Exterior Preflight Inspection
James Albright (a former G450 driver)
Updated: 2017-07-14
There is a lot to this checklist and it helps to carry a printed version with you every now and then just to make sure you aren't getting lazy. (I do this once a month and am always surprised by what my subconscious has decided to drop from the checklist.) You should certainly use the printed checklist following aircraft maintenance. More about this: GV N777TY.
(All photos from the author’s aircraft.)
Everything is from the references below with comments in italics
Procedure
[G450 Airplane Flight Manual §2-01-20]
Wheel Well Doors Open
2. AOA Probe / Vane — Cover Removed / Check
4. Static Ports — Cover Removed / Check
6. Standby Pitot Probe — Cover Removed / Chk Damage / Corrosion
3. TAT Probe — Cover Removed / Check
5. Ice Detection Probe — Check
7. Forward External Switch Panel Door — Switches Off / Door Secure
We have discovered the door can be closed even with the guarded battery switch on, so you have to check the battery switch off.
8. Radome / EVS Window — Check
9. Pitot Probes — Covers Removed / Chk Damage / Corrosion
10. Windshield — Check
11. Nose Landing Gear (NLG) Wheel Well Area — Check
12. NLG Uplock — Open
I have heard from several people examples where someone hit the uplock with their heads or something else and inadvertently closed this uplock. After takeoff the nose gear would not fully retract and they had to return to land. If you find the uplock closed, you need to ensure the door pins are out, and then cycle the doors open and closed. That should do it.
13. Parking Brake Accumulator — Check (3000 PSI)
14. Emergency Landing Gear Extension Bottle — Check (3100 PSI)
15. NLG Safety Pin — Remove
16. NLG Door Control Valve — Pin Removed / Flight Pos. / Cover Secure
17. NLG Fairing Door / Electrical Wires / Strut — Check
18. Nose Wheel Steering Unit Overtravel Ind — Check
You should also ensure the mooring tie down is full down and safety wired to the strut. Why?
See: Gulfstream Journal April 25, 2014, "GII-G550: Amber Main Gear Door Open, L-R, Message after Gear Retraction.
19. Taxi Lights / NLG tires — Check
20. NLG Torque Link — Pinned / Saftied
21. NLG WOW Switch — Check
The nose gear WOW should have a thin gap. The weight on wheels switch is right of center and the steerling link cable can get in the way if routed under the steering link, so route at least the right cable above the steering link.
22. Ice Detection Probe — Check
23. Static Ports — Cover / Removed Check
24. AOA Probe / Vane — Cover / Removed Check
25. R TAT Probe — Cover Removed / Check
26. Pressure Relief Valve / TROV / Vortex Generator — Clear / Check
27. External DC Power Door — Check / Secure
28. External AC Power Door — Check / Secure
29. PRV Static Ports — Cover Removed / Checked
30. Oxygen System Overboard Discharge Disk — Intact
[G450 Aircraft Operating Manual, §2A-35-20, ¶2.F.] The disc seals the overpressure discharge vent line of the oxygen system. If pressure within the bottles exceeds twenty-six hundred (2600) psi through overfilling or if the temperature of the bottles reaches two hundred twenty-five degrees Fahrenheit (225°F) or one hundred seven degrees Celsius (107°C), an overpressure valve on the tanks will open, releasing oxygen into the overpressure vent line and rupturing the green plastic disc sealing the line.
31. Oxygen Quantity — Checked
The AFM now says 1500 psi is the minimum quantity, but we are told that is going to change to "recommended." If that happens, you should check the only chart that considers passengers and crew in G450-OMS-02, pg. A-12, to find a true minimum quantity.
32. Oxygen Service Door — Secure
33. Antennas — Check
34. Right Ice Inspection / Emergency Lights — Check
35. Window Emergency Releases / Windows — Secure
36. Right Landing Light — Check
37. Wing Vent — Clear
38. Engine Inlet / Cooling Inlet — Cover Removed / Check
39. Fuel Servicing Panel / Door — Check / Door Secure
40. Fuel Sump Drains — Check / Not Leaking Fuel
41. Beacon — Check
42. Pressure Fueling Static Port — Clear
43. Wing Leading Edge - Check
44. Fuel Tank Vent and Vortex Generator — Check
Looking inside the NACA vent you may notice an uneven gap around the connector from the vent tube to the NACA scoop. About that . . .
