No -- We Can't Print That. Try Again.

By ANN Reader Dennis R. Haber

In my life, as an aviator, I have learned too many lessons that would have been better learned from a book. I have left chocks in place and tried to taxi. I have even failed to untie a wing, which left me driving in a circle. Of course, I would never admit this type of thing in fear of being publically humilated by my failure to carefully check my checklist.

It is with great reluctance that I share with you my need to revise my own pre-flight checklist.  Hopefully you will learn from my aviation mistakes and, from that, you will become better pilots. This is a true story. Really -- I'm not kidding.

My trip was planned over a week in advance. Miami to New York, with a stop at Rocky Hill (NC) for fuel. I was flying this one solo. The plan called for 6 and a half hours alone. I had my new WeatherWX on board and was anxious to test it out in flight. I also brought along my portable oxygen tank. My objectives were to get up high and enjoy the day. I had planned for everything that could and would happen, I thought. Waking up early was never my strong suit, but a cup of coffee on the way to the airport sure helped. Arriving at the airport about dawn, I was ready for a complete pre-flight and smooth trip.

As I walked out to the plane, I found that I had company. An adolescent black and white tabby was walking beside me. "Cute," I thought. As I did my "walk-around," the cute little kitten walked beside me. I untied each tie-down rope. The tie-down rope no sooner hit the ground than the cat would be rolling on his back playing with the tattered ends. This happened for each tie-down.

"What a determined cat," I thought. (Perhaps he was ground crew" in his last life.) Cockpit door open... time to get the Ox set up, along with my weather gizmo. Maps and charts to set up; approach plates, etc. Stay on task: serious flying ahead.

I glanced to the left and found the little tweety bird chaser walking down the root of my wing right toward me. "Funny" I thought, "a cat that likes airplanes." He had jumped up on the wing and was headed in my direction. As soon as his paws crossed the doorframe, I gently lifted him, tossing the creature gently toward the trailing edge of the wing and back onto the deck. He did a perfect 4 point landing and appeared to wander off.

Pre-flight completed, and gas tanks as full as I could get them, the door was closed, and off I went into the wild blue yonder.

Well, the 'wild blue' turned out to be 'wilder' than I had thought. Approximately 20 minutes into the flight, much to my surprise, and off to my right, the little aviator cat bounced from the back of my SR20 onto my center armrest and struck up a conversation. I couldn't hear him because of my headset, but rather, saw his "meow." It seemed as though he was asking, "Is it my turn to fly the plane now?" Then he just looked at me.

At the risk of flying 4+ hours with the possibly out-of-control cat, and with the knowledge that he might be missed by some little girl back at the airport, I decended from 9,000 ft and returned to my airport, where I brought my little aviator cat to the FBO.

They thanked me and held onto my furry co-pilot as they topped off my gas tank; I again departed.

My mistake was obvious now, but then again, we live and learn. From then on, I have added to my checklist a special pre-flight item. Now, I look around the cabin. Not just for what should be there, but also for what shouldn't be there. Most specifically, for stray animals and, in particular, my little aviator cat.

[Thank you, Dennis (ASEL AMEL COMM/INST Flying a Cirrus SR20) --ed.]

FMI: www.cirruspilots.org