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Comment by upofadown | Hacker News Reader

Since reading about this on here I have added a version of this to my pre-flight checks (glider). I point and say everything in the cockpit and then do the checks using the traditional mnemonic with the hope that everything will be in the correct state. It turns out to be easier as I am only doing one thing at a time rather than having to remember the mnemonic at the same time as setting stuff. I am not sure I actually need the mnemonic any more.

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We do this in multicrew and more complex planes as well. Point/flow through the cockpit to get to a specific configuration, then follow up with the checklist to verify. The 777 (and 787) is great for this because the built-in checklists on the computer screen automatically color everything that's in the correct state in green. So you go through the cockpit with your fingers in one flow, setting things correctly, then press the checklist button and if all is green we don't have to go through the list and read it but instead only call "X checklist completed".

I have a pair of cheap mechanics gloves with my flight gear and I put them on when start my preflight. I touch everything I am supposed to check. The gloves make it so I'm not worried about touching something oily / greasy / etc.

When doing my run up or cruise checklists (where I'm not hands on controls for critical flight phases) I point / touch each gauge / instrument I am checking (in steam gauges this makes more sense).

My CFIs have made fun of me but I don't care. I had one that asked if I wanted a borescope too but it doesn't stop me from being as safe as I want to be.

I'm both surprised and really not that your CFIs make fun of pointing and calling, then again I've encountered CFIs who don't know things AOPA Air Safety has been hammering on for years.

I think it's because pointing into space gives your actions physical coordinates that organize them similarly as in memory. In fact, a popular mnemonic technique is to envision the stuff you need to remember "positioned" along a street route or another physical space you know very well (it's called the Method of Loci).

For the glider checks, I've switched to printed checklists. I made a small plastified sheet for it.

I like it more than the mnemonic, because I'm able to put more things, reorganize to make more sense, use more straightforward words… without being constrained to fit an acronym.

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