Ever Forget a Cover?

[201er]

I'm curious if anyone has ever forgotten to remove any kind of cover and flown with it and how that went? When did you realize it? What did you do? Luckily I haven't yet.

[Seth]

I have never forgotten to remove a cover by the time the engine starts, but I have forgotten to remove a cover prior to engine start.  I try to always (though I admit haven't always done so - usually I do) take a good final extra 360 walk around the airplane after the pre-flight checklist is complete just to make sure my eyeball didn't miss anything.  I'm not really looking for anything specific during this check (besides counting antennas, checking for COVER REMOVALS, pulling chocks) but I have spotted a pitot cover tube with the cover still on during this check as well as chocks in place.  I also recently spotted something hanging out of my cowl near the nose gear door and upon pulling it out, it was clamp to something in the exhaust system.  Plane grounded until we figured out what it was and replaced the cracked clamp.

 

I did see a Grumman Tiger start up on a transient ramp during a $100 hamburger run with the cowl plugs still in.  I flagged him down, had him cut the engine, and then he removed the cowl plugs.  

 

-Seth

[Bennett]

I watched a pilot taxi to take off with his pitot cover on, and called him on Ground frequency to warn him.  No one else on the field full of moving aircraft noticed, and he taxied right past the tower before I called him.  Hate to say it, but it was a Mooney. Since then I only use a pitot cover when the airplane will be tied down for several days, and I use a cover with a long lime/orange tail that reads; Remove Before Flight.  I also like to do a complete walk around the airplane after a normal pre-flight just to make certain that the aircraft "looks right".  

[kmyfm20s]

Just 2 weeks ago I made it all the way to the run up area before realizing I had my Pitot cover on.  A good lesson on getting distracted while doing a preflight. As a result I want to buy a cover with a little flag that goes above the wing.

[timpercarpio]

Never forgot a cover, but I tried to taxi with one tie down rope still attached. I had to shut down, untie and get back in and start up again. Fortunately, no one was around.

[aaronk25]

I don't use a pitot cover for that exact reason.

[bnicolette]

I have admittedly forgotten chocks multiple times.

 

Only once during my career did I forget something arguably major and didn't even realize it until we went looking for them at some point in the future.

 

I had flown some folks down to the Masters (Daniel field in Augusta, GA) in a Citation V.  It was a bit breezy and the engines were turning while the airplane was sitting there so I decided to put the engine plugs in the rear of each engine.  We were there for about 12 hours and the passengers just appeared at the FBO instead of calling us so it was a rush rush kind of deal to get moving.  Well, I forgot to pull the plugs out and needless to say they are long gone.  Thank goodness I didn't have the front plugs in but I would've probably noticed them, even at night time.

I'm sure it was funny as hell if somebody were to be watching as I started the engines as the plugs popped out from the back of the engine.  Ooops.  It was at that point..............well the point when I realized that I had forgotten to pull them that I have never failed to do the distant walk around making sure big pieces are still there and nothing looks abnormal.

[Super Dave]

I don't use covers or plugs, but once I was getting in to start, when my five year old son climbed on the wing behind me and pointed out that the oil door was still open. Fortunately he still thinks I'm the best pilot in the world.

[aviatoreb]

I watched a pilot taxi to take off with his pitot cover on, and called him on Ground frequency to warn him.  No one else on the field full of moving aircraft noticed, and he taxied right past the tower before I called him.  Hate to say it, but it was a Mooney. Since then I only use a pitot cover when the airplane will be tied down for several days, and I use a cover with a long lime/orange tail that reads; Remove Before Flight.  I also like to do a complete walk around the airplane after a normal pre-flight just to make certain that the aircraft "looks right".  

 

I hate to use my pitot cover and for the same reason my nose plugs - but I always use them when outside my hangar in the summer.  I have found a bird beginning to nest - twigs/straw and all after a short several hour stay and I have found some kind of insect nesting in my pitot - again after a several hours stay.  So I always use those covers now and it always gives me the heeby-geebies in case I might forget to remove them.

 

Seth funny they way you say it that you do a 360 walk after the preflight.  I do the same thing but that last walk around I still call part of the preflight.

[Jeff_S]

I fired up one time with the cowl plugs still in. As I recall, I was still parked outside at the time and it was a cold day, so I had plugged the Tanis system into my generator and was working on de-icing the wings with a little portable propane heater. I then did the rest of the pre-flight but left the cowl plugs in as I was still preheating the engine. Of course, once I unplugged everything and got in to start, I had forgotten to remove the cowl plugs. I saw the flags immediately after the engine caught and shut it down. No harm no foul.

[Seth]

 

Seth funny they way you say it that you do a 360 walk after the preflight.  I do the same thing but that last walk around I still call part of the preflight.

Nice point Erik!

