Getting A Checkout On A New Type

[Chuck Ellsworth]

Same here not only did the insurance companies want me to do check outs I worked directly with the underwriters in Lloyds of London who I knew personally and they gave a very good rate to any client of mine who passed my requirements.

The insurance companies decide who flies aircraft because they have a monetary interest in safety.

T.C. 's only concern is their own monetary  and career safety because most of them are unemployable in the flying industry..

[Strega]

I went over to the other forum tonight,,


It seems there is a whole thread about check outs in a 172, vs 182, and a "hopped up" 182...


Maybe im a simpleton, but arent most SE cessnas pretty much the same? 

[Colonel]

aren't most SE cessnas pretty much the same?

Having flown the 120/140/150/152/170/172/177/180/182/185/206 ...

Yeah.  The smallest taildraggers (with the boing-o-matic
gear) probably require the most skill.  I never noticed
much difference between the nosewheel models.

Can't say I like their retractable gear systems.

PS  Never flew a 175.  Seen them in pieces, is all.

PPS Speaking of weird stuff I've seen, here is some
footage from my most recent trip to the Tribunal:

[youtube][/youtube]

[David MacRay]

I would not mind taking flight training especially in the case of a type check, from someone who could not fly as well as me.
(Pretty unlikely these days since I only have been flying an hour every year. Though the last two flights happened less than a year apart..)
Provided I was learning. I need/want the instructor to be a good teacher not the best stick.

Of course if I felt in danger when the instructor was flying I would not be happy nor would I want to repeat that.

I know Canadians hate and
envy Americans, but I like them very much.

I like Amercans generally. I used to like their country more but I still enjoy visiting much of it. I continue to consider moving there. Much of their aviation is attractive to me.

This for example makes sense to me.

Last time I flew with an FAA CFI, he put the flight
time in both PIC and DUAL columns in the entry in
my logbook.  Think about that for a while.

I was flying so since nothing went wrong I was PIC, yet I had a flight instructor on board, either teaching me or riding along.

For a few hours I have had someone that was supposed to be an instructor that was not even helping, riding with me. So I would still need to record the fact that time was dual also.

[Colonel]

1) I hate hydraulics

2) high-wing RG is weird.  Gear goes into
fuselage instead of wings like everything
else

3) I don't like the fact that drag increases
during gear up transition.  Not what you
want during marginal takeoff

4) gear doors are troublesome.  Removal
mod helps, though

5) decrease in drag of stowed gear is
not worth the increased cost, weight and
maintenance, nor the weighted cost of
a potential gear up. 

6) Cessna gear is pretty low-drag and
cessna singles don't go that fast anyways. 
Leave it hanging out there.  Look at Columbia
and Cirrus.  Did they install RG?  Nope.  Are
they fast?  Yup.  You can bet that both companies
did very careful cost/benefit analysis and they
both concluded that low-drag fixed gear was
the way to go, for a single.

7) Insurance is MUCH cheaper to obtain
with fixed-gear single.  The countryside is littered
with gear-up Comanches, Mooneys, Bonanzas, etc.

9) You will never whack your prop and kill your
engine with fixed gear.  Well, I shouldn't say
never - I should not underestimate the skill
and creativity of pilots.

[Colonel]

For a single, I would MUCH rather have extra (huge)
fuel tanks instead of RG.  You will be much faster.

Fuel stops are terribly time-consuming.  If you can
fly non-stop - esp with a bit of headwind - you can
really cut down your block-to-block time.

Nice to stay up on top of the wx in the sunshine,
too, instead of descending down into the muck for
fuel.

It's nice to have enough fuel that you can comfortably
fly 1000nm with a headwind and have lots of fuel left
over (eg legal IFR reserves).  I personally prefer 1500nm
with headwind and reserves.  THAT is a speedy airplane -
you can beat the airlines if they require a stop.

[BCPilotguy]

When I called up the guy who would be checking me out on my Cherokee 180 his first question was "So why do you feel you need a checkout on this airplane?"  My answer was "Insurance."  One of the quotes I received actually required 10 hours of dual (!)


He had neither an instructor rating, nor any Cherokee time but we ran through the usual checkout stuff and the insurance company was happy and I flew my new airplane home that day.  His parting words were "You don't need me to go and do circuits!".  I suspect he may be a Bad Person.


I think I'd be willing to hop in pretty well any low performance tricycle gear airplane and figure it out for myself (insurance requirements aside).  I'd never discount the value of good training, but most light singles (in my vast experience of flying 4 types over 300 hours) are pretty similar.  The owner of the flight school where I did my licence used to say "A plane is a plane is a plane.".  I drive a Ford pickup, I don't need transition training to drive a Chevy pickup, or a Honda car.  I just need to figure out how to adjust the seat and where the important knobs and buttons are.