Failure to Start

Well, It has been awhile (again) since I’ve blogged, and it is for good reason.  I haven’t been flying a lot.  With that said, last Monday I planned a great trip.  The idea was to do the following:

KEYE -> 40I with a short stop at I80.

40I -> KHAO

KHAO -> KLUK

KLUK -> KHAO

KHAO -> KEYE

I promise the redundancies are intentional.

Here are the details of the plan:

I would depart Eagle Creek (KEYE) for Noblesville in the club C172 (N146K).  I would do a landing at Noblesville.  I am familiar with that airport and I wanted to do a grass strip landing where no one was watching before landing at Stewart Field (40I) where there would likely be a few observers.  At Stewart Field (40I), I was going to take a tail wheel lesson in the J3 Cub.  Then I would meet up with fellow blogger Steve.  I would depart Stewart field for Butler Co (KHAO) and meet my two friends Caleb and Sarah.  We would then go to Lunken (KLUK) for dinner at the Sky Galley Restaurant.  After dinner I would drop them off back at Butler Co. and return home to KEYE.  Sounds like a day right?  I thought so too…

Before I even left for the airport I realized my plans would have to change.  I got a call from someone who was flying N146K earlier in the day.  He said the radios weren’t working properly and they could not transmit.  This would be a problem if I wanted to get into Lunken, since it was a controlled field.  At 12:30, with my planned departure between 1 and 2, I checked out the scheduler.  The other options were: C182 at Eagle Creek, C182 at Indy Metro (KUMP) and C172RG at Indy Metro.  I wish I could have taken the C172RG, but I don’t have my complex aircraft signoff.  The C182 at Indy Metro would be my preference but it was checked out that evening.  That left me wit the C182 at Eagle Creek.  This airplane is a beast, but in a good way.  It is a 2004 C182T.  It offers the G1000 cockpit, a 230 HP Lycoming IO-260-L2A and a constant speed prop.  N721ZA is a great airplane, and I love flying C182s, but I haven’t landed one on grass before.  I check the performance numbers and added some conservatism and determined that I would have no issue.  Especially with the wicked winds experienced that day...

KEYE 131653Z AUTO 26010G19KT 10SM CLR 29/09

KHAO 131953Z AUTO 25015G22KT 10SM FEW110 32/09

KLUK 131953Z 25014G19KT 10SM CLR 32/10   

I departed Eagle Creek straight north over I465 in order to avoid some transmission towers and to get out from under the Class Charlie as quickly as possible.  I reached the edge of the airspace and climbed up to 3500’ and turned east toward I80.  I’ve not ever landed at the Noblesville Airport, but it was easy to pick out.  I entered the downwind straight in (not a good practice) and performed a pretty tight pattern without much of a base leg.  I had to drop a little bit more altitude on final than normal

After my landing, I turned the plane around and back taxied to the end of the runway and took off again.  You can’t really tell on this because the track is right on top of itself.  I turned the plane back to the east, climbed to 5000’ and set the autopilot (KAP 140) for NAV mode.  I tried to relax and keep my eyes outside the plane looking for traffic.  The C182 has some traffic warning systems and it would periodically alert me, but it was usually for RJs that were 3000’ above me.  When I was arriving at Red Stewart Field, I wasn’t exactly sure where it was, but then I stopped the golf course and found the runway.  I saw there was a J3 cub taking off.  Granted, a C182 is quite a bit faster than a J3, but I entered the pattern and tried to get the airplane down on the ground and off the runway without hesitation.  The landing was successful and the trip to 40I was great.

After landing, I went in to the “FBO” and told the front desk girl that I was there for a flight lesson.  She pointed to Joe, my instructor and we did some pre-flight briefing before walking out to the airplane.  Joe said that today was not the best day to be flying, but it would be good to get used to the airplane.  We walked out to the airplane and he showed me all of the “features”, including how the airplane doesn’t have a starter, how the altimeter reads 2000’ low (it said we were underground) and the fuel gage was a bouncing stick.  It felt like I was going back in time.  He took the controls of the airplane and we went out to the runway and headed north.  We spent about 45 minutes in the airplane and did everything from slow flight to steep turns.  Even some Dutch rolls, which sound way more fun than they actually are.  We only did one landing and then taxied back to the hanger.  I chatted with Joe a little bit more than sat outside to wait for Steve.

Photo I took while waiting.  This is the C182 I flew.

