Some pilots will say, "An airplane's an airplane. Gimme the numbers," and the checkout can boil down to a "Hop in, let's do three touch and goes, and you're good to go." Occasionally that may suffice, if we're talking about transitioning from something like a Piper Cherokee 160 to a Cherokee 180. If, however, you're going from the Cherokee 160 to a Cessna 172, the horsepower is the same but the airplanes definitely aren't. You'll need a little preflight briefing on the different flight characteristics, and you'll need a lot of preflight briefing on everything from how the flaps work to how to check the fuel. There's a lot more to checking out in a new airplane than simply flying it. Don't think that stepping down from something more sophisticated to something simple (say, from an airliner to a Piper Cub) is going to be as easy as it looks. Some of the most dangerous "gotchas" are also the simplest.
So, here is a nonspecific, one-size-fits-all transition procedure that can be applied to any airplane at any time. In some cases, there will be steps that don't apply, such as having to consider flaps during a Piper Cub checkout. Or there may be items peculiar to a given type that don't apply to any of the others. If, however, the airplane is so unusual that it is far off in the fringes (a Fieseler Storch or a Harrier) you're going to get more than a kick-the-tires-light-the-fires checkout anyway.
Read the book
There's a reason the feds require that the pilot's operating handbook (POH) be in the airplane at all times: It's the instruction book that was designed to answer every question you may have about the airplane. From fuel system to V-speeds, the information should be in there. Modern POHs go to extreme detail to make sure that the pilot who reads it knows what makes this airplane tick.
POHs for more mainstream older airplanes (early 1950s Cessnas, Pipers, etc.) may look a little thin, but they have all the key information. The POHs for some of the less-popular airplanes of the era (Rearwins, Porterfields, etc.) are harder to find than the airplanes are, and a few of them give only the most basic information about the airplane. If you're planning to check out in an older airplane, make sure that the POH matches the airplane you're flying. This is really important in the fuel system descriptions. It's not unusual to find that an airplane has been modified since the POH came out, and the plumbing is different. Ditto the propeller. Most POHs don't provide the diameter and pitch of the prop blades on the test airplane used to generate the data. If you have a pure cruise prop, you can count on your takeoff and climb performance being less than those in the POH. With a climb prop, the POH cruise numbers are going to be way off.
Pay particular attention to how the different systems operate. How many notches of flaps are there, and what are the speed limitations for each? If it's a retractable-gear aircraft, study the emergency extension system so that you'll know more about it when you get in the airplane. Same thing for the electrical system: Get to know the breaker system. A few POHs give a schematic of not only the fuel system but also the electric system. This is good information to have should something stop working in the air.
Try to memorize not only the important airspeed numbers, but engine parameters as well. These should be marked on the gauges, but here again, the airplane might not match the POH.
Preflight inspection
With any luck, the POH will have a preflight inspection checklist. Most of the time, however, that checklist doesn't take into account factors that have entered into the collective knowledge about the airplane since it went into service. The longer an airplane type is in service, the more information surfaces about what breaks and what needs to be inspected more often. These may be cracks that started showing up in trim tab hinges, or fuel caps that became notorious for letting water in. After a few years everyone who operates those kinds of airplanes begins adding new things to the preflight.
Unfortunately, such items are seldom included in a written checklist and are likely to be missed by someone depending on the POH. This is a major reason why you should have someone knowledgeable in the model looking over your shoulder as you perform your first preflight of a new airplane - someone who can show you things to be checked that the POH list doesn't include.
Cockpit familiarization
Don't just hop in the airplane and start taxiing. There's always that period of "Where is everything?" that affects every pilot when saddling up a new airplane. The less flight time you have or the more radical the change of airplane types the longer it takes you to find the airspeed, cowl flaps, mixture, trim, fuel valves, etc.
Rather than try to sort out a cockpit on the roll, strap in before the check pilot shows up and spend 10 minutes or so just sitting there and looking around. Unless it's a really unusual airplane, all of the normal stuff will be there; you just have to find it. The longer you sit there, the more familiar you'll become with the placement of everything. Pay particular attention to the fuel valve. Actually move it and change tanks to feel if the detents are noticeable or if you have to fish around to make sure the fuel is flowing. At the same time look for emergency items like the fuel shutoff and circuit breakers, so you'll be able to find what you're looking for should your brain be overloaded by an emergency.
Another advantage to "cockpit sitting" is that the view over the nose will imprint itself on your brain. This is important because that's the picture you want to duplicate when you come back to land. When checking out in a taildragger, learning the view over - or around - the nose is hyper-important because the relationship of the nose to the horizon is sometimes drastically different from one airplane to another.
Takeoff
When studying the POH pay particular attention to what it says about flaps on takeoff. A few require specific flap settings. These are usually newer airplanes (Socata Trinidad, Piper Warrior). Also, most airplanes have a favored trim position for takeoff. Although this should be part of the pretakeoff checklist, make sure that's where it's set so you aren't fighting unbalanced pressures.
Often the general approach to takeoff in a new airplane is to simply let it get really fast and yank it off. This is crude in the extreme! The check pilot can give you pointers, but one method that works for all airplanes is to simply get the nosewheel (or tailwheel) off a little early, hold a slightly positive angle of attack, increasing or decreasing the back pressure as needed to hold that nose attitude. If you hold the angle as you accelerate, at some point the airplane will effortlessly take off and establish a climb with little or no help from you.
