While driving to the airport, Rush uses his cell phone to call flight service to obtain the winds aloft and notams and confirm the morning newspaper's clear weather forecast. The town that's hosting his meeting is only 80 miles away, so he may decide not to file a VFR flight plan or do extensive flight planning because he can follow the highway and use flight following for traffic advisories and as a communications link in the event a problem occurs while he's en route.
While hurrying across the ramp to the airplane, he notes the surface wind, the active runway, and any activity in the vicinity of his tiedown space. His first action is to check the fuel and engine oil quantities. His partner may have flown the airplane, and if servicing is needed, now is the best opportunity for Rush to call for assistance in order to save time.
Rush unlocks the airplane and performs a power-off cockpit check: required paperwork on board, controls unlocked, fuel selector positioned properly, landing gear handle down, cowl flaps open, all switches off, circuit breakers in, and two working flashlights on board.
The power-on cockpit check is next: battery switch on, fuel gauge readings checked, landing gear down, and alternator low voltage lights on. He extends the flaps and turns on the exterior lights - meetings do get extended, and that could mean a night flight home. After checking the exterior lights, he turns off the lights and the battery switch and performs the preflight inspection.
His final preflight action is to move the airplane forward in order to check the tires - the bald spot is always on the bottom where you can't see it. He then stands back and gives the airplane an overall look. Once on board, Rush adjusts his seat, fastens his seat belt and shoulder harness, puts his right hand down between the seats, and starts a flow pattern that covers every control and switch as he prepares the airplane for engine start.
Before starting the engine, however, Rush reviews the written preflight and before-engine-start checklists. He knows that it is easy to make mistakes, and he protects himself by using flow patterns and confirming those actions with the written checklist. Aviation safety is based on redundancy.
After Rush yells "clear," he starts the engine, checks oil pressure, leans the mixture, turns on the anti-collision beacon - he never turns on the strobe lights until taxiing onto the active runway - turns on the radio master switch, obtains the ATIS, and calls for taxi clearance.
When on the taxiway and clear of obstructions and other aircraft, he starts the CIGARS mental checklist: Controls free, Instruments set and checked, Gas on the proper tank, and Attitude trim set. In the Runup area, he checks Seatbelts, enriches the mixture, and sets the runup rpm. Now, starting just past the magneto switch, he begins another flow pattern and checks the alternator/voltage regulator with a load increase, the master warning light annunciator, the vacuum system, and the carburetor heat. He then exercises the propeller and checks the magnetos, engine idle, and rechecks the seatbelts. Checking the magnetos at the end of the engine runup minimizes the chance of spark plug fouling.
Rush now reviews the written before-takeoff checklist, taxies up to the runway hold-short lines, and calls the tower for departure clearance. When he has been cleared onto the runway, he performs the "lights, camera, action" mental checklist - landing and strobe lights on, transponder on, time check, and engine power check after takeoff power is applied.
Rush was in a rush, but that demand did not stop him from conducting an efficient, thorough predeparture sequence. He knows that the yellow line means more than just where to taxi.
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