CFI Forums

Pilots have a love hate relationship with checklists. They are vital to doing the job. We fly these complex aircraft every day. And it truly is a life or death situation. Something as simple as the wrong fuel or a forgotten bolt can bring down an aircraft full of people. It's important to instill in our students the vital importance of checklists.

I was working temporarily for a helicopter outfit doing rides. The owners/pilot's family made up the majority of the staff. None of the family were pilots or had any aviation background. Good group of guys though and I enjoyed my time with them but they definitely needed some ground crew training.

We were doing rides at a fair one evening, the beer was cheap and people were getting pretty sauced as the night wore on.

I recently flew with an instructor who was clearly afraid of the aircraft. The instructor had over 3000 hours but apparently it was all in the pattern.