07/17/2026
At yesterday’s VMC Club meeting we talked about things that should never happen. They happened because of poor decision making—not from poor piloting skills. At the next VMC meeting we are going to discuss accidents that occur in and near the pattern that can be prevented with practice. We will discuss takeoff procedures, personal minimums, go arounds, stall/spins, CFIT, and operations at non-towered fields. I encourage everyone to then meet with an instructor and practice the things we discuss in the meeting. The meeting will count as the ground portion of a flight review and I’ll provide stickers for anyone who wants one.
We talked about pilot-created checklists/mnemonics at the meeting. If you would send me yours I can use them in the discussion. For example, when taking the runway I use the mnemonic BHAAPPY: Boost Pump, Heading, Ailerons, Airspeed, Power, Pitch, Vy. I can’t find any mention of go-arounds in any AFMs that I have so I use the 5 Cs: Cram, Climb, Clean, Cool, Communicate. I’d be especially interested in your emergency checklists/mnemonics.
FYI, my notes from the VMC and IMC Club meetings are at the SLO Pilots website. The notes from Dylan, the tower manager, are in the IMC Club section.
The next IMC meeting will be on Thursday August 6th and the next VMC meeting will be on Thursday August 20th. They are at 6 PM at ACI Jet Center.
PS. If I don’t get any checklists I’ll be forced to fill the time with my TED Talk GUMPS is for Chumps.