[Bennett]

Splitting hairs - I do my regular preflight in my hangar. I prefer to sump tanks laying on my back on a carpeted floor (careful not to spill fuel), and then roll the airplane out, turn it to the startup position, remove the Robotow and put it back back to the hangar, shut and lock it, and then slowly walk all around the airplane to just look at everything in the expectation that if anything is amiss, I will spot it. I once found a broken hinge on one of the LoPresti cowl flaps that way - something just didn't look quite right. The baggage door is open at that point, and after extracting the ignition key - I keep it there to be safe, I lock it, enter the aircraft and do the startup routine. 

 

Having said all that, I have, on more than one occasion, tried to taxi away from an FBO while a chock remained in place. Dang! that's embarrassing, especially when you have a passenger.  

[Mooneymite]

I cheat....

I use a weighted magenta string from my pitot cover over the top of the wing past the trailing edge. If I miss that on pre flight, I've got bigger issues than a blocked pitot!

So far....I haven't forgotten it.

For those who don't use pitot covers, if you fly in the south, watch out for those mud-daubers!

[Marauder]

I have never forgotten to remove it from my hangar...

[201er]

I don't use a pitot cover for that exact reason.

I'm surprised you guys WON'T use a pitot cover merely over the risk of forgetting it on. Sure I can see how that would be a terrible nuisance and embarrassment, but surely not the end of the world? Come to think of it, you're just as (if not more) likely to lose your ASI over NOT using a pitot cover and getting ice/insects than forgetting the cover. But then again, can't you fly the plane without the ASI? I thought it's only airbuses and B2s that inevitably crash when they lose the pitot tube.

 

I once flew a glider and didn't realize the ASI was inop until well off tow. At first it seemed ok cause it was reading a number but it didn't make sense. As I put the nose down to speed up, nothing changed and I realized it was acting like an altimeter. The biggest downer was that I figured I must have forgot the pitot cover on because I did not remember removing it. I flew a few hours on the ridge without ASI working anyway and came back and landed. I jumped out first thing to hide the embarrassing thing before anyone would see but there was no cover. I thought I didn't remove the pitot cover because I in fact did not remove a pitot cover. It was left outside without one and water froze in the pitot tube and kept it blocked up.

[aaronk25]

I'm surprised you guys WON'T use a pitot cover merely over the risk of forgetting it on. Sure I can see how that would be a terrible nuisance and embarrassment, but surely not the end of the world? Come to think of it, you're just as (if not more) likely to lose your ASI over NOT using a pitot cover and getting ice/insects than forgetting the cover. But then again, can't you fly the plane without the ASI? I thought it's only airbuses and B2s that inevitably crash when they lose the pitot tube.

I once flew a glider and didn't realize the ASI was inop until well off tow. At first it seemed ok cause it was reading a number but it didn't make sense. As I put the nose down to speed up, nothing changed and I realized it was acting like an altimeter. The biggest downer was that I figured I must have forgot the pitot cover on because I did not remember removing it. I flew a few hours on the ridge without ASI working anyway and came back and landed. I jumped out first thing to hide the embarrassing thing before anyone would see but there was no cover. I thought I didn't remove the pitot cover because I in fact did not remove a pitot cover. It was left outside without one and water froze in the pitot tube and kept it blocked up.

Not a big deal either way but I normally never let the plane sit outside for a expenses period. No pay for a hanger normally as I'm worried about jail and winds in the summer months. Every time input on a pitot cover I thought there is a lot better chance of me not taking it off than there would be of it plugging on the ground. I do a walk around and check it any way, so I guess in contradicting myself.i do use cowl plugs but with the flags that stick up I'd have to be blind to miss them.

Aaron

[Super Dave]

I'm surprised you guys WON'T use a pitot cover merely over the risk of forgetting it on.

It's not just the risk of forgetting them on; unless the aircraft is parked outside for several days, I see cowl plugs and pitot covers as a solution looking for a problem. I acknowledge that critters can and do get into openings, but in 8000 hrs, I haven't seen it yet. In the unlikely event that a bird makes a nest under the cowl, I'll remove the nest. If a pitot is blocked by insects and I don't catch it on the preflight, I'll catch it on the takeoff roll, abort and have them removed. I see no problem with using plugs and covers; just wanted to defend those of us that leave it bare.