There is a round connector from the vent tubes that comes in from an odd angle from the wingtip. That connector has to mate with an adaptor that ends in the rectangular vent. Everything is strapped down and the outer "nut" is safety wired. I've run my finger around this thing, suspiciously, because even from inside the wing it appears to have more of a gap inboard than outboard.
Is there something to worry about here? I don't think so. When the wing is filled this entire assembly is submerged in fuel. If the gap was real, you would get fuel seeping from the NACA vent whenever the tanks are full.
Just to be sure, we've checked this on several aircraft and that thing that looks like a gap appears on most G450's. If you are worried about it, top off your tanks and shine your flashlight up the vent. Me? I'm not worried about it (anymore).
45. Fuel Tank Plenum Drain — Check
46. NAV / Strobe Light / Wing Tip — Check
47. Winglet — Check
48. Static Wicks (3) — Check
49. Aileron / Aileron Bungee / Flaps / Spoilers — Check
Make sure you double back and check the top of the flaps for FOD inside the tracks.
50. Main Landing Gear Fairing Door / Strut — Check
51. MLG Brake Wear Indicators (Inboard / Outboard) — Check
52. MLG Tires/ Brakes — Check
53. MLG Wheel Flange Retaining Rings (Inboard / Outboard) — Check
54. MLG WOW Switch — Check
The WOW switch should be in contact with the cam:
You should also ensure the mooring tie down is full down and the retaining spring intact.
55. MLG Side Brace Actuator & Sequencing Linkage — Check
56. Flap Drive Rods — Check
57. MLG Uplock — Open
58. MLG Wheel Well Area — Check
Cannon Plugs Inside MLG Wheel Well — Check
59. Main Fuel Shutoff Valve Position — Verify Open
60. Fuel Boost Pumps — Check / No Leaks
61. Right main Landing Gear Door Control Valve — pin removed / flight position
62. MLG Safety Pin — Remove
63. Wing Anti-Icing Vents — Clear
64. Engine Cowl / Accessory Door / Vents / Exhaust — Check / Secure / Clear
65. APU Exhaust — Clear
66. Precooler Exhaust — Clear
67. Heat Exchanger Exhaust — Clear
68. Aft Fuselage Antennas — Check
69. Elevator / Rudder / Static Wicks — Check
70. Tail Cone Navigation Light / Static Wick — Check
71. Heat Exchanger Exhaust — Clear
72. Precooler Exhaust — Clear
73. Engine Cowl / Accessory Door / Vents / Exhaust — Check / Secure / Clear
74. GND PWR RCPT Circuit Breaker — Check
75. GND SVR BUS Switch — ON
76. GND SVR Bus Indicator — CHECK
77. UTILITY LIGHTS Switch — ON
78. Right Battery Charger — Check
79. Hydraulic Replenisher Fluid Level / Manual Selector Valve / Pump Switch — CHECK FLUID LEVEL / VALVE OFF / SWITCH OFF
80. Hydraulic System Reservoir Quantity — CHECK (AT HYD RESERVOIR QTY INDICATOR)
81. Oil System Reservoir Quantities — CHECK (AT FLUID QTY INDICATOR)
82. Engine Oil Replenisher Fluid Level / Manual Selector Valve — CHECK / VALVE OFF
83. Power Transfer Unit (PTU) DPI (1) — Check
NOTE: Ensure DPI is flush. If DPI is popped, reset DPI and note time in logbook. Continued operation for the next fifty (50) flight hours is allowed. Check DPI prior to each flight.
This is the only DPI on the airplane that gives you this kind of latitude.
84. Right Hydraulic System Filter Differential Pressure Indicators (DPIs) (3) — CHECK
It is common practice to reset any of these DPIs once if popped and not worry about it until it pops the second time. That is an improper practice.
85. Main Batteries (Left and Right) — CHECK
86. APU Tailpipe — CHECK
87. AUX Hydraulic Pump / DPI (1) — CHECK
Look forward and to the left, this assembly sits underneath the aux pump itself. The DPI is seated in this photo, you can see the red of the top of the DPI if you stick your head closer. (The camera just couldn't make the angle.)
It is common practice to reset this once if popped and not worry about it until it pops the second time. That is an improper practice.
