BEFORE YOU FLY

[Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] all primary training stations have certain things in common they all have lots of primary trainers yellow perils or yellow fighters as they're sometimes called they all have instructors they all have cheap flight instructors who've been in the game long enough that their advice should not be taken lightly and they all have two deaths some of the cadets are alert and observing and others are not the chances are you'll never have to use your parachute but when you need it you need it bad so don't bang it around keep it out of any place where you might get some oil gasoline or water on it reto will slow down the chutes open all gasoline the water will rock the silt and you'd be surprised how fast you come down on the ripped shoe if you want to be sure your chute will open always inspect the release pin before you go up be sure the pin is not bent and that thread loop has not been broken you've heard all this before it's being repeated here because with parachutes one mistake is one too many parachute jumping is the one thing in naval aviation that we don't practice because the first time has to be perfect be sure your leg straps of type there are a number of Sopranos around today who used to see based until they bailed out with loose leg straps one thing more there's just one way to carry a parachute like this not by the Reiser's not bumping against your legs but like this remember that will you so I said to this Dame I says come on babe lets you and I go down to this little place on the corner and get ourselves a drink it took some talking but pretty say look how you've got that shoe that's not the way you're supposed to carry it oh there's more than one way of caring a shoe and besides I'm not gonna have to jump okay so you're not gonna have to jump but think of the next guy that had to use that shoe you heard what the chief liked said he also said there's no smoking on the line uh he's just eager [Music] I'm saying about this [Music] and that man over to my office but maybe he's pretty lucky at that he might have gotten tangled up in the harness and been dragged into a turning propeller he might have had to shoot up in buckled and been unable to get out of it of course there would have been no trouble at all if mech had been carrying issue like this with the chest strap not buckle then the shoot itself held firmly under his left arm where the ripcord is not likely to get caught on anything and the chute is protected but Mac here has been on the base for a whole week so he knows all the answers at least that's what he thinks his friend Pete on the other hand has just arrived here from pre-flight in fact as yet Pete is entirely unfamiliar with a yellow peril so at this point his instructor gives him the word on the pre-flight inspection the first thing we're going to do today is learn how to inspect the plane but Sir do you mean the pilot has to inspect the plane I thought the next did all that well they do but the mechs are pretty busy sometimes one mechanic is responsible for several airplanes besides you're the guy it's gonna be up there in the plane not the Mac but before we start the pre-flight inspection let's talk for a minute about the meat-axe maybe you call it a propeller but two experienced pilots it's the most efficient beef cleaver on earth just imagine the airplane standing there with that bloody bolo poised and ready to smash your brains out if you give a half a chance airplane standing on the line with nobody but in fifty feet of them have been known to thrice through a couple of turns just for hell of it if you happen to be in the way that'll be where you came in and went out a moment ago he asked if the pilot inspects the brain that officer over there is getting ready to go out on the hop watch what he does first he takes off his parachute and we'll lay it on the leading edge of the wing just outboard of the end strut and he lays it down gently why gently yes why laid the chute down gently Mac here can answer that question just watch him for a moment Oh wait'll the cheap flight hears about this or a little discussion a moment ago about the propeller will give you some idea why the pre-flight inspection always starts by making sure the switch is off that's what that fellows going to do now the switch on an airplane is somewhat like the ignition switch on an automobile sometimes the propeller plays tricks from the switch is all but much more often when it's on you've seen automobiles in which the steering wheel could be locked sort of wouldn't turn well he controls on an airplane can be locked too but for a different reason they're locked with a red handle in the lower left corner of the cockpit when locked the controls are held motionless so the wind won't bang the ailerons around or the elevators in the rudder so after checking to see that the switch is off you push the red handle forward and up and the controls are unlocked that's all in the cockpit for the moment and incidentally when getting in and out of the cockpit I always step on the black catwalk otherwise you're liable to wind up standing on the ground with a wing around your waist now you're ready to inspect the airplane on fabric surfaces always look for tears or breaks or wrinkles or bulges which might indicate a structural failure or broken spar a rib underneath the fabric notice anything that seems out of line are not quite right start with the trailing edge of the left wing and follow a path like this all the way around the plane watch how that fella does it notice that he pays particular attention to the aileron top and underside now you see why you'll unlock the controls before the inspection otherwise you couldn't move the ailerons take a quick look at the aileron fittings to be sure they are securely attached and safety check all inspection place to be sure they're well fastened down and test the after strut glances the fitting bolt at the base of the strut and check the wing tip especially the underside of it for tears in the fabric run your hand along under the edge of the wing tip for structural failures you might not see them take a good look at the underside this part of the inspection requires special attention because wingtips and ailerons are occasionally