[Marauder]

I don't use a pitot cover for that exact reason. I'm surprised you guys WON'T use a pitot cover merely over the risk of forgetting it on. Sure I can see how that would be a terrible nuisance and embarrassment, but surely not the end of the world? Come to think of it, you're just as (if not more) likely to lose your ASI over NOT using a pitot cover and getting ice/insects than forgetting the cover. But then again, can't you fly the plane without the ASI? I thought it's only airbuses and B2s that inevitably crash when they lose the pitot tube. I once flew a glider and didn't realize the ASI was inop until well off tow. At first it seemed ok cause it was reading a number but it didn't make sense. As I put the nose down to speed up, nothing changed and I realized it was acting like an altimeter. The biggest downer was that I figured I must have forgot the pitot cover on because I did not remember removing it. I flew a few hours on the ridge without ASI working anyway and came back and landed. I jumped out first thing to hide the embarrassing thing before anyone would see but there was no cover. I thought I didn't remove the pitot cover because I in fact did not remove a pitot cover. It was left outside without one and water froze in the pitot tube and kept it blocked up.

I lost my ASI once. The pitot tube had a small hinged cover on it that flipped open when air passed over it. Right after take-off it flipped down and I lost airspeed. Although I didn't have a lot of time in the Mooney, I was comfortable with the power settings and used that knowledge to set up for landing. It was a very strange feeling looking down at the ASI and see it pegged at zero.

[N201MKTurbo]

I just forget to remove tiedown chains.....

[Dave Marten]

Cover 'em up boys!

 

My position: Anytime I'm parked and away from the aircraft (including in the hangar).

 

I can't follow the logic: "I've seen someone else leave a cover on so from now one I won't use them". Take that logic further and pretty soon you won't be raising your landing gear for fear of forgetting to put it down or even cranking the engine because you've seen one fail previously!

 

Yes, I've left a pitot tube cover on my Mooney. On take-off roll the airspeed indicator did not respond so I smoothly reduced powered and aborted. I then taxied ALL the back to the chocks, shut down and did a FULL preflight! My first preflight attempt obviously sucked! I was now looking for what ELSE I might have missed and ensuring the most important part, the pilot, was indeed ready to fly. Only when fully satsified did I re-launch.

 

My advocacy of covers stems from: A bird's nest in my tail (on ramp), mud-dobbers attacking my pitot (in TX hangar), ice in the pitot-static line (rainy overnight stop), lineman's rag in cowling (servicing oil), little snake curled up in main gear (I live in the desert), and even a battle with a angry hornet who thought a fresh air vent was prime real estate (hangar again).

 

Soapbox: We ALL have and will make mistakes and hopefully learn from them! Personally, I'm a 4,000+ hr AF test pilot and I've never flown a perfect flight. Nobody has, yet I strive to. If you think you've flown a perfect flight then you're either lying to yourself or ignorant of your errors.

 

Side note: I will not rotate my Mooney with a failure of the sole airspeed indicator on takeoff roll. In my Mooney I always ensure enough runway available to abort from takeoff speed (a nice option not available in other aicraft I fly) . BL: Seek to maximize options while still on the ground. Better to apply solid decision making then rely on superior flying skill. 

[rbridges]

Never forgot a cover, but I tried to taxi with one tie down rope still attached. I had to shut down, untie and get back in and start up again. Fortunately, no one was around.

 

It wouldn't be a problem if you just wanted to fly around in a small circle  

[Marauder]

Never forgot a cover, but I tried to taxi with one tie down rope still attached. I had to shut down, untie and get back in and start up again. Fortunately, no one was around. It wouldn't be a problem if you just wanted to fly around in a small circle

Sort of like those gas powered airplanes we flew on a string back long ago. Go out to 5 minutes in this video if you were too young to remember them: www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9G2nRT4bOU

[Seth]

I have never forgotten them but just in case I wrap my cowl plugs (which do not have flags on them like some do) around the outside of my propellor, which I always store in the vertical position, so that they will be flung out while starting in case I forget.  

 

Jim

 

Jim-

 

i keep my cowl plug connection on the outside of the prop blade as well for the same reason.  I had no flags on my former aircraft plugs, but the Missile plugs have flags.

 

-Seth

[wishboneash]

Never forgot a cover, but I tried to taxi with one tie down rope still attached. I had to shut down, untie and get back in and start up again. Fortunately, no one was around.

 

Same here. Never forgot a cover, but tried to taxi out with a chain connected. Felt really stupid.

[Bennett]

A lot of it comes from where you live, the critters that live where you live, hangared or not, where you fly to, and whether you stay overnight or longer. Like many things in aviation, the immediate situation governs, and we all make adjustments to local conditions. The really important idea is that a thorough preflight can save your life, or at least embarrassment. That preflight can be part of your fly, no fly decision for that day. Some use written checklists, and some mental lists, but a "missed" item might be a signal not to fly that day. I've done that, feeling not sharp enough at that moment to fly. Puttered in the hangar, and drove home. No one pays me to fly, so I have that wonderful option. As I mentioned in an earlier post I carry a pitot cover and my custom chocks, and a full Bruce cover in the baggage compartment, but only use them when I think it is appropriate from my experience to do so. I would think that's what most folks do.