First, you do a walk-around. You walk completely around the aircraft, looking for obvious damage, making sure the control surfaces work, the tires aren’t flat, etc.
Then you check the fuel tanks & make sure there is gas; then you take a sample &
check for water in the gas. Then you open the engine covers & examine the engine, check the oil, etc. Close the covers, check the prop for damage.
At this point, you climb in the cockpit & strap in. Turn on the master power, check for popped circuit breakers. Turn on the magnetos, adjust the engine fuel mixture & throttle, then start 'er up.
Then you check the controls, electronics, etc.
It’s also a very good idea to let the engine warm up a bit before taking off.
It’s also important to remember that the steering wheel doesn’t actually steer the aircraft when it is on the ground.
You steer with your feet, using the rudder pedals. The brakes are on those pedals, as well.
It was also a twin-engine plane which adds some other variables for steering. This guy might have had better luck with his ground handling if he had gone for an early-model Ercoupe instead. Those were designed to steer like a car and didn’t have rudder pedals.
Edit to add: Florida Men have been stealing and crashing a lot of planes lately:
