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Why We Pre-Flight

OLDCROWE

FRIEND
Meanwhile,...
I flew a couple of times yesterday, walked around really good the first flight and took a fast lap before each start up, and when I landed it was cold and windy so I tossed the engine cover on (from the opposite side) just in case 604 should happen to get the opportunity to go again but that was not in the cards so I put her away the hanger and pulled her out again this morning pulled the cover off and walked around and caught this on my first pass.

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Well crap, no flying on this beautiful day for 604.
 

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Good catch.

I took off from a certain island last summer to find my cowl door flapping up in front the windshield just as I crossed the water line.

Yelled in the radio for Glenn not to take off behind me as I was coming back, did a 180 at as slow speed as possible in an attempt to not rip it off the airframe and landed again. Lack of preflight can bite, in more mays than one. Another lesson.

(Would have been doubly stupid to stall it mid-turn in an attempt to get back, but I was acutely aware and kept room to unload if needed)


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A little bailing wire and duct tape will fix it right up.


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Good catch.

I took off from a certain island last summer to find my cowl door flapping up in front the windshield just as I crossed the water line.

Lack of preflight can bite, in more mays than one. Another lesson.

Ahh but you had preflighted, other wise the door would not have been opened. But you more than likely and got distracted before finishing.

Decades back a friend departed KHFD in his 182 bound for VT, left the bird plugs in. He landed at BDL and called me at home. I loaded tools and drove over to do an overheat inspection. All was good so he asked if I wanted to join him at Mt Snow for breakfast. He was still rattled and needed to check the oil once more. Guess what, sure enough he did not screw in the dipstick. We were climbing out when the oil started covering the WS. He pulled the throttle back as a reaction, I shoved the throttle back in and took the controls, had him call the tower. They had a 727 that had to abort it's departure as we turned in to land heading at them. Yup we were met for a talking to as we taxied in.
Ended up being a nice breakfast later that day though.
A few years after that he dropped his C140 into the woods in the hills of Conn, sad to loose a friend that way.
 
While in A&P school I worked for the Confederate Air Force DFW wing on the weekends. We had a Corsair pilot who would just jump in the plane and fly. The wing maintenance officer left the gear locks in place one Saturday when we were having an airshow at our base airport. The pilot arrived, jumped in the Corsair, started it and taxied it out and took off. Gear never went up and the airplane disappeared into the distance coming back quite some time later with the gear up, did his routine and landed. Seems he had to land at an outlying airport, shut down, remove the gear locks and take back off. He always did a pre-flight after that.
 
I prefer electric fence wire it is coated and doesn't make a mess... comes in LONG rolls!!


Yup, I've had a roll of the stuff for going on 30 years now hanging on the shop wall, and it's only half gone, good stuff.

Right up there with with pipe wrap tape, in my favorite list of stuff that many don't know about. Just today, I realized that since I had gotten rid of a too thick prop hub spacer, when I recently installed my Balance Master device, and as a result my usual partial taping off the cowl inlets for winter ops was too effective and I was running a bit warm. So after my next ridge top landing (I'm on the skis now:p) I removed half of it and as usual, there was no residue, unlike duct tape. It strikes the perfect balance of strength, sticking strength, while at the same time coming back off easily, I never fly without it.
 
Does your pipe wrap have a flat black fabric backing? Sounds like gaffers' tape. When taping wire to the floor for concert audio, you need to rip and run when its' over, no residue allowed.
 
No, all vinyl, used by well drillers to secure wires to well drop pipe, only available at commercial plumbing supply houses. Real good UV resistance also, oddly enough.
 
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