ou are ready to go flying, and the anticipation only grows as you arrive at the airport. The airplane awaits you on the ramp, and the weather is perfect for flying. You are tempted to check only a few items on the plane before takeoff. You have places to go! Perhaps the flight before yours was a discovery flight. If the experienced CFI already preflighted before his flight, then the plane must be fine. After all, you are only going up for pattern work to maintain currency.

As tempting as it may be to skip some steps in the preflight, you should never take shortcuts in a preflight. The preflight is no place for complacency. Always be diligent about doing a thorough preflight every time you take to the skies. Being proactive and diligent during the preflight inspection gives you the chance to find identify concerns before you realize you should not have taken off in the first place.

A thorough preflight allows you the time to give your airplane a detailed inspection. Follow these pointers to prevent you from cutting corners in this important part of your flight.

Heed the Checklist

Back in your early days of training, you learned that each airplane comes with a checklist. That checklist is a prescriptive set of steps by which you should preflight the plane, among other things. Items do not appear on the checklist by happenstance. The checklist gives a certain order in which you should inspect different items as you conduct your walkaround. By closely following the checklist, you find yourself developing a routine to inspect the various parts of the airplane.

When you are preparing for a road trip, you likely make sure your car’s tires have air, the fuel tank has gas, the engine has oil, and everything is in good working order. To omit any of these steps could present problems quite literally down the road.

Likewise, you should check that items such as flight controls (ailerons, rudder, and elevator), fuel, oil, tires, brakes, engine, and the propeller are in good condition. Ensuring that each of these areas is working properly and is free of problems assures you that you will have a safe flight.

Use Your Non-Checklist Checklist

If you have been flying for some time, you have probably been jostled about in the airplane by turbulence, crosswinds, or other factors. Imagine what all those bumps and vibrations are doing to your airplane.

Screws, rivets, and inspection panels can really take a beating in flight. For that reason, you should thoroughly inspect them during preflight, even though they do not appear on the checklist. Losing an inspection panel would not lead to any sort of catastrophe, but nobody wants to land and realize they need a new panel because the original one is gone for good. Taking the time to remedy loose screws before your flight will save you time and headache in the future.

If you own your airplane or rent the same one frequently, you come to notice its nuances. You will begin recognizing issues before they arise, allowing you to be proactive in resolving these issues early.

Check Your Work

A loud jet took off during your preflight. You have an inquisitive passenger who asked about each item you were inspecting. These distractions provide an opportunity to have missed something obvious during your preflight, like the fuel strainer you left on the ground when you set it down to check out something else on the plane.

But what if the fuel strainer was not the only thing you overlooked? What if you left the pitot cover on or heard a loud thump as you ran over the chocks you forgot to remove? These things are not major and may result in a little bit of embarrassment, but they highlight why you should take a step back and make sure you did not miss anything.

I always like to go through the checklist line by line to be sure I did not miss an item by accident. Once I am satisfied, I look at all the parts of the plane. I like to walk in front of the airplane and give it one last look before climbing inside. It gives me the opportunity to see if any chocks or tie downs remain in place, to verify that nose plugs are removed, and to make sure all doors are closed.

Take Your Time

You have looked forward all day to this flight, and you cannot wait to get in the air. Perhaps you are rushing to avoid incoming weather. Maybe you feel pressured to leave as soon as possible to please your passengers or to arrive at an event on time. Rushing through the preflight means you are certain to miss important items that you need to check. Being airborne and wondering if you have the correct amount of oil is not worth the few extra seconds it takes to remove the dipstick and verify you have enough oil for your flight.

A deliberate and intentional preflight allows you the time to mentally focus on the flight ahead while ensuring your airplane is ready for the upcoming flight. By doing a diligent preflight you have set yourself up for success for your upcoming flight.

Now, Do It Again

Now that you feel comfortable with the condition of your airplane, you depart to your first intended fuel stop. Before departing this first fuel stop, you need to complete another thorough preflight. You will focus on four key areas during this preflight: oil, fuel, overall condition, and tie-downs. Do you still have enough oil for your next flight? Is the fuel you received the correct type and is not contaminated? Was the overall condition (exterior of the plane) affected during the previous flight? Are the tie-downs detached from the airplane?

You should never cut corners in a preflight. By being thorough, you take a big step toward maintaining safe operations with your airplane. While you cannot anticipate every little thing that could happen in flight, you can reduce the risks by proactively checking areas that are within your control. This peace of mind allows you to focus your energy and attention on other important tasks during the flight. A little extra time spent before the flight means a more enjoyable flight experience.

As a child, Zac Rogers grew up around airplanes. Both of his parents were recreational pilots; his dad even built his own plane when he was young. After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington with a finance degree, Zac completed his private pilot certificate. However, the hobby of flying wasn’t enough for him. Learn more about Zac and the rest of the Elon Aviation staff at www.elonaviation.com.