Nearly every pilot has had the experience of that first night flight alone after getting the coveted Private Pilot Certificate. The excitement tinged with small flecks of nervousness that are felt, are all blown slightly out of proportion in the mind of the new pilot. It takes a few minutes to settle down as the walk-around is completed with checklist and flashlight in hand. Then climbing into a pitch black cockpit, the first few lines of the poem Invictus, by W. E. Henley, come to mind as the brand new pilot settles into the seat:
“Out of the night that covers me, black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be, for my unconquerable soul.”
It does seem as if the night has swallowed the aircraft and the pilot, except for the blue and white pinpoints of light that mark the taxiway and runway. Again with flashlight in hand and checklist on the kneeboard, switches are set, dials are turned, controls are checked, and with a quick “clear” yelled out the open window, the key is turned and the prop begins to spin. Often, the time between yelling “clear” or “clear the prop” is milliseconds.
Think about this. As you walked out to your aircraft, did a line person see you? Just to be nice and help you out, did they follow you to pull the chocks? Do you know for a fact that the prop area is clear before you hit the key? Do you wait a few seconds after yelling “clear” to allow anyone to actually get out of the way, or are you in too big of a hurry to get going?
Safety of flight starts well before you get to the airport, climb into your plane and start the engine. While it may be easy to forget to allow a few seconds after yelling “clear” to assure that no one is in the way, those few seconds spent in silence are much less expensive than replacing a prop – or worse yet – severely injuring someone on the ramp.
A local pilot told the story of a night flight he made to a new airport (new to him). They had a nice fixed base operation that had a somewhat western motif, including having an old Collie that greeted everyone who entered from the ramp side. The day he prepared to leave to return home was calm and spectacularly clear. Even in the early dusk, a few of the brightest stars could be seen in the eastern sky. After filing his flight plan, and taking one last look at the weather, he settled up his charges with the FBO and said his goodbyes. He then inquired as to the whereabouts of the dog. The owner said that he was probably under the counter in the pilots’ lounge sleeping. So with a wave goodbye, the pilot went to his aircraft, completed his walk-around and climbed in. As he opened his side window and yelled “CLEAR PROP,” he waited and heard a sound that caught his attention. Flicking on his landing light, he saw the very startled Collie now about 10 feet from the aircraft with its tail tucked in and a look of fear on its face.
The sound he had heard was the dog reacting to his yell and scrambling to get away from him. He was glad he hadn’t just yelled “clear prop” and immediately hit the key to start the engine. After a few more seconds, the dog gathered his wits and began to wander back to the FBO building as the pilot started the engine.
The rest of the night was uneventful and beautiful, but had he not waited just those few seconds before starting his engine ….well, that night could have turned out to be very, very different.
