Removing Items from Checklist

[vdehart]

I've come to notice that many of the items on the checklists I'm using are unnecessary and add to the clutter. I've started to go through and *remove* items that I don't find necessary for the safety of the flight. Things like "breaks - held", "ATIS - listen" add unnecessary clutter to a list that in my eyes should cover critical items of safety and nothing more. I believe that having a checklist with too many items is actually a deterrent to use and forces the pilot to spend too much time with his/her eyes in the cockpit.

I always here pilots saying "Oh, I'll add that to the checklist" but never anything about removing items. What are your general thoughts on this?

 

[yetti]

your p1ane wi11 fa11 out of the sky if you remove things from the check1ist

 

[vdehart]

Good thing it's not a plane

 

[frfly172]

Did you create the original check list?

 

[vdehart]

Did you create the original check list?

I did actually. Perhaps it's a matter of growing with the checklist then?

 

[airdale]

your p1ane wi11 fa11 out of the sky if you remove things from the check1ist

Actually not. I think many, even most, of us use customized checklists. Feel free to thoughtfully remove what you see as clutter. Much of it was probably added at the factory for CYA purposes. I see this especially in recent Cessna checklists.

The reason you hear "add to the checklist" is that there is even more stuff (IMO) that is left out. DG checks, for example, seem to be a popular omission.

 

[midlifeflyer]

The key to a good checklist comes down to two things. First, it covers the things that are important - that you might forget and /or are "killer" items. Second, that it is a checklist that is usable and more likely to be actually used by YOU. I've been modifying and decluttering my checklist for more than two decades and it has been a continuous process.

 

[vdehart]

that you might forget and /or are "killer" items.

Which is why as a flight instructor with sometimes eight back to back flights in a day, this is the only item highlighted in red anywhere on the list:

 

[jordane93]

That's why I don't like a lot of factory made checklists because some of their stuff is unnecessary

 

[luvflyin]

That's why I don't like a lot of factory made checklists because some of their stuff is unnecessary

Some of the Aftermarket ones are worse.

 

[Kritchlow]

I am a huge fan of writing your own normal checklist (leave abnormal / emergency as per manufacturer). Just be careful and meticulous when writing, then beta test and modify. Repeat. You will soon have a great checklist.
Also do the same with flows.

 

[midlifeflyer]

Some of the Aftermarket ones are worse.

Whether or not liability concerns are a factor, marketability is, and they are shooting for a lowest common denominator. True customization and consolidation makes sense for the customizer but might not for others.

I have an item in my checklist that simply says, Lights & Switches...PRN as a prompt to turn lights, avionics and some other items on as needed. I have one or two specifics for my killer items (like pitot heat for the clouds) but most are covered by the general prompt

A friend and I were flying a rental one day and the FBO checklist was missing. My friend, an experienced pilot, asked to use mine but, being used to a checklist that mentioned each system in turn, my checklist item was meaningless to him.

 

[JC150]

I created my own flows for my plane, and then created a small checklist to back it up for verification purposes.

 

[Everskyward]

I did actually. Perhaps it's a matter of growing with the checklist then?

Probably. If you made the original checklist yourself there is no problem at all with removing items.

Even with a manufacturer's checklist you can eliminate items. Our checklist from Cessna has a 7 step process under "engine start" which we eliminated. It reads more like a bunch of instructions than a checklist. The FAA has accepted this checklist since we are on a 135 certificate so they don't think there is any problem with it either.

 

[unsafervguy]

the problem with most checklists that people use them as do lists, not check lists. the proper way is to develop a flow then the checklist is just that, a list to check that things have been done.

bob burns

 

[MikeTuggle]

Which is why as a flight instructor with sometimes eight back to back flights in a day, this is the only item highlighted in red anywhere on the list:

My original "instruction" C172 back in the 80's was retired across a pasture and into the trees a few years ago due to fuel exhaustion. The instructor had the student pilot check the fuel and after that "last landing" he asked the student what the fuel situation was. "4.5 on the left and 3.0 on the right," he said, "Wasn't that enough?"

That was actually in the FAA report. Sad............ It was a nice plane.