damaged by someone dragging the wing in such a way that the damage might not be seen by the mechs while you're to wingtip press the handhold and test the wing to make sure that the wing panel is completely rigid and securely attached to the fuselage listen for anything that sounds like wood splintering or fabric tearing and watch for wrinkles or bulges test the wing firmly but gently moving on around to the leading edge you next inspect the forward strut indeed fitting bold at its base that little gadget attached to the strut is called the pitot tube is connected with the airspeed indicator in the cockpit the airspeed indicator is the equivalent of the speedometer on an automobile but it won't work if the pitot tube is covered or stops ever so you check the tube test wires for tightness but don't pull them too hard or you may damage the spreader which serves merely to hold the wires in position and keep them from vibrating at the same time be sure the spreader is secure also inspect all wires see that their streamline into the wind and not twisted crossways check the underside of the wing for tears in the fabric and bulges or wrinkles which might indicate a structural failure as you move in toward the fuselage keep one hand on the leading edge of the wing habits like that developed in the beginning may someday save your life there are cases where whole time experienced pilots have been killed by propellers because in a thoughtless moment they accidentally got too close that's the cap to the oil tank he's taking off now sometimes there's a metal dipstick attached to the inside of the oil cap if not you should be able to see the surface of the oil by looking carefully you can't see it call the plane captain of course if you're like our friend Mac here maybe you have unlimited faith in your plane captain which is all right up to a point but for Mac it's just too much bother to check everything so he skips the oil tank but one day Mac oh boy you'll be up there solo maybe and [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] yeah airplanes are funny that way they won't run without oil also it's a good idea to see the peak cap to the oil tank is on Titan otherwise your level to find yourself in the airplane well-oiled in a very literal sense [Music] [Music] next the landing gear that party's looking at now is called the olio and serves as a shock absorber check the fittings be sure the fitting bolts are secure and safety and incidentally when we say a bolt is safety we mean it has a wire or Cotter key through the end like this so even if the nut gets loose it can't come off be sure the olio is up like this not down like this glance at the tires they look mushy ask the plane captain to check them and around the engine always watch for signs of dripping gasoline or oil oil or gasoline on the pavement under the plane or on the landing gear struts probably indicates a leak and calls for investigation by the plane captain as a further check you may want to open the accessory compartment this is done by loosening a couple of fasteners in the faring the gasoline and oil lines run through this compartment and any leaks will probably be immediately apparent here and be sure the compartment is securely closed when this cover comes open during flight it does strange things to the aerodynamics of the plane or it may rip off completely and go flying back endangering the tail assembly at this point you glanced quickly at the back of the engine to be sure all is well there what do you look for wires which have become detached cracked cylinders or exhaust manifolds take hold of the carburetor try to shake it if it's at all loose the plane isn't better worthy now you retrace your steps along the leading edge of the wing going clear back to the tip then forward and in again to a point directly in front of the propeller but a respectful distance away from it we can see everything we need to see from here without risking our next we can be sure the prop isn't nicked or pitted or cracked you can check the fitting bolts around the hub while here look at the front of the engine for loose wires or cracked cylinders and notice particularly the spark plug wires to see that they are safety from this point you can get a good look at the entire underside of the fuselage and the underside of the top wing here again look for tears in the fabric or wrinkles or bulges check the Oh Leo's to see that they are evenly inflated notice whether the plane is setting evenly on the ground and is therefore properly balanced if the landing gear is in any way structurally out of line you must catch that at this point though see that both wheels are chopped now you proceed to the tip of the right wing still showing the same respect for the propeller you begin at the wing tip and work in toward the engine inspecting the same points on the right wing as recovered on the left you don't open this side of the accessory compartment but you do check to see that the fairing is fastened down tight the olio on this side the tire and the back of the engine then back to the tip of the wing and around the trailing edge for inspection there covering the same points recovered on the other wing aft along the fuselage looking for tears poses or wrinkles underneath the tail assembly first the rudder cable then the wires for streamlining in tautness the fabric and especially the elevator on top the fabric and the wires inspect fittings on the elevator in the rudder turn the rudder for a look at the rudder horn first on one side and then on the other of course some pilots like Mack here seem to doubt the importance of inspecting such items as the rudder horn one small fact seems to have missed friend Mack an airplane is neither useful nor healthy unless all the controls are in good working order the rudder horn is in an exposed position occasionally it gets broken and here's an example of what can happen friend Mack who uses his brakes too much in taxiing anyway would he notice that even if he had no rudder control at all all as well goes around into the tape conversation boxes tailwheel and gives her the gap [Applause] as we were saying an airplane isn't very useful or very healthy unless all the controls are in good working order if you want to play safe always inspect both rudder horns