Steve showed up after work, we swapped flying stories and places we have been in the plane.  We had a nice chat and then I showed him the C182 I flew over.  Next started a painful couple hours of irony…

Steve went to go fly the C152 and I walked back to my airplane.  I did my preflight, set up my GPS for the flight and then started my engine…or at least I attempted too.  All that happened was a high pitched whine from under the cowl.  I tried a few more times, then called the club maintenance officer.  He told me a few tips, including popping off the cowl and spraying some WD-40 on the starter gear.  As the sun was setting we decided to take the starter off and replace it.  There wasn’t a starter available for a C182T at the field, but one would be ordered and overnighted.  I had to cancel my plans for the rest of the day and I called my friend Caleb and told him I couldn’t make it.  He was bummed, but had no big problems.  I eventually got a ride to his place that evening and he took me to rent a car in the morning so I could make it back to Indianapolis in time for my flight to Wichita to meet with Cessna.

There were a couple of cool things that happened during this evening.

1)      When we were working on the airplane, one of guys at the airport looked at my shirt and said “did you got to Rose-Hulman?”  He was also a Rose Grad and it was really cool to meet someone else at a tiny airport in Ohio that went to your school.

2)      When we were taking the starter off, Cub Stewart pulled his Stearman out of the garage hanger and went out for a flight.  The really cool part was that Jenny Forsythe, a wing walker, was hanging around and she did a whole performance for us.  It was her birthday, yet I feel like I received the gift.

3)      After we had the starter off, realized I wasn’t flying home, we packed up the airport and went over to Cub’s garage hanger. It’s not every day you get to hang around a Stearman, in a garage hanger, while being served dinner, and drinking beers, with Cub Stewart, and Jenny Forsythe, and a fellow Rose-Hulman grad.  I am definitely going to have to come back to the air show next year!

Anyway, The Rose-Hulman grad Tom, gave be a ride back to Cinci where my friend lived. He gave me a ride to the enterprise rental place and I rented a Kia Rio for the drive home.  What a car! Hahaha. I made it back to Indy on time to stop and get my clothes from home and my work cell phone from my car at Eagle Creek.  I returned the rental car on Wednesday after I returned from Wichita.  I would like to go out and stay at Stewart Field again, but hopefully not under the same circumstances.

Where's Summer B?

Hello eFriends!  I’ve been pretty quiet one here recently because I have been absent from the skies.  I’ve missed it, but during the summer time I play a lot of ultimate Frisbee and do a fair share of sailing.  I played when I was in college for Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.  In fact, I can be seen here in red shorts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxVXmJ9qZiM.  This tournament was about 3 years ago, but good enough for an example here. This year I’ve been captaining a mixed team from Indianapolis called “Liquid Hustle”.  This is the first year for the team and we have learned and have to learn a lot.  It’s been fun though.  Like I mentioned, I also sail.  I recently purchased a new boat, an MC Scow built by Johnson Boat Works in 1990.  I’m not going to bore you all with photos, but if you see sailboats on Eagle Creek Reservoir while flying or driving by, wave at me!

Anyway, to the flying:  Last night I went out for a night flight to get my currency back.  I started at about 9:20 from KEYE.  I did two trips through the pattern then flew northwest toward Zionsville/Lebanon.  I went north about 10 miles, just checking out the sights and headed back to KEYE for my third landing.  It was a beautiful night and I couldn’t have asked for more.  Wind was basically calm at the ground and was maybe 5 knots out of the northwest at 2000’.  Indianapolis looked magical from 1200’AGL.  I was listening in on the Indianapolis approach and I keep wondering if the woman controller I am hearing is Katie from http://bubo-scandiacus.blogspot.com.  Maybe someday I’ll request a touch and go over there and find out.  Seemed like a lot was going on yesterday though…

Time: 0.7 hrs

Landings: 3 night

Total: 118.4 hrs

P.S.  Bonus points for anyone who knew the title of the post was a Ben Folds Five song.

Best 4 hours I have ever taken off work

It is kind of sad that I haven't posted anything about this yet. It was one of the most amazing days of my short aviation life.  2 weeks ago on a Wednesday, a very affluent friend of mine offered me a chance no one in their flying mind would every turn down.  The conversation went something like this:
"Ben, this is Adam.  What are you up to one Friday?"
"Just work, why is that?"
"Well, if you are available on Friday afternoon or evening, I would like to invite you to see my WWII airplane collection and hang out with some WWII Vets."
"That sounds fantastic, I would love to join"
....
The conversation continued for a little bit about the details.  Also, his name isn't Adam, but I've decided to protect this guy.  He lives a pretty private life.

