Pre Preflight

The importance of preflight inspection is covered ealy in our training.  I can say for sure mine are not perfect it's an area I am striving to improve.  On the Baron, there is a lot to look at and you might not see everything you need to see.  There is a big difference between looking and seeing.

Before trips I like to do a pre, preflight.  The morning we are leaving you are in the go mode so maybe it's a bit harder to catch everything.  Last Saturday before departing on our trip I came out to have a good look at everything.  I had topped the oil Friday so I was looking to make sure it all stayed in the engines.  It had.  I also took the time to do a bit of cleaning and get on the creeper under the plane to get a long look at everything.

It all checked out and as I sat down for a moment to enjoy a cold soda, I gazed upon the nose wheel.  It looked a bit low which was odd becasue I had filled it less than a month ago.  Sometimes it's an illusion and the tire looks low because but isn't.  I grabbed the tire guage and it was no illusion.  It was low, too low for my taste for just casual seapage.  Luckily we have a great mechanic on the field and I went by to see if he had a tube.

He did, but sent me back to check the valve stem for seepage.  It was not seeping.  I also examined the tire carefully for a puncture and even rolled the plane forward a full rotation to check the bottom.  It looked intact so I called Tim and left it in his capable hands.  Tim came by and changed the tube so when I went back Sunday morning, the tire was full and all was good.