and all control cables and control surfaces also inspect the tail wheel for inflation the tail wheel is held in position by an olio which must also be kept inflated otherwise the tail will drop down like this tail wheel assembly will not have the shock absorbing qualities which protect the tail from shock in hard landings so check this and then take a good look at the top side of the upper wing this is about the only place that you can see it from the ground after inspecting the left side of the tail assembly proceed up the left side of the fuselage to the baggage compartment always open the baggage compartment what you carry there varies with different stations and different types of planes but you don't want to carry any unnecessary weight ensure the compartment accidentally come open in flight you don't want dainty little items like wheel chocks to go spraying out over the landscape also in some types of primary trainers there should be a first-aid kit in this container in the top of the baggage compartment and be sure the compartment fasteners are secured now you already know what happens to an airplane when it runs out of oil well it won't run without gasoline either true you have a gasoline gauge to tell you how much gas is in the tank but gauges sometimes get stuck it's probably accounts for the old saying among fliers that's the best gauge is your finger so all you stand on the seat of the front cockpit take off the gas cap and find out for sure whether the tanks full never take a plane out that isn't full right up to the top and put the cap back on so it'll stay it comes off in flight it may hit you and knock you out i octane gasoline spraying back on you may burn your skin or injure your eyes to say nothing of the fire hazard it creates one other things anytime you're flying solo always fasten the seat belt in the empty cockpit draw it up tight so it won't loop over the stick when you're stunting or inverted that completes the pre-flight inspection except for the cockpit that is so let's go over here of an airplane and go through the cockpit check okay now before you get in the airplane buckle your parachute chest leg straps also check both cockpits for loose gear some bad accidents have been caused by loose gear jamming the controls it can be pretty disconcerting when you're doing acrobatics now the first thing you do when you get into cockpit is to adjust your seat belt and faster there's no kidding about this too many boys have been killed because it didn't make proper use of their seat belt take the student that he's knows too high on takeoff his instructor snaps to stick forward to prevent a stall when he looks back a moment later the student wasn't bad the abrupt change in the planes attitude has thrown him clear out of the cockpit that student is probably figured every plenty of time to fasten his seat belt after they were in the air in inverted flight and in most acrobatics sometimes even a normal flight in rough air the seatbelt is the only thing that keeps you in the airplane so fasten your seatbelt the very first thing when you get in the cockpit now these are solar tress there's a little lever on the lower left side of the seat which releases the harness in such a way that a spring on the back of the seat gives it a certain amount of stretch with a harness unlocked adjust the straps for moderately snug fit for takeoffs landings and acrobatics lean back lock the harness so that the spring will no longer allow it to stretch in case of an accident it'll hold you back against the seat and keep you from breaking your neck by banging your head against the instrument panel or cowling after you fasten the seat belt draw up on the straps at the side until the belt is tight enough to keep in the plane but not too tight for comfort yes sir mighty important that seatbelt it even saves lives on the ground [Music] yes for once man has done something right his seatbelt is securely fastened yeah wet job Laer to match if this ever happens to you leave your seatbelt fastened until someone comes out to let you down gently now that you see thousands shoulder straps are properly adjusted and fastened drop your hand to the lower right side of your seat pull up on the little lever you'll find there that allows your seat to move up and down adjust the seat so that if you look straight along the top of the fuselage your lion evasion will run directly through the center of the windshield release the lever and make sure your seat is locked now you're ready to adjust your rudder pedals push that little metal lever on each pedal to the inside adjust pedal so you have full throw and can comfortably apply brake without stretching and so you can rest your heels comfortably on the deck with the balls of your feet placed lightly against the pedals with your knees relaxed in the weight of your legs on your heels then make sure each lever is back in lock position now I'll brake the pedals slowly giving bull throw both ways and watch the rudder to see that it responds properly move the stick from side to side and watch the ailerons move it for an aft and watch the elevators move the controls evenly so that you can feel any variation in pressures which might indicate that something is wrong now down to your left and there on the side of the cockpit is the trim tab regulator it's functions will be demonstrated later on meanwhile just set it at neutral with the handle pointing straight up in making the cockpit check you'll always begin at the extreme left and work from left to right there across the cockpit covering each control and instrument that way you're not likely to forget anything in this airplane the cockpit check begins with a trim tab regulator and moves next to the throttle and mixture control set the mixture the lower red handle for full rich and open the throttle about an inch still further forward underneath the instrument panel is a red valve which turns on the gasoline allows it to flow from the fuel tank down into the engine turn this to the on position directly above on the instrument panel is the ignition switch which we've already mentioned but check again by sight and by field to be sure at all your plane captain's life may depend on it now we come to the instruments reading left to right there's first the airspeed