When I was getting my pilot's license, multiple times I started up without unchaining the tail. I joked about it with another instructor, and he basically said that it had literally never happened to him and that I should be doing a final walk around. I'd done even more embarrassing things, sitting at the runway ready to go and the tower tells me my baggage door is open. Since making that final walk around a habit, n…
I was hoping someone would mention being a pilot in this discussion. If you learn to fly, you will learn to follow checklists. Many, many checklists. A good instructor will tell you that while you do need to follow the checklists, it never hurts to do one last check. One final walk-around before getting in the cockpit, one last check of radios/transponder, one final scan across your engine instruments before takeoff,…
Re: Ask HN: How to make fewer mistakes?
#71I am notoriously absentminded. I would constantly forget my lunch, leave the lights on, whatever. Since writing down checklists for my morning and evening routines, I don’t miss anything. The fact is that we’re human beings. As the book “Getting Things Done” says, your mind is for having ideas, not for holding them.