So, Friday comes along, I worked in the morning and left to pick up one of the Vets.  He was actually in the Korean War, but had some fantastic stories.  We met Adam at the Eagle Creek Airport (KEYE) and flew down in a Baron to Bloomington (KBMG) to see the airplanes. When we landed, we taxied over to the hanger and on the ramp sat a Twin Beech.  This Twin Beech (Beech 18) was the SNB-1 model.  This airplane is one of two flying in the world.  that's right, one of TWO in the WORLD.  There are other models of the Twin Beech, but of this one, the first navy variant, it is one of only two.  I think it was important to say that 3 times.  Well, not only is this airplane still able to fly, it was also able to take up some guests.  Guess who got to sit in the co-pilot seat?  This guy!  It was fantastic.  The controls are not fully duplicated, so my side didn't have rudders, but I did have the yoke.  The reason it wasn't fully duplicated was because of the nose gunner seat.  I also got to sit in this seat when we were flying over Bloomington.  That was pretty fantastic.  Ok, so maybe that was an understatement.

When we arrived back at the airport, we got a tour of the other airplanes.  Because I don't have enough time to tell the story about all of these, I'm just going to list them.
- Beech Staggerwing
- Boeing PT17
- Alexander Eaglerock A-1
- Beech 18 SNB-5
- Beech E18S - (Super 18)

There is one other plane.  I didn't want to put it in that list because it doesn't deserve to be listed.  It is far too superior.  Most people have probably never heard of that plane, but ask a soldier that was in the Pacific Ocean for WWII, and there will be fond memories.  This plane is a PBY-5A.  This is a flying boat manufactured by Consolidated Aircraft from the 40s through the 50s.  These flying boats, sometimes known as the Black Cats, were used in late night bombing raids on Japanese convoys traveling in the Pacific.  They are amazing aircraft, and we did get to walk around inside it and sit in the cockpit.  Quite a fantastic opportunity.

I don't know why it took me so long to tell that story, but it was a great time.  In 2 days I'm going to be having my first seaplane lesson.  I'm pretty excited for that as well!  I'll post about the flight afterward.

I love dogs, duh... (Rescue Flight #3)

Alright, you all probably know this, but I love dogs.  Dogs of all kinds.  Labs, Bassets, Weiners, Basenji's, etc.  In fact, aside from my Shar Pei/Lab mix Bo, the Basenji and Shiba Inu are my two new favorites.   BUT, that is not what I am writing about.  I'm writing to tell you about my most recent flight in support of PilotsNPaws, a non-profit organization that helps dog, cat Wand all animal rescue organizations connect with pilots to move these dogs to safety.  I've done three rescue flights, and this is about the third one.  I'll give a summary first, and if you have the same attention span I do, then you can skip the commentary later on.
Route: KEYE -> KJVY -> KEYE -> HAI -> KEYE
Passengers:
KEYE - KJVY - KEYE - Annie
KJVY - KEYE - KHAI - Mason, Honey (Collie Mixes) and Rufus (Australian Shepherd)
KEYE - KHAI - KEYE - Bobby and Ann (not Annie)
Weather - Clear and beautiful.  A little bumpy on the final legs.
Airplane: N146K a Cessna 172P

The Details:
I took off from KEYE with Annie.  We headed out to the Shelbyville VOR to try to get away from the KIND Class Charlie Airspace and to avoid the MOA and restricted airspace near Camp Atterbury.
The flight down was uneventful.  The FBO at JVY was nice and super friendly.  They let Annie and I hang out while we waiting for Barb to bring the pups up from further south in Kentucky.  She was unable to fly because of fog in the morning, but it cleared up by the time we departed.

We packed Honey and Mason in their own crates and put a harness on Rufus.  They were all super sweet and barely cried at all when we were flying.  We leveled off at 4500' after a 300 fpm climb.  Annie was enjoying herself, which was awesome because I was nervous about her flying.  Rufus was a sweet heart and just laid down in the back as soon as we leveled off.

We landed at KEYE uneventfully and let the dogs out to go to the bathroom.  Annie decided she was done and I took Ann and Bobby up for the rest of the flight.  We were about 100 lbs shy of the gross limit on the C172 with the 180HP engine, and I could tell it was a hot day.  We were climbing pretty slowly.