indicator which as we've pointed out is somewhat like the speedometer on an automobile at this point it should read zero next the altimeter it tells you how high the plane is above sea level you set it for field elevation before each flight this is a turn and Bank indicator it'll prove invaluable to you later on but for the present forget it the tachometer tells you how fast your engine is running in terms of revolutions per minute it should now read zero the oil pressure should also read zero and the oil temperature should be about the same as the temperature of the outside air or warmer if the plane has been flown or warmed up recently this handle operates the engine fire extinguisher it releases a bottle of co2 in the engine which will put out most engine fires but don't pull it just to see what will happen in fact you won't need to pull it just to see what happens because we're going to show you the inevitable man [Music] ah it's out of commission [Music] [Applause] [Music] the engine will usually quit when you use the engine fire extinguisher you make an emergency landing perhaps in somebody's cornfield you phone in and you have some very embarrassing explaining to do there is no discredit attached to an emergency landing you understand provided it's unavoidable but emergencies such as this one are a needless risk of the students life end up maybe equipment use the engine fire extinguisher only if there's a fire in the engine any other part of the plane catches fire here's the cockpit fire extinguishers as part of your cockpit check better be sure the cockpit fire extinguisher is properly secured so it won't come loose when you don't want it to now are you ready to start the engine first a word about the plane captain his job is as tough in a thankless one without glamour and he deserves your consideration the plane captain's a busy man he has other planes to start besides yours so he may want to start cranking before you're ready to go don't let him do it before he starts cranking he must challenge you with gas on switch it off he must not start cranking until you reply to his challenge he does ask him to wait then when you are ready give him a nod and when he says gas high switch off you very quickly check your gas valve an ignition an answer is challenge gas on switch off plane captain will and Brian the engine and Frank and while he's cranking it on the brake by pushing into your toes on the top of the rudder path the plane rocking back and forth while Frankie makes the plane captain's job easier and safer when the inertia starting mechanism is turning over at a good rate plane captain will stand clear of the propeller and challenge you off there meaning that he and all other personnel and equipment are out of the way to propeller if the area looks all clear to you you answer your challenge there and he immediately challenges you contact you reply contact then you quickly turn the switch to post ever you do not help to start the engine but it does overload the carburetor those creating a fire engine to take the plane the engine must be stopped quickly to prevent damage you have the type of plane which the crank is carried the baggage compartment bottle back a little service the plane captain can store the Clank without having his hat worn off engine let it die Ronald Smalley to miss and watch the plane captain while he buttons up the baggage compartment you're the fastenings are secure now turn your attention to the oil temperature gauge keep the engine turning over at 800 to 900 rpm until the minimum specified oil temperature has been reached and you're ready to test your mags first look around behind you secure the areas where yes and this is one of the many ways in which our friend max winds friends and influences Pete take a good look hamster see it at oil is clear and put on your brake continue to hold them on hold it stick all the way back to keep your tail down gradually advance the throttle until you're turning up 1400 RPM journey taken from both the left watch the tachometer [Applause] 100 rpm brains not err words externally they switch back to full and wait until any PM picked up again and with the engine idling turn the ignition switch to the off position for just an instant to be sure it'll turn the engine off now if the plane is pass your inspection and testing you're ready to taxi out for the takeoff suppose it's sometime during the inspection you find something wrong let's take an imaginary case break your call for the plane captain it may be that he can fix the trouble in a few minutes and he in turn may call the line chief but if they can't fix the trouble or you're not satisfied to plane his error they contact the duty officer described to him the difficulty to make you reject the plane and asking for instructions that's the procedure if you find something wrong with the plane stopping the plane is the relatively simple manner jester's model so the engine will operate at 800 to 1000 RPM let it run that way for about a minute rule at all and break the mixer control back to the boldly Viki this guilty when the Prophet stopped turning he's turned off the ignition switch immediately and open the throttle all the way move the mixture control to full wreck and close the gas valve watch the controls by putting the stick pull forward in the center neutralize the rudder pedals push the control lock handle forward down and back and then jockey the rudder pedals until they lock in place finally lock the tail wheel then call out to the plane captain gas off switch off control block gas off switch off control block switch control fly that's the pre-flight inspection and starting and stopping procedure after you've had a little experience you'll be able to inspect the plane covering every point start it all within just a few minutes time the idea is to develop a regular routine along the habit of covering every point quickly and well also all primary trainers are not exactly like the one we've seen today there are several different models so you'll find it profitable to study the pilots handbook for whichever model you will be flying and remember that the airplane is a delicate instrument whether in the air or on the ground treat it with care and respect [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music]