MAG checks

[Guest Maj Millard]

It's a while back now, but I'm sure I recieved a "cleared for immediate departure" from the tower. I would have also been fine if I had replied " not ready for immediate at this time..holding clear of runway". However by being ready when called upon to go, I gained big brownie points from the examiner !... Truth is my instructor had taught me that you do not take the hold point unless you are ready to fly...period..he was a good instructor even if he did look like Tom Cruise!.................................................................Maj...

 

 

[facthunter]

Sounds like the answer to a maiden's prayer. Nev

 

 

[turboplanner]

So, poor old Shafs.

 

He's blind

 

He's deaf

 

He was at a WW2 bomber field and the pilot and instructor were incapable holding altitude until clear of the runway end

 

AND he didn't see the 15 aircraft in the circuit all waiting their turn.

 

So he's the villain and the student and instructor get off scott free????????

 

 

[motzartmerv]

Howd shaffs get a medical??.....

 

 

[turboplanner]

He hadn't told any testosterone laden jocks about what he saw at that stage.

 

 

[motzartmerv]

Not sure what your getting at Tubz??( I get hit in the head alot)

 

 

[turboplanner]

He's been hit by every exception to the rule that anyone could think of, so the basic safety message has been muddied.

 

 

[motzartmerv]

The full length backtrak thing??..or am I still lost?

 

 

[Tomo]

Do Pilots in this forum do mag checks at all there take off points or just at there Home field.The reason for asking is I was at Airfield today and watched a RAA aircraft arrive Pilot got had a chat with a few people and the hung around for a while then left did no run ups and i also didn't see a controls full and free and there was a RAA instructor with him.

Full and free every time, run-ups depending on aircraft, and the situation. If you need to warm up I'd do a run-up mag check.

 

I do not do a runup everytime I tow a glider up. Mags on both, mixture rich, full and free everytime time though.

 

A lot of commercial pilots do run-ups and checks on the move, some don't like you doing it, but everyone is different. I will generally always do run-ups on the move at a gravel airfield.

 

 

[Louis Moore]

Full and free every time, run-ups depending on aircraft, and the situation. If you need to warm up I'd do a run-up mag check.I do not do a runup everytime I tow a glider up. Mags on both, mixture rich, full and free everytime time though.

A lot of commercial pilots do run-ups and checks on the move, some don't like you doing it, but everyone is different. I will generally always do run-ups on the move at a gravel airfield.

Glad you were the first one to admit it Tomo

 

I am the same though I do not do mag checks after quick turn arounds, unloading etc... don't really see the point.

 

Full and free, mixture, fuel, trim etc... are all no brainers though!!!! I also nearly always do a shut down mag check, something from my days of doing maintenance!!

 

 

[motzartmerv]

Ok.. I always seem to be the one to say it.. I've yet to read a checklist or a poh yet that says, " do all this stuff unless you don't think it's needed. I can understand not running an engine up with a glider behind you, but still a quick check of the mags at some stage would be a good idea. IMHO it's good airmanship.

 

 

[facthunter]

I agree with the shut down mag check but it would be subject to what the school want. I can't imagine why they wouldn't.

 

Once round the world with the stick is always done just before take-off. If for nothing other than to ensure the pax feet and legs are clear of the controls. On the first flight it is done to check that the controls are moving in the correct sense as well. Depending on the plane, I may do this on the preflight when I am outside it, reaching into the cockpit to actuate the controls. Sometimes I feel we might check things a little mechanically and perhaps more than necessary, but some checks are commonsense and MUST be done.

 

Don't forget Hatches (doors) and Harness fuel ( qty. and selection) mixture, trim, flaps . every one of those will get you into trouble on a quick turnaround. Carb heat check "off" when the throttle is opened every time.

 

Merv, I sometimes do them in the air ( with reduced throttle) on long trips or if the motor is a little rough Some magnetos can fail ( In the drive to the distributor) and you may have to continue on one The other one has to be isolated as it is still sparking but not going to the right cylinders and that can damage the engine. Nev

 

 

[Tomo]

but still a quick check of the mags at some stage would be a good idea. IMHO it's good airmanship.

Yep, I agree. Which is why I said depends on the aircraft and situation. As when I'm towing if I shut down for a minute, start up is on one mag, then the other, so you do actually do a check then, as you can tell if one or the other is actually working. (it sounds pretty dodge on just one!)

 

Sometimes after a quick turn around I'll just flick to each mag briefly to see what things are like (but no runup)

 

It all depends on the situation, what you're flying, and where you are also, in my opinion. I always cringe when I see pilots at gravel/dirt strips do high rev run ups stationary with dust and stones flying everywhere. Not to mention carby heat!

 

Just on another note, what are peoples opinion of doing run ups wearing sound deadening headsets? As a mechanic I can tell when something is not right with the engine, but you need to hear it to know.

 

 

[Louis Moore]

Just on another note, what are peoples opinion of doing run ups wearing sound deadening headsets? As a mechanic I can tell when something is not right with the engine, but you need to hear it to know.

