Flight School
Core· 5 min read

CGUMPSS, and why there is no landing checklist

One memorized flow, run four times, beats a list you read with your head down in the pattern.

A written checklist is for when you have spare attention: on the ground, in cruise. In the pattern you have none to spare, and the last thing you want is to be heads-down reading a screen. So the pattern gets a memorized flow, not a list.

CGUMPSS

  • Cooling: cowl flaps / mixture as needed
  • Gas: fullest usable tank, pump as required
  • Undercarriage: DOWN and confirmed
  • Mixture: set for the phase
  • Prop: set
  • Seatbelts: and a full panel sweep. Windows CLOSED, nothing hanging out the doors
  • Switches: lights, pumps, the rest of the panel

It works on almost any airplane and in every phase. Run it three or four times before takeoff and three or four times in the pattern. Because it's memorized, you don't need a separate "Before Landing" checklist at all, and you keep your eyes outside where they belong.

On "Seatbelts / Switches": a seat belt flapping out a door at 100 knots sounds exactly like an engine starting to come apart. Closing the windows and tucking the belts in isn't housekeeping. It kills a heart-stopping false alarm at the worst possible moment.


The linter knows you might cover gear and fuel with a memorized flow, so when it doesn't find an explicit line it gives you a dismissible nudge ("make sure CGUMPSS has this"), not a scolding.