You'll already have a best-rate-of-climb speed from the POH. Without trimming, pitch to that speed and then slowly trim the pressure out. Don't try trimming until you're stable in the climb, and don't get on the trim too aggressively because this is the first time you'll be moving the trim and you don't know how sensitive it is. No reason to give yourself (and your check pilot) a little surprise by pitching the nose too hard with trim. And don't kid yourself - there are some airplanes with super-fast, powerful trim systems that can catch you off guard.
As soon as the airplane is stable in the climb, study the nose attitude's relationship to the horizon. Hold the attitude, cross-check the speed, adjust the attitude, cross-check the speed, and then freeze the attitude. On some airplanes it's easy to control the speed with the attitude, with others, it takes more cross-checking.
When you nose over into level flight, pay particular attention to the pitch attitude in relation to the horizon while cross-checking the altimeter. Put the nose down and let the aircraft accelerate before setting cruise power. Set the power and then keep cross-checking the nose attitude with the altimeter. It's sometimes surprising how different the nose attitude will look on different airplanes. In reality, they all fly at pretty close to the same angle of attack, but the pilot's seating position in relation to the nose can be quite a bit different, which greatly alters the way it looks.
There are a number of simple maneuvers with an airplane that will tell you a lot about it in a few minutes. They are:
- Coordinated rolls on a point. Do a few of the so-called (and erroneously named) Dutch-roll coordination exercises during which you keep the nose on a point on the horizon while gently rocking the wings back and forth from a 30-degree bank one way to the other way. It'll show you how much rudder is needed to prevent slipping or skidding induced by aileron drag.
- 360-degree turns. Bank it around in 45-degree-bank turns left and right and see how much airspeed bleeds off, how high you have to keep the nose, and how much power is required to maintain altitude. You should stay within 50 feet of your altitude while doing this.
- Slow flight. At stall speed plus no more than seven to 10 kt, make turns right and left, then climb and descend to get a feeling for how speed-stable the airplane is and how much you have to lead both altitude and speed changes.
- Stalls. Get plenty of altitude and do the entire series�don�t recover the second it burbles. Let the aircraft actually stall, while paying particular attention to how it reacts before it stalls. Hold it in the stall for a couple of seconds, and then gradually release the back pressure without adding power. See if it starts flying, then add power to see the effect power has on the recovery. Do that once or twice, then use normal procedures for the rest of the series: Release pressure as soon as it breaks (or mushes with the elevator full aft) and add full power.
- Slips. The POH should tell you whether there are restrictions against slipping with the flaps down. (For more on slips, see "Slippery Slope," January AOPA Flight Training.) Generally, if there is a restriction, it will only apply to the use of full flaps. Regardless, when you're finished with the stall series and still slow, set up a glide and try slipping right and left with varying amounts of flaps deployed. Pay attention to both the nose attitude and the airspeed during the slip. See if it has a tendency to pitch up or down, and whether you have to work to keep it from going either slow or fast. Different airplanes react differently and some show contradictory behavior in a slip, depending on whether the flaps are up or down.
While cruising, use the power settings listed in the POH and see how close they come to producing the airspeed predicted by the POH. In general, POHs are optimistic.
Landings
Don't be satisfied with making three landings that were "pretty good." Do landings with and without flaps. Make one or two with slips. Try a couple of short-field approaches and, if you don't have a crosswind, go find one. In fact, it's a pretty good idea to visit a couple of unfamiliar airports anyway, just to get used to landing a strange airplane on a strange runway.
Pick a spot on the runway in the first 500 feet or so and try to hit that spot every time. Don't be satisfied with good landings that aren't where they should be on the runway. Part of learning a new airplane is becoming accustomed to how it glides - or doesn't glide.
At least some of your landings should be completely power-off. Not only will this establish the airplane's gliding behavior, but it also will help you to develop a set of references as to where the airplane will wind up power-off. This way, if you experience an engine failure, you won't be struggling to guess where the airplane will land. A few power-off landings tell you much more about the airplane than a dozen power-on landings will.
During the landings, get a feel for how quickly the airplane loses speed as you start bringing the nose up in the flare. Notice the difference in speed reduction between no flaps, partial flaps, and full flaps. In some airplanes, the change is drastic and hard to miss.
Emphasize crosswind landings during your checkout. This is critical. Some airplanes give the impression that the wind will beat you to death, when in truth the airplane can do it fine if you'll just be firm with the controls. Others give you plenty of control in the air, but when you're decelerating in ground effect, you're hard pressed to defeat even the most modest crosswind.
Flying a new airplane is pure fun, but it's serious fun. You want to know its bad points and its good points in as many situations as possible. If this takes a couple of flights to accomplish, so be it. Time and money spent on a solid checkout is a worthwhile investment.
Budd Davisson is an aviation writer/photographer and magazine editor who has written approximately 2,200 articles and has flown more than 300 different types of aircraft. A CFI for 36 years, he teaches about 30 hours a month in his Pitts S-2A Special. Visit his Web site.
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