I learned quite a bit about pre-flighting that day...

The pre-flight is a crucial part of flying and it must be done properly. You always learn more and more. There was one specific pre-flight that taught me two things.

One, whenever you check your fuel don't just throw it on the ground; if it was clear put it back in.

This saves you money and can give you a little longer of a flight, and it keeps the pavement from breaking down and whatnot.

Secondly, I would always check the rudder to see if it could fully function however I would grab the rudder and move it back and forth. This is bad because it is connected to the rudder pedals and that is connected to the nose wheel. This would stress the springs in the nose wheel that hold it straight. So, I was taught that you should test that when you are taxiing. Of course, if the plane started and you went through the entire pre-flight only to find out that you might not want to take the plane up would be annoying. But, that will keep the plane maintained thus requiring less money for maintenance on the rudder, rudder pedals, and nose wheel.