88. AUX Power Relay Box CBs (6) — CHECK
89. BLEED AIR Isolation Valve — CHECK
90. Ozone Filters (Left and Right) — CHECK
91. Air Conditioning Packs (Left and Right) — CHECK
92. Left Hydraulic System Filter DPIs (5) — CHECK
It is common practice to reset any of these DPIs once if popped and not worry about it until it pops the second time. That is an improper practice.
93. Left Battery Charger — CHECK
94. Elevator Actuators (2) — CHECK
95. Rudder Actuator — CHECK
Somebody thought it was a good idea to require you check these, perhaps it is. I'm not so sure. But you really can't see any of these actuators without crawling underneath them.
This checklist says "Elevator Actuators (2)" but other references say it is a "Elevator Dual Tandem Hydraulic Actuator." Whatever it is, it is on the left side of the aircraft behind the bell crank. You aren't going to see the gizmo itself unless you position yourself right under it.
The rudder actuator is the gizmo behind the collection of hydraulic lines on the right side of the aircraft.
Photo: Gust lock cable and springs under elevator / rudder assembly, from Eddie's aircraft.
The book doesn't require it, but you should check the two gust lock springs and refuse the airplane if either is broken.
96. UTILITY LIGHTS Switch — OFF
97. GND SVR BUS Switch — OFF
98. Tail Compartment Ladder / Door — SECURE / CLOSE
99. L / R Hydraulic Accumulators — CHECK (1200 PSI)
100. Ground Service Panel Door — SECURE
101. Aft Lavatory Service Door — SECURE
102. External Air Access Door — CHECK / SECURE
103. Aft Water Service Door — SECURE
104. Baggage Door — SECURE
Note: The door should be unlocked for flight — in the pictured, horizontal, position — to allow access by crash rescue if needed.
105. MLG Wheel Well Area — Check
106. Cannon Plugs Inside MLG Wheel Well — Check
107. Main Fuel Shutoff Valve Position — CHECK
108. Fuel Boost Pumps — Check / No Leaks
109. Cockpit / Cabin Trim Air Valve Vent Elbow — Check/Clear
110. Flap Drive Rods — Check
111. MLG Uplock — OPEN
112. MLG Side Brace Actuator & Sequence Linkage — Check
113. MLG Fairing Door / Strut — Check
114. MLG WOW Switch — Check
115. MLG WOW Switch — Check
116. MLG Tires / Brakes — Check
117. MLG Brakes Wear Indicators (Inboard / Outboard) — Check
118. MLG Brakes Wear Indicators (Inboard / Outboard) — Check
Wing Anti-Icing Vents — Clear
It isn’t in the checklist, but you checked the right vents, you might as well check the left...
119. MLG Safety Pin - Remove
120. Aileron, aileron bungee, flaps, spoilers - Check
Make sure you double back and check the top of the flaps for FOD inside the tracks. This has caused the flaps to stall before.
121. Static Wicks (3) - Check
122. Winglet - Check
123. NAV / Strobe Light / Wing Tip - Check
124. Fuel Tank Plenum Drain — Check
125. Fuel Tank Vent — Check
126. Wing Leading Edge — Check
127. Pressure Fueling Static Port — Check
128. Fuel Sump Drains — Check / Not Leaking Fuel
129. Engine Inlet / Cooling Inlets — Cover Removed / Check
130. Window Emergency Releases / Windows — Secure
131. Emergency Lights / Ice Inspection Lights — Check
132. Landing Light — Check
133. Wing Vent — Clear
134. Main Entrance Door / Seal — Check
135. Door Control Valve Pins / Landing Gear Safety Pins / Pitot Probe Covers — Stowed
There should be three door pins:
136. There should be three gear pins:
References:
Gulfstream G450 Aircraft Operating Manual, Revision 35, April 30, 2013.
Gulfstream G450 Airplane Flight Manual, Revision 35, April 18, 2013
Gulfstream G450 Maintenance Manual, Revision 18, Dec 12, 2013
Gulfstream G450 Operating Manual Supplement, G-450-OMS-02, Extended Operations (ETOPS) Guide, Revision 2, April 2, 2009
Gulfstream G450 Performance Handbook, GAC-AC-G450-OPS-0003, Revision 20, November 30, 2011
Gulfstream G450 Quick Reference Handbook, GAC-AC-G450-OPS-0003, Revision 34, 18 April 2013
Gulfstream G450 Weight and Balance Manual, Revision 3, March 2008