By the book

Whether it’s a short hop to a pancake breakfast, across the country to an interesting destination, exploring some new and distant airport, or perhaps something more complex like a formation flight or big flyover, accomplishing a mission adds the perfect exclamation point to successfully exercising our pilot privileges.

No matter the mission you are about to undertake, planning is key. Is the airplane ready? What’s the weather? Are there any temporary flight restrictions? Any passengers needing special attention (e.g., first timers)? Any special equipment required for overwater or mountain flying? What are the qualifications and proficiency levels for your formation wingmen? Any waivers or exemptions needed from the FAA before you tackle this mission? There are so many details to consider, but the level of anticipation is high, and you’re about to fly with an actual purpose.

The nexus between mission accomplishment and safety exists in every flight we take. Execute the mission successfully, and you live to fly another day. Fail to execute the mission properly, and we may be reading about another pilot who lost their life. This nexus was on full display as I watched my wife perform her first solo flight in early July.

After about 25 hours of dual instruction, she was ready for the big day. As soon as her instructor exited the aircraft, the pace of aircraft movement on the ground seemed to slow. She delayed before releasing brakes to complete the ForeFlight startup and taxi checklist on her iPad. She methodically stopped the aircraft at the hold short and dedicated an extra minute or two to the takeoff checklist before she crossed the hold short line. After clearing the runway on each of her three trips around the pattern, she dutifully stopped the aircraft, ensuring all parts of the aircraft were clear of the hold short markings, and completed the “after landing” checklist.

As I watched from the ramp, I wondered if this disciplined use of checklists was a bit of overkill. Most of us have memorized the action steps of the normal procedures checklist for every phase of flight—that comes naturally with hundreds or thousands of hours of experience. Most of us have committed to muscle memory the basic steps of setting carb heat, flaps, power, and mixture, for example, at the appropriate time on downwind. But her instructor insisted on this disciplined approach to completing every checklist item at the required time, and the ForeFlight app provided an easy-to-use method to ensure each step was checked off. The result was a successful first solo experience, with an elated student pilot exiting an airworthy aircraft.

Would this mission have been successfully completed without the disciplined use of so many checklists? Probably. But by taking her time and diligently following the checklist, she reduced the chances of slip-ups and could dedicate her focus to her milestone flight. Does strict use of checklists guarantee successful mission accomplishment? Definitely not, but it helps. It began to bother me how differently I approach the use of checklists when I fly. Granted it was her first solo flight and I have more than 5,000 hours in several aircraft types accumulated over the past 45 years, but the first time I actually refer to the laminated checklist these days is right before I cross the hold short on every flight. I review every step to ensure I’ve completed it—and on occasion I find a step I overlooked—but that’s it. As a young Embry-Riddle flight student, use of checklists was driven into our cockpit discipline on every training flight, so it became second nature. That was a long time ago. Have I lost my disciplined edge in the cockpit? Am I getting a bit too relaxed?

As I reflected on what I had observed earlier that day, I realized that her use of checklists—and more importantly her instructor’s insistence for such use—were perfectly suited to her as a student pilot. She didn’t miss a single step, had checked everything that needed checking, and successfully controlled the aircraft for three uneventful trips around the pattern. The result was a bit slower pace on the ground and in the air, but that’s probably a good thing in this early phase of training. Good on her for using the checklists that day. I am confident she will continue to use the checklists and that their use will become more fluid and less interruptive to movement on the ground.

Funny thing was, as I was about to taxi out on my flight the next day, I pulled out the checklist and started reviewing everything. Watching my wife complete her first solo the day prior had the unintended effect of changing my own habit pattern—probably for the better!

Mike Ginter spent 27 years in the U.S. Navy, retiring with the rank of captain. [email protected]