SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/aero-preflight-first-phase

What normally begins an airplane's flight profile before engine start?

An external preflight inspection.

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  1. Cruise
  2. Landing rollout
  3. Preflight inspection ✔

Why: The pilot walks around the parked airplane and checks items such as fuel, oil, controls, flaps, and landing gear. Taxi and takeoff come later.

Huh, didn't know that: A checklist helps the pilot inspect the airplane in a consistent order.

The dad joke
The pilot walked around the airplane because good flights start on the ground.
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References

Answer: Preflight inspection. The pilot walks around the parked airplane and checks items such as fuel, oil, controls, flaps, and landing gear. Taxi and takeoff come later.

  1. Aerospace Dimensions Module 2: Aircraft Systems and Airports akwg.cap.gov/media/cms/Module_2__Aircraft_Systems_and_Airp_1A4CD2C6AF085_eae81.pdf
    While the airplane is parked, the pilot walks around and examines it externally. This is called the preflight inspection.
    Checked 2026-10-10.

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