How to buck the widely accepted flight school checklist methodology and flow like a pro.

By Lee Smith

A wise old pilot once told me here are three distinct types of flying: simulator flying, checkride flying and typical everyday line flying. Although the context of this nugget was originally air carrier operations, there seems to be an innate understanding of this concept among all pilots. When administering flight reviews to experienced owner-pilots, I often get to see them on their "best behavior." Of course, flight reviews aren’t checkrides, but many pilots view them as such, especially if it’s been a while since their last "real" pass/fail flight. While somewhat flattering to me, it’s usually obvious which aspects of their behavior are part of their normal operation and which…