Short Final…

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • A newly certified private pilot meticulously followed a pre-takeoff checklist during her inaugural cross-country flight with friends.
  • A passenger expressed anxiety and questioned the pilot's competence due to her needing to "read the directions" (use the checklist).
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From our “been there, done that” files…

On my first cross-country with friends after passing my private pilot checkride (back in the late Paleolithic…), I was in the runup area, working through the pre-takeoff checklist. An uncharacteristically subdued voice said from the rear seat, “If she still has to read the directions, I don’t think I want to go!”

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