The flight to KHAI was pretty nice.  A little bumpy down at lower altitudes because the ground was heating up quite a bit.  It wasn't terrible, and no where near what can be felt in late July on a partly cloudy day.  We dropped off the pups with the rescue and wished them good bye.  They had been great, probably my quietest transport so far.  We made it back to KEYE without any issues monitoring KIND approach to hear who was coming in.  I don't always get flight following, but I almost always listen to approach to see who else is around.

I've attached a few photos above, but here are some more.  Those pups are darn cute.
Thanks to Barb, Ann, Bobby and Toni for the photos.

In-Flight Electrical Failure

Well, I had an exciting flight on Saturday. Probably the first time I've been a little bit flustered. Here is the story:

Coby and I took of at about 1 pm for Mt. Comfort (MQJ) and landed over there uneventfully. We stopped inside to get a microphone windscreen for the borrowed headsets. They always whistled and were pretty annoying because you could hear the passengers breathing. We said our good byes and headed back out to the plane.

I sat down in the plane and started my checklist for the next stop, which was going to be Post Air, a small runway on the east side of Indy. Turns out it was closed, so we continued on our course and headed down to Greenwood. The first indication that I knew something was wrong was when I transmitted on COM1. The system had trouble singling out my voice and the transmission didn't sound good. I couldn't hear the transmissions from anyone else and I noticed that all the LEDs on COM2 had gone out. This wasn't terrible, because COM2 was pretty old and shotty anyway. The next thing I noticed was the fuel tanks now showed half full. Considering we had flown about 30 minutes, they should not be half full, they should have had about 90% of their fuel in them. So, I was a little worried and immediately turned back to Eagle Creek.

I thought about contacting ATC at Indianapolis International, but I realized my COMs were completely useless now. I stayed below 2000 ft and changed my squawk from 1200 (default for VFR) to 7600 (the code for lost communications). This wasn't necessary since I was staying out of the way of controlled airspace, but because of my proximity to international, I thought it would be a good idea. We did pass right in front of another plane that was towing a banner. Hopefully that guy didn't get mad at us for being too close. He was about 300 ft below us, but I don't like to get that close to other planes.

We were about 10 miles out from Eagle Creek, just passing north of Downtown Indianapolis and I looked at the fuel gauge again. It was down to 8 gallons a side. I did not like to see this, and started thinking about the reasoning for this. Because the fuel gauges are powered (I assume), and the power was running low it seemed to create a false reading of the fuel tanks. However, at the time I was getting nervous that I had a fuel system leak.

I continued onward, hoping that because I had squawked 7600, that any in coming jet traffic would be aware of my condition. I hoped that Indianapolis ATC had communicated that detail with anyone that they were talking to near the Eagle Creek area. There wasn't anyone else in the pattern when we arrived luckily and I entered an extended base for 21. I didn't fly a normal pattern because I was nervous about the fuel gauges. I got the plane on the ground, taxied up to the FBO and told them about my predicament. We checked the fuel in the tanks and it was where it should have been. There was at least 20 gallons in each side. I tinkered with the switches a little bit and called the maintenance officer to see what I should do. He told me to put the plane back in the hanger.


I went to start the airplane and it just whined and turned the propeller about 45 degrees around. Clearly I didn't have electrical power. The line guys at Eagle Creek gave me a jump and I headed back to the hanger. In retrospect, there had been some squawks about the ammeter not showing a positive charge. We all assumed it was because the gauge wasn't calibrated, but it may have been something else. A "low volts" indicator would have been nice, but I don't know when it would have clicked on. I had enough power to start the engine at Mount Comfort, but not enough to use the radios 10 minutes later.

In other news, I did see the Pipersport aircraft at MQJ. It's the LSA that Piper is competing with the Cessna Sky Catcher. It has a pretty crazy looking non-steerable nose wheel, but other than that looks pretty sleek. We'll see what happens between those two (and all the others!).

Anyway, that's enough excitement for me. I'm not going to be flying for a while due to crappy weather in town, but I'll be getting back with John Oot to finish off my check out in the C182s pretty soon.

PilotsNPaws

Today was a fantastic day to be a pilot.  As a part of Pilotsnpaws.org, Christine and I flew down to Taylor County Airport in Kentucky.  We picked up 9 puppies that would have been euthanized.  They will have a fresh new start in Appleton, Wisconsin.  With the help of Susan in Kentucky, Rhonda from Gary, Chris from Milwaukee, and Mary from Appleton, we saved some fantastic little puppies today.  Christine did a great job taking photos.  Here they are:
http://picasaweb.google.com/pilotsnpaws.lauer.magadanz/101109FirstPilotsNPawsMission#

I can't wait to do it again!