INSIDE THE COCKPIT

The inspection should start with the cabin door. If the

door is hard to open or close, or if the carpeting or

seats are wet from a recent rain, there is a good chance

that the door, fuselage, or both are misaligned. This

may be a sign of structural damage.

The windshield and side windows should be examined

for cracks and/or crazing. Crazing is the first stage of

delamination of the plastic. Crazing decreases

visibility, and a severely crazed window can result in

near zero visibility due to light refraction at certain

angles to the sun.

The pilot should check the seats, seat rails, and seat

belt attach points for wear, cracks, and serviceability.

The seat rail holes where the seat lock pins fit should also be inspected.

The holes should be round and not

oval. The pin and seat rail grips should also be checked

for wear and serviceability.

Inside the cockpit, three key items to be checked are:

(1) battery and ignition switches-off, (2) control

column locks-removed, (3) landing gear control-

down and locked. [Figure 2-3]

The fuel selectors should be checked for proper

operation in all positions-including the OFF position.

Stiff selectors, or ones where the tank position is

hard to find, are unacceptable. The primer should also

be exercised. The pilot should feel resistance when

the primer is both pulled out and pushed in. The

primer should also lock securely. Faulty primers can

interfere with proper engine operation. [Figure 2-4]

The engine controls should also be manipulated by

slowly moving each through its full range to check

for binding or stiffness.

The airspeed indicator should be properly marked, and

the indicator needle should read zero. If it does not, the

instrument may not be calibrated correctly. Similarly,

the vertical speed indicator (VSI) should also read zero

when the airplane is on the ground. If it does not, a

small screwdriver can be used to zero the instrument.

The VSI is the only flight instrument that a pilot has

the prerogative to adjust. All others must be adjusted

by an FAA certificated repairman or mechanic.

The magnetic compass is a required instrument for

both VFR and IFR flight. It must be securely mounted,

with a correction card in place. The instrument face

must be clear and the instrument case full of fluid. A

cloudy instrument face, bubbles in the fluid, or a

partially filled case renders the instrument unusable.

[Figure 2-5]

The gyro driven attitude indicator should be checked

before being powered.

A white haze on the inside of the glass face may be a sign that the seal has been

breached, allowing moisture and dirt to be sucked into

the instrument.

The altimeter should be checked against the ramp or

field elevation after setting in the barometric pressure.

If the variation between the known field elevation and

the altimeter indication is more than 75 feet, its

accuracy is questionable.

The pilot should turn on the battery master switch and

make note of the fuel quantity gauge indications for

comparison with an actual visual inspection of the fuel

tanks during the exterior inspection.