Pimp my walkround

Usually I get to the flight school well before Bob and have my walkround completed before he even arrives.

This time though, I’d had to wait for the plane to come back from its previous flight so Bob was there to observe me doing my walkround.

At the beginning there seemed to be so much to remember on the walkround, I was convinced that I’d never ever remember everything that I needed to check. Now of course, I’ve had so much practice that it really is second nature. At the same time I try to be conscious of not getting too complacent, of letting familiarity breed contempt.

Today, Bob took full advantage of the opportunity to quiz me relentlessly, cunningly disguising it as part of our general chit chat and conversation.

There’s no reason you can’t chat whilst doing your walkround and Bob’s good company to talk to. I don’t remember what we were talking about but he’d intersperse it with “so WMAP, what type of ailerons does this plane have?”

“Frise,” I reply, not even breaking my flow as I duck to check the underside of the fuselage.

We carry on “and what’s this for?” Bob’s pointing to a rib on the elevator.

I contemplate it for a brief moment “Strength,” I reply, once I realise that there’s no trick question involved here. He seems satisfied.

I move around to the other side. “Where would I find what the correct tyre pressure setting is?” Bob inquires.

“POH” I reply without missing a beat. Suddenly I realise what’s going on. I think Med students refer to it as “pimping”*.

I’m being prepped for my checkride. The examiner will, no doubt, do exactly the same.

I pass this round though. Once Bob had established that I could correctly identify the function of the shimmy dampner on the nose wheel, he relented and kindly dumped the fuel back in the wing tanks for me.

See the second definition here, Not the first!!