Lisa Turner, EAA Lifetime 509911
This piece originally ran in Lisa’s Airworthy column in the March 2025 issue of EAA Sport Aviation magazine.
Steve Krog’s “Common Sense” commentary in the December 2024 issue of EAA Sport Aviation made me pause to consider how the same principles apply throughout the aviation experience — from flying, to maintenance, to aircraft airworthiness. If we can apply the same awareness and knowledge across the spectrum, we’ll have the best experience possible.
Common sense is more about thinking of consequences than simply following the recommended rules. The buttress for the rules is a concern for others who are enjoying the same fun space we are. When you look at instances where pilots do stupid things, like starting an aircraft without determining what’s going to happen to the people and equipment around them, it may be that they were not taught that this was a part of flying etiquette.
Instead of thinking, “How am I going to remember all these things?” shift to awareness-based action. Before taking action, think about how what you’re about to do will affect other people, other equipment, the airplane, and you. Here’s how this can work.
Inspections
We know that thorough inspections — annual/condition, and preflight — are big contributors to safer flying and a healthier airplane. Common sense actions include:
- Don’t try to save time on your yearly inspection. What I do is figure the time it will take, and then double that. Will it actually take twice as long? No, but when I finish it before the end of the doubled time, I’m happy. If you do it the other way around — try to do the inspection in half the time — gremlins will find a way in, and you’ll end up unhappy.
- No distractions. As much as we believe we can do more than one thing at a time, aircraft inspection and maintenance is not the time to multitask. Once you have the time carved out, arrange for peace and quiet. Have the parts and tools ready to go.
- Not skipping preflights. Are all preflights absolutely necessary? Probably not. How do you know? I’ve seen pilots pull up to the FBO to pick up something and then jump back in the airplane and taxi off. This is going to be based on the comfort level you have with your airplane. I’d say that overinspecting wins over underinspecting, but each situation is different. If you fly somewhere for lunch and the aircraft is not in sight, I would not skip a checklist preflight before you go home. Common sense dictates that for the small amount of time going through your checklist, there’s a large increase in the safety umbrella.
- Postflight inspections. Are postflight inspections necessary? No. Are they common sense? Yes. I’m not talking about a complete inspection like your preflight. I’m talking about a few minutes of detailed and distraction-free time looking at things before you put everything away.
Planning and Checklists
As much as this sounds like we’re overdoing it, I really don’t think you can have a checklist that is too detailed. Common sense is using it; intelligence is making it as applicable and as customized to your specific airplane as possible.
- Have a checklist for putting your aircraft into hibernation if you don’t fly in the winter. These are detailed and often time-consuming procedures, depending on your airplane. I’ve seen pilots put the airplane in a corner, cover it with a blanket, and then reappear four months later. Common sense will tell you that the airplane will fare better and last longer if you put it into storage in a methodical way, following manufacturer recommendations.
- Have a checklist for pulling your aircraft out of hibernation. This is simply the reverse of putting the airplane into storage. Common sense dictates the same application of thoroughness. You might assume that there’s no question about these procedures, but I’ve seen pilots jump into the airplane after four months in the hangar, hoping it will start. If it does start, they go flying without a second thought.
- Have a checklist for special checks when you get your airplane back from repairs, back from a shop doing the annual, and back from any other servicing that might have changed something. This is a typical time for problems because we are not perfect humans. Be extra vigilant when putting your airplane back into service after storage, after maintenance, and after repairs.
Directions and Instructions
Some of us love directions, and some of us hate directions. Do you look forward to reading the instructions for products you purchased? Or do you throw them in the “read later” drawer? Some of us might actually throw them out. Common sense tells us that we should at least organize (keep) all product information that comes with our airplane and the products in it.
There’s an argument that says we can throw the instructions out as long as we can pull them up on the internet. This may make some sense, especially in today’s word, but I’d rather have the information readily available in a notebook or folder. In the moment that you need the information, the internet will be out and you will have forgotten where to find it.
Rough Handling
Have you ever been a passenger in a car where the driver thought the accelerator was either on or off? The first time this happened to me, I spoke up and suggested that there was a problem in the fuel system that needed to be fixed. The next day, the driver’s daughter was driving, and the car was smooth. I realized it wasn’t the car.
In driving, this technique is simply annoying and wastes gas. But in flying, treating the throttle (or the brakes) as on or off puts stress on the components, and they will wear out faster. Smooth operation is common sense. Your passengers will be happier, too.
Learning
I’ve mentioned in previous columns that you “don’t know what you don’t know.” We laugh every time we hear it because it’s so simple. But the problem is that when we don’t know something, we tend to make things up that fit our model of what should be happening. If we have an engine-out on takeoff, we know that turning around to land on the runway we just took off from is a bad idea. But we may dismiss the advice because “this is a different airplane,” or, “I know I can make this work,” or, “I really don’t want to land in that intersection ahead of me.”
Learning as much as you can ahead of time and asking questions about consequences will help you through these tough spots. Use awareness and logical thinking along with that knowledge. If we’re not IFR-rated and we fly into a fog, we know that our senses can fool us. Even if we don’t have the IFR knowledge base in our brain, we do know that we should be looking at our instruments and not paying attention to that overwhelming feeling we’re climbing or descending.
I hear you asking, “But if I don’t know something, how can I use common sense?” Of course, you can’t do something you don’t know. We’re all going to have those moments where we realize what our correct action should have been and want to kick ourselves. This is the normal human condition. It happens to all of us. The key is to slow down and use the knowledge we do have to make the best decisions we can in the moment.
Run through the internal action checklist questions. What will the consequences be to those around me, to the airplane, and to me? This level of situational awareness will make you a respected pilot with a safer airplane.
Lisa Turner, EAA Lifetime 509911/Vintage 724296, is a retired avionics manufacturing engineer, an EAA technical counselor/flight advisor, and A&P mechanic. Lisa has authored six books. Dream Take Flight details her Pulsar building and flying adventures. For the Love of an Airplane is the biography of Jerry Stadtmiller, a man who restored more than 100 antique aircraft to flying condition. Learn more at DreamTakeFlight.com. Write Lisa at Lisa@DreamTakeFlight.com.