Subscriber question:
"While at the airport I overheard a pilot mention that he would do a '360 check' before getting in the airplane. What’s that?" — Joel B
David:
“Your full preflight inspection ensures that the airplane is ready for your flight. But what about when you do your preflight walk around and then go back into the clubhouse, or terminal, to wash your hands or have that last-minute bio break?
This is where the ‘360 check’ comes in. When you return to the airplane, walk a circle around it, looking for anything that seems wrong. Just because the airplane was fine 5 minutes ago doesn’t guarantee it’s still fine. Someone once hit my airplane when I was away for less than 5 minutes. The cabin door was on the left but the damage was to the aft end of the right nacelle, and wouldn’t have been visible from the cockpit—but I caught it on my 360 check. I also once caught a weeping quick drain that looked like it had sealed when I did my walk around. It was only obvious that it was leaking a bit later.
I have also seen cases where a helpful rampy put chocks in while the pilot was away, requiring the embarrassed pilot to shut down after finding the airplane wouldn’t taxi.
If the airplane is untended for any length of time, do a 360 check before climbing in and starting up.”
Suppose you are using your airplane for a quick business trip. You need to depart early in the morning, and will be returning home later that afternoon. Will you do another complete preflight prior to the trip home?
