For all who intend to do your spring checkout with me, I wanted to offer some information that I hope will demystify the process and make you aware of an objective standard. I’m writing this out to keep myself organized and efficient tomorrow as much as anything else. I want to review the following tasks with each of you:
Preflight Inspection
Before Takeoff Check
Normal and Crosswind Takeoff
Maintaining Tow Positions
Slack Line
Boxing the Wake
Tow Release
Abnormal Occurrences
Steep Turns
Forward Slips and Sideslips
Stall Recognition and Recovery
Normal and Crosswind Landings
You’ll find these tasks in the Practical Test Standards of the rating appropriate to your experience level. You need not perform these tasks to PTS standards but I do want to spend some time briefing on what those standards are. The learning objective is that during the debrief you would be able to self-evaluate whether your performance met the practical test standards or not so much.
Expect the checkout to consist of 3 flights, 2×2000’ tows and 1 flight involving a simulated Premature Termination of the Tow.
Cheers
Tim