Ignition on, choke out. Start.
MH
Shows a significant lack of knowledge of VW engines!
In my experience it is.
Choke out, ignition on. Swing for five minutes.
Choke in, increasing amounts of throttle, ignition on. Swing for another five minutes.
Ignition off, blow out. Swear. Have a cup of tea.
Set throttle, ignition on, aeroplane may then fire first compression scaring the crap out of you, then it’ll stop again!
Repeat above until taking up gliding as an alternative hobby!
More seriously, as I do power checks with the tail tied down and on chocks before taxying, my very basic pre-take off and pre-landing checks are:
TAKEOFF
T – Throttle friction nut tight
M – Magnetos checked, on both
P – Petrol on and sufficient
C – Carb heat checked,back to cold
A – Airframe, harness, OK
R – Runway, approach and windsock
B – Brakes off (as if!)
I – Instruments set, checked
C – Controls full and free (checked into wind)
E – Engine,full revs, T&Ps at start of takeoff
APPROACH
B – Brakes off (as if!)
U – Undercarriage down and welded
(M – Mixture not controllable with VW)
P – Petrol on, sufficient
C – Carb Heat, hot to 200 feet
A – Airframe, harness OK
R – Runway, approach and windsock
This is an attempt to stay close to a standard checklist, but in the case of a VW-powered Luton, items like trim, flaps and mixture aren’t an issue.
Obviously with a swish sophisticated beast like a Taylor, you might need to add things like flaps and trim to your checklists.
Another alternative is to start with something like a Cessna checklist and remove the items which aren’t fitted to your aeroplane!
As a low-hours pilot though – would myself appreciate any feedback from others with more experience!!
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