Cowl_Door         Engine_Right_Side         Engine_Rear         Empennage         Tail_Rotor         Tailcone         Engine_Left_Side         Fuel_Tank         Main_Rotor         Fuselage_Left_Side         Nose_Section         Fuselage_Right_Side         Cabin_interior         Other_Stuff        
R22 Preflight

Fuselage Left Side

Baggage Compartment: Check

The "baggage compartment" is the under seat storage. Make sure that the seat still has some room to crush down in the event of a crash. Make sure there is nothing which will injure the seat occupant if the seat is crushed down into the compartment in the event of a crash.

Removable Controls: Secure if installed

The Robinson controls are fairly foolproof. Make sure the collective is decal-side up, and that it has clicked into the retaining buttons. As a cautionary note, I had a collective jam in flight in a different type of aircraft because someone installed it upside down!

Collective Control Clear

As the decal says: don't store things under the collective: they could prevent you from being able to lower collective in the event of an engine failure.

Seat Belt: Check condition and fastened

Check that the seat belt is not frayed, and is in good condition. If nobody is sitting in the seat, fasten the seat belt to prevent it from flapping around in flight.

Door: Unlocked and latched

It would be bad to crash and find you couldn't egress because you had left the door locked closed! Check that the door is latched - if it is not latched it can whip open when you are hovering.

Door Hinge Safety Pin: Installed

The purpose of the safety pin is to make sure that the door doesn't come off in flight. Everybody loses these things, so it makes sense to keep a few spares under the seat.

Landing Gear: Check

Examine the gear attachment to make sure bolts are tight and that there are no imperfections in the paint that might indicate a crack.

Another view of the gear attachment. Note that the cover of the cross tube is just glued on. Sometimes the covers come off, but they should be replaced in this event because otherwise moisture can sit in the cross tube leading to corrosion.

Check all four bolts are secure, and that there are no cracks.

The wire is a grounding wire so that the aircraft structure is grounded through the skid gear to earth. You can also see the crosstube cap in this picture.

Check for excessive bend in the crosstube. Too much bend indicates someone had a hard landing.

Ground Handling Wheel: Removed

Position Light: Check

For night flight, turn the light on and make sure it works. For daytime, give it a wiggle and make sure it is secure.


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