You can still pick an off kilter or rough mag through ANR's if your engine is at the run up revs, as for the other noises, lots of pilots would not know what they sound like even without headsets Tomo!!

 

 

[shafs64]

Howd shaffs get a medical??.....

I paid them Off

 

 

[motzartmerv]

;)

 

 

[poteroo]

It all comes down to airmanship. I saw a bloke yesterday climbing up on the strut of a 172 doing a tank dip. Problem was the engine was running. Darwin awards???

Probably a logical explanation - like the starter motor was u/s. And, his 3 passengers, all under the age of 10, were holding onto the brakes and had been thoroughly briefed on how to switch things off if Daddy fell off the wing!

 

happy days,

 

 

[kaz3g]

Yep, I agree. Which is why I said depends on the aircraft and situation. As when I'm towing if I shut down for a minute, start up is on one mag, then the other, so you do actually do a check then, as you can tell if one or the other is actually working. (it sounds pretty dodge on just .....

Hi Tommo

 

That's fine when you are flying a Pawnee and your starter button and mag switches are separate. You start on the left mag because that has the impulse unit in it. The trick is to make sure that there is an rpm increase when you select the right switch.

 

But the trap is for those who have a keyed mags and starter arrangement. Here, you start by going across the right and left mag and both positions to "start". This action grounds the right mag and you start on the left (assuming Lycoming or Continental types). But the instant it fires, you release the pressure on the key and, being spring loaded, it flicks back to both. You don't actually get to check if the right mag is working unless you ground the left one!

 

I don't do a mag check before takeoff if I am doing quick turn arounds, but I do one including a dead cut check at idle before I switch off every time.

 

Edit: I suppose I should have added that I check controls, fuel selection, carby heat, trim, flaps set, gauges, and hatches and harness every time.

 

Kaz

 

 

[Clansman]

Full checks every time pre-flight. Very, very occasionally mag checks whilst taxiing when traffic very busy, but not for first flight, only later through the day. Have probably only done this 3 or 4 times in 11 years of flying. Always pre shut down mag checks.

 

I always get students in their early lessons to move the ailerons and elevator from outside and watch the stick move "correctly" in the cockpit then make them do the same "correct" check sitting inside before we start engines. I find it helps them pay attention to both "free" and "correct" on the checklist rather than just doing the full and free motion round the world looking at the stick instead of at the control surfaces when sitting at the runup pad.

 

Whenever I see someone takeoff from an intersection point instead of full r/w I draw everyone's attention to it I can to create a discussion at the hangar. Runway behind you is safety lost! The aerobatic guys with big powerplants may get away with it, but.....?

 

 

[Bandit12]

One thing that I remember one of my instructors questioning me on when I did a "controls full, free and correct" was "How do you know they are correct?" Since then I remind myself everytime before climbing in which directions ailerons go up or down etc....because as someone mentioned, there is always the possibility of something being hooked up backwards.

 

 

[Neil_S]

One thing that I remember one of my instructors questioning me on when I did a "controls full, free and correct" was "How do you know they are correct?" Since then I remind myself everytime before climbing in which directions ailerons go up or down etc....because as someone mentioned, there is always the possibility of something being hooked up backwards.

Yeh - I remember reading somewhere (CASA Safety mag perhaps) of a guy who received his plane (I think a Piper) back from a service, and he had a passenger sitting next to him. He moved the stick to the left and checked that the left aileron went up, but couldn't see the right aileron as the passenger was in his line of sight. What he later found out, with almost fatal consequences, was that the right aileron also went UP when the stick moved left as the mechanic had connected it up incorrectly..... Now I always check that BOTH ailerons move correctly, even if the plane hasn't been serviced.....call me paranoid if you like.....

 

Cheers

 

Neil

 

 

[turboplanner]

Or the case where the aircraft did crash on take off at a rural property, fortunately with injuries only, as a result of a cow scratching herself and bending the rudder while the visiting pilot and the family were up at the homestead. The cattle had moved away by the time they got back to the airstrip, but (a) a preflight inspection and (b) control checks gave them two chances of finding the problem, both ignored because it was only a quick stop for lunch.

 

 

[facthunter]

It's more important with gliders etc that are transported around and assembled. but it's pretty essential to do it right and murphy's law is such that the time you don't do it there will be something wrong. A good design would be such as to make it impossble to assemble it wrong BUT... ( hoping)

 

As well as correct sense, you should look for full travel, and stiffness of movement (Any binding) of the contols. As I have mentioned, this may sometimes only be possible outside the aircraft. Nev

 

 

[Louis Moore]

 

Here is the reason you ALWAYS do you control checks before every T/O Roll

 

SCARY THOUGHT, sitting in that cockpit with you controls locked

 

 

[Louis Moore]

I agree with the shut down mag check but it would be subject to what the school want. I can't imagine why they wouldn't.

Lots of people do the shut down check with to high RPM Nev, causes a backfire and so the school or hire outfits don't let you do it