Great Attitude: I am very happy to be alive and doing what I love almost everyday. Lots of love, fishing, and awesome flying.
First off, Beverly and I found a new church called Redeemer Fellowship that we really enjoy. We have been devoting quite a bit of time to the study of the Gospel, meeting many new friends, and establishing ourselves into this community. We’ve even taken the symbolic step of being baptized there, so it has been a very busy few months for us. New and different.
Lately, I’ve been flying the two airplanes very well and gaining significant experience. My landings are dead on the centerline and the last 4 or 5 have been real greasers. That make me smile, even though no one else witnessed many of those awesome landings. I’ve also had several actual instrument approaches in weather that were incredibly satisfying. When it all works – its just awesome.
My work schedule and my personal life are completely in sync at this point. The company I fly for has a great safety culture, and clearly cares about its people. That includes me, as they’ve listened to my thoughts on safety and aircraft improvements. Additionally, the company has allowed me to structure the resulting aircraft maintenance and improvement projects around my vacation and medical schedule.
As for the medical schedule, I’m having cataract surgery performed this month. The special lenses being used are UV adjustable after implant, so I’ll be wearing dark sunglasses for weeks afterwards. I’ll not want to be flying during that week, in either airplane. The Cheyenne schedule has been adjusted such that I’ll be able to do my upcoming vacation and eye surgery, along with all the subsequent exams, before the airplane comes back on line.
Keeping Complex Machines Alive: While bringing the Cheyenne home with its new radios, flying solo, the fuel quantity indicator failed. Two days later, from the same airport, my Twin Comanche was coming out of avionics maintenance when the left engine / left mag failed on the way to get fuel in IMC. That is the experience that complex machines sometimes give you.
This equipment has many pieces and parts, and those parts will fail over time. The pilot must diagnose those failures, manage the flight to the ground, and then work with maintenance to resolve the issue wherever you happen to have landed. The owner must understand that this is normal, and constant attention is required to maintain a safe aircraft (the owners I work with get it).
The Cheyenne: The fuel indicator is required for flight, so Jeff met me at the hangar the next day to verify that it wasn’t an intermittent issue that would just clear itself up. It was not, so we ended up ordering a newly overhauled indicator, which has since been installed. Today we will transfer the fuel onboard from one side to the other, so as to completely empty the tanks, one at a time. Then we’ll fill it in known quantities, calibrating each indicator along the way. Finally, we’ll balance the fuel load and be ready.
Jeff and I plan to fly the Cheyenne today, to exercise the airplane, perform several approaches to confirm and validate our procedures, and to get used to the new radios.
The Twin Comanche: Two days after the fuel indicator incident discussed above, I flew my own airplane up to the same avionics shop for a few squawks. Primarily, I have a fuel flow indicator failure on the right engine. This was diagnosed as the sender itself, and a new one was ordered. The second squawk was for software updates, which was resolved when the Aspen ProMax PFD, and the GTX345 transponder received software updates. The GNC215 and the IFD550 were already up to date. Finally, the third squawk was to bring the USB tail for the EDM760 Engine Monitor back down. It had apparently been zip tied up out of reach when the last tech was in there.
Leaving the shop, I flew south on an IMC flight plan. I was headed to get fuel at 33N, Delaware Airpark, since I was down to 15 gal/side up at Lancaster. Heading south on this 25 minute flight, with fuel at one of the lowest levels I’ve flown with in IMC, one of the engines started running rough. I glanced at my engine monitor, and noticed that the Left Engine CHTs were fine, but the EGTs had mysteriously spiked on all left cylinders about 200 degrees higher.
I didn’t know what would cause that at the moment, but reducing power and enriching the mixture resolved the issue for the moment. The roughness improved, but was still there, so I prepared to shut down that engine. Ultimately, I was was able to descend and land with no drama.
I taxied up to the fuel pump and did a magneto check on the left engine before shut-down. Sure enough, the left (electronic magneto) had failed. I shut down, called my mechanic (Paul) on the field to let him know I’d be leaving the airplane with him. After refueling the airplane, I taxied on only the right engine to Paul’s place. He arrived at the shop shortly thereafter, and will be taking a look at it the next day.
How lucky am I: Leaving Escanaba, MI just a few days prior, the left mag failed pre-flight just prior to heading on the long flight home. I unloaded all of the passengers; tripped and reset all of the left electronic mag circuit breakers; and found that the unit came back to life. I then flew over Lake Michigan, Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron, and Lake Erie right on home. The left mag got me home with no issues, before it finally failed this day.
Had the left mag failed in Michigan, I’d have been significantly challenged to find a mechanic in that area of the country that could deal with this. The ordeal would have been expensive and problematic. Instead, it failed in flight on the way to the same airport where my mechanic is based.
I’m taking the airplane to Florida in the coming weeks as well, with four souls onboard. This same failure during this trip would have been equally troubling.
I’m simply too blessed for words to have this fail at this time.
God is looking out for me.
Fly Safe,
Frank