Doing a DI (daily inspection) of your aircraft is one of the essential acts that gets drummed into a pilot from day one.
Not only is it a legal requirement but it builds confidence that the aircraft is airworthy.
In helicopters it is not unusual to have to stop and refuel several times over the course of a day.
There are often several people loading and unloading your aircraft while you are in the pilots seat with engines running without much control what is going on, especially if only one skid is touching terra firma.
There is a lot that can happen.
When you finally arrive back at base to re-fuel, often the push is on to get re-fueled and back in the air for a million different reasons.
As professionals we do our best to accommodate.
A walk around isn't considered a legal requirement and we just shut down and re-fueled, nothing has changed, right? It takes about 30 seconds to walk around your aircraft, do it from a distance, 5 or 6 feet is good.
Look for latches undone, beading of oil or other fluids, duffel bag buckle hanging out, fuel cap on, (yes it happens, good reason to put the cap on the pilots seat), strike tabs on tail rotor, run your hand along the under side of the tailboom, did someone put the tie-down on, ground wire still on, something look unusual? Ever taken off and just after translation heard the sound of a seatbelt beating the side of your aircraft? It isn't much louder than the sound of you maintenance guy yelling obscenities at you when he sees the dents you made in his aircraft.
There are such a multitude of items a simple walk around will reveal prior to hitting the starter button that if you don't already do one now, after a season you'll shudder to think there was a time you just strapped the helicopter to your ass and launched.
Safe Flying
Not only is it a legal requirement but it builds confidence that the aircraft is airworthy.
In helicopters it is not unusual to have to stop and refuel several times over the course of a day.
There are often several people loading and unloading your aircraft while you are in the pilots seat with engines running without much control what is going on, especially if only one skid is touching terra firma.
There is a lot that can happen.
When you finally arrive back at base to re-fuel, often the push is on to get re-fueled and back in the air for a million different reasons.
As professionals we do our best to accommodate.
A walk around isn't considered a legal requirement and we just shut down and re-fueled, nothing has changed, right? It takes about 30 seconds to walk around your aircraft, do it from a distance, 5 or 6 feet is good.
Look for latches undone, beading of oil or other fluids, duffel bag buckle hanging out, fuel cap on, (yes it happens, good reason to put the cap on the pilots seat), strike tabs on tail rotor, run your hand along the under side of the tailboom, did someone put the tie-down on, ground wire still on, something look unusual? Ever taken off and just after translation heard the sound of a seatbelt beating the side of your aircraft? It isn't much louder than the sound of you maintenance guy yelling obscenities at you when he sees the dents you made in his aircraft.
There are such a multitude of items a simple walk around will reveal prior to hitting the starter button that if you don't already do one now, after a season you'll shudder to think there was a time you just strapped the helicopter to your ass and launched.
Safe Flying
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