Cessna 152 Checklist
A free, printable Cessna 152 checklist, organized by phase of flight — build it, customize it, and always verify it against your aircraft's POH.
The Cessna 152
The Cessna 152 is a two-seat, high-wing, fixed-gear trainer built from 1977 to 1985 as the successor to the venerable Cessna 150. It pairs a 108–110 hp Lycoming O-235 with a simple, honest airframe, which is exactly why it became one of the most common primary trainers in the world and remains a fixture on flight-school ramps decades later. If you learned to fly in the last forty years, there is a good chance your first solo was in a 152.
What makes the 152 distinct on a checklist is its deliberate simplicity. Fuel is gravity-fed from two wing tanks through a single ON/OFF fuel shutoff valve — there is no LEFT/RIGHT/BOTH selector like the one on a 172, and there is no boost pump to back up the flow. The engine is carbureted, so carburetor heat is a recurring theme across the run-up, descent, before-landing, and abnormal procedures rather than a single line you check once. Flaps are electric with a 30° maximum, and the cabin has two doors, one per side. These small differences are precisely where a generic “Cessna” checklist pulled off the internet goes wrong, so the flows below are written for the 152 specifically. This template covers normal procedures from preflight through securing, plus conservative abnormal and emergency flows with memory items called out in bold.
I built this one from the 152 I did most of my early training in, because the checklists floating around for it were either photocopies of a 172’s or missing the carb-heat discipline the airplane really needs. I’ve tried to keep it honest and conservative, and I’d rather you catch me on something than trust it blindly. Fly it against your own POH first, and tell me if a step reads wrong.
Normal procedures
The normal flow moves through the airplane the way you fly it: preflight inspection and walkaround, before-start, engine start, taxi, run-up and before-takeoff, takeoff, climb, cruise, descent, before-landing, after-landing, and shutdown and securing, with a V-speed table at the end. Because the 152 is carbureted and gravity-fed, two habits shape the whole card. Carb heat is not a single line — it recurs through run-up, descent, and before-landing — and there is no fuel selector to set, only the ON/OFF shutoff valve, so you will not see the “fuel selector — BOTH” step that belongs on a 172. Those are exactly the details a photocopied trainer checklist gets wrong.
Emergency procedures
The abnormal and emergency section is written conservatively for a simple trainer, with the reflex memory items in bold. It covers engine failure on the takeoff roll, engine failure after takeoff (best glide near 60 KIAS, land straight ahead, and a plain “do not attempt a turn-back below a safe altitude”), engine failure in flight, engine fire, electrical fire, an alternator/electrical failure, and a dedicated carburetor-icing flow — the abnormal the 152 is genuinely prone to at low power in moist air. Note the fuel-shutoff detail the card preserves: on many 152s the valve handle is safety-wired ON, so taking it OFF in an emergency means snapping the break-wire. This is a training aid, not an approved procedure — verify every step against your airplane’s POH and brief it with your instructor.
Verify it against your POH
This template leaves aircraft-specific numbers as “per POH” on purpose. Before you fly with it, confirm the following against your airplane’s approved POH/AFM:
- Run-up RPM and magneto drop limits — POH-specific numbers we intentionally did not invent; set and check them per your aircraft.
- Usable fuel per tank — standard tanks are roughly 13 gal/side (~24.5 gal usable), with a long-range option near 19.5 gal/side; sources vary, so confirm against your weight-and-balance data sheet.
- Whether the O-235-L2C and O-235-N2C variants share the same carb-heat and run-up figures — not confirmed across sources; check the plate and the book for your serial.
- Short-field and soft-field flap settings and speeds — some published figures belong to the 150 or other trainers; use your 152’s numbers.
- Whether a landing light is standard on your serial — the before-landing/after-landing steps assume one is fitted.
- Fuel-shutoff-valve policy at shutdown — many training operators leave it ON; confirm your school or club’s practice.
Why not just print a static PDF?
- It's free with no caps — build, edit, save, and print as many as you want.
- You can add your own tail number and logo, so the card matches your airplane.
- Every page size is here — half-letter, A5, letter, and folding trifold or 2-up.
A PDF from the internet doesn't know your tail number, your panel, or your instructor's habits. Build your own in the time it takes to read this page — still free.
What's inside
- Preflight Inspection
- Before Start
- Engine Start
- Before Taxi & Taxi
- Run-Up / Before Takeoff
- Takeoff
- Climb
- Cruise
- Descent
- Before Landing
- After Landing
- Shutdown & Securing
- V-Speeds
- Engine Failure — Takeoff Roll
- Engine Failure — After Takeoff
- Engine Failure — In Flight
- Engine Fire In Flight
- Electrical Fire In Flight
- Alternator / Electrical Failure
- Carburetor Icing
Questions pilots ask
- Is there a printable Cessna 152 emergency checklist here?
- Yes. The abnormal and emergency section covers engine failure on the takeoff roll, engine failure after takeoff (land straight ahead — do not attempt a turn-back below a safe altitude), engine failure in flight, engine fire, electrical fire, an alternator/electrical failure, and a dedicated carburetor-icing flow, with the reflex memory items in bold. It is a conservative training aid, so verify every step against your aircraft's POH.
- What speeds are in the Cessna 152 checklist?
- The card carries a 152 V-speed table (rotate, best glide around 60 KIAS, climb and approach speeds). Run-up RPM and magneto-drop limits are intentionally left as "per POH" because they are aircraft-specific numbers we would not invent — set and check them against your airplane's book.
- Is this Cessna 152 checklist official?
- No. It's an original compilation organized by phase of flight, not a manufacturer document and not an approved AFM/POH. Treat it as a memory aid you build from your aircraft's real POH.
- Why doesn't it have a fuel selector step like a 172?
- Because the 152 doesn't have one. It uses a single ON/OFF gravity-feed fuel shutoff valve. A "fuel selector — BOTH" line copied from a 172 checklist would be wrong for this airframe, so you won't find it here.
- Why is carburetor heat mentioned so many times?
- The 152's engine is carbureted and prone to carb ice at low power any time there's visible moisture, even in mild temperatures. Carb heat belongs in the run-up, descent, before-landing, and the abnormal flow — not just one emergency line.