As the lessons progress my instructor has passed over the responsibilities of pre-flighting the aircraft before departure to me. This basically means checking the aeroplane over the make sure its airworthy and safe to fly-as there is no where to pull over once your in the sky if there is a problem. The walk around or 'external inspection' involves checking fuel(quality and amount) and oil, the airframe structure, the propeller area, free moving control surfaces (flaps,ailerons,elevators,rudder) etc to name but a few. These checks need to be done thoroughly but quickly-in the space of 10 minutes...but a fledgling student pilot can be excused to take rather a little longer!
A Cessna 172SP Skyhawk at rest after a good day's flying
The above picture illustrates the type of aircraft i'm learning to fly-a Cessna 172SP Skyhawk. Its brand spanking new and handles very well in the air- a very stable aircraft. Due to my lack of experience I'm in no position to say which aircraft are good to fly and which aren't, but I'm happy and comfortable with it- very forgiving towards the novice pilot!
ps... I've tried not to go too technical in my blog but if there are any words which bamboozle any readers then please dont hesitate to leave a question in comments.
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