, but is the last chance to not become one who has.
 
Thanks everyone for the helpful input! I ended up getting a MS Word version of the checklist my flight school uses, increasing the font, printing and laminating my own personal copy.

On a completely separate note, I keep asking my CFI if using a simulator would be helpful and that answer has been consistently No, (at this stage), however, I'm struggling to see how it wouldn't. Any insight on using one, and if recommended, where would I even start? Many thanks in advance!
 
It would depend on the simulator. The military uses simulators from the beginning, but they are not your PC/Xbox/PSx simulator.

I find the simulator useful for avionics (how to run the GPS) and for instrument flying. But not so much for basic VFR flying
 
LAWYER2 said:
I keep asking my CFI if using a simulator would be helpful and that answer has been consistently No, (at this stage), however, I'm struggling to see how it wouldn't.
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Hi.
What stage are you in, hrs?
The PC simulators can be of help with learning Navigation, Instrument interpretation / use, scanning when you get to IFR, Communication if an external source is used, Terrain familiarization if the proper Scenery is installed..
The problem is that you if use the sim as a game, not take it seriously, you can develop may bad habits that need to be unlearned. They include the Landing, Take off , stall / slow flight phases, where most/ all the PC sims are not behaving properly. I cannot think of a single one, to date, that does that well and that can cause problems in the long run the learning law of Primacy can be a difficult to shake.
I would listen to your CFI at some point he / she may say it's OK.
 
LAWYER2 said:
On a completely separate note, I keep asking my CFI if using a simulator would be helpful and that answer has been consistently No, (at this stage), however, I'm struggling to see how it wouldn't. Any insight on using one, and if recommended, where would I even start
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Some sims can subtly lead to bad habits for a student. I spent a lot of time being told to look outside. And let's just say that stalls feel odd in a sim. Also, unless you're using good scenery you'll have some pilotage issues.
If you have a flight sim, fly over KRAL. Chances are it shows a river and something almost like a lake next to it. IRL, you don't see that as it is almost always dry and looks more like trees. Same with various dry rivers all over the SW.
 
455 Bravo Uniform said:
Make your own from the original checklist. Font size of your choosing. Eliminate silly stuff like “start engine”. Have your CFI review it.
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Agreed 100%. Lots of checklists I see are overdone. Take the items from the POH at a minimum, and add any unique items for your airplane (extra equipment, safety stuff, etc). And if you're like me and hate fiddling with microsoft Word or Excel formatting to make a nice checklist, you can try out FlightChecklists dot com (made by me) which removes almost all of the formatting headache of making checklists, and looks really nice too. Exports to PDF as well if you want it on your iPad.
 
One issue with a sim is, if you cannot self analyze and correct your mistakes, you will not learn from it. Sims are used extensively in military flight training, but in the beginning, they are dual only for instructor analysis of your flying and correction of your mistakes.
 
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