The annual inspection for N833DF was due at the end of\u00a0August. I had planned\u00a0to get it done early, before Oshkosh. I also needed to hone my skills again if I was to fly my wife on such a complex\u00a0trip. I hadn’t been flying it much lately since I’m just about living in the Dash-8, so\u00a0I signed up for\u00a0a type specific flight\u00a0training course with the ICS – International Comanche Society. I’d taken this two day course before when I first purchased the airplane. It is known\u00a0as the CPPP, or Comanche Pilot Proficiency Program.\u00a0I wanted\u00a0to be Sh#! Hot for the Oshkosh traffic and sometimes unpredictable weather.<\/p>\n
The training was out in Capital City airport near Harrisburg, PA. The training includes shutting down an engine, and in my case, I wanted to practice that and shut them both down – one at a time of course.\u00a0After\u00a0shutting down the left engine, I noticed the\u00a0Aspen PFD reported switching\u00a0over to it’s backup battery. That right alternator was\u00a0apparently operating (pre-flighting as good), but not putting out the juice required to keep the ship running on it’s own under load. Not good, specifically since all the LED and avionics upgrades have reduced<\/span> the certified energy originally required.<\/p>\n Can you imagine me losing the left engine in IMC, shutting it down, and then having 30 minutes to land before being\u00a0left with the vacuum AI alone. The Aspen Battery new<\/em> gives you 30 minutes of backup power, but this one was on it’s last month of life before replacement. My landing gear is electric too, though it has a manual backup. None of this was\u00a0an acceptable risk over the Lake Michigan with my wife aboard. You only have redundancy when it is all working and available.<\/p>\n Good news<\/span> – I found out before Oshkosh. \u00a0Bad news<\/span> – it’d have to be fixed before we go. One more thing to do.<\/p>\n So I talk with Sussex Aero and ask them to fit me in for a new alternator. They are jammed, as any good shop normally is, but they love me so they squeezed me in. We talked about doing the annual too, but trying to get the annual done at the same time would jeopardize Oshkosh. We resolved to\u00a0talk\u00a0about that as\u00a0soon as I got back. Oshkosh was flawless – the new alternator ran superbly; the airplane is amazing. I tested both alternators under load several times during the trip.\u00a0Beverly and I have more wonderful Oshkosh stories to tell.<\/p>\n Well – I was so excited and satisfied about making the trip in the middle of a busy schedule that I forgot to have the conversation about my annual when I got back. I think the fact that Rob (Sussex Aero) and I talked it through in August, and that I paid a bill for the alternator work, caused me to mentally check it off my list of things to do.<\/p>\n With the big vacation trip coming in a a month, I noticed I hadn’t flown my airplane since Oshkosh. I needed to get some approaches in and practice with the airplane, so I grabbed up a friend and\u00a0went flying on the\u00a0first day in September. Only AFTER that flight\u00a0did I realize\u00a0that I was actually out of annual. \u00a0Darn!! I called my mechanic\u00a0to get it going, and he was surprised too. We both thought I was good, but checking the records, determined I was grounded for the meantime. He would do his best.<\/p>\n Fast forward to October 1st and the airplane isn’t done. It could be a week or so more, so Bev and I had some re-planning to do. I could wait for the airplane\u00a0and burn one week of vacation if everything worked out, or Bev and I could just go do something else. We talked about it, and decided we’d better take advantage of our time together and not wait for it. The next day we drove in Bev’s new van to Harper’s Ferry to\u00a0spend a wonderful day immersed in Civil War history. Our modified trip by mini-van would take us to Luray Caverns; Skyline Drive; Nashville; Chattanooga; Atlanta; Richmond; and home. We very much enjoyed just being together, but also got to spend time with two families we’d come to know through general aviation. We had a ball, and were very happy to be home and still hanging out with two weeks of vacation left to go!<\/p>\n We arrived home on the 11th, and my airplane was still not done. Though I was tempted to fly to New Orleans once it came back online, we decided right there that just hanging out and doing day trips was more what we wanted to do now. That was the plan.<\/p>\n October 12, 2015 – Surprise!!:<\/strong> The day started out with a planned trip up to see Bev’s parents. Bev was driving, so I read through my emails and saw one about the delayed permanent bid.\u00a0Permanent bids show what base everyone is assigned to\u00a0and\u00a0who is being awarded Captain’s upgrade slots. I read this and joked with Beverly that it could be me, and she’d better be ready for that. In reality I am thinking 1st quarter at the earliest, and I tell her that. I an\u00a0excited\u00a0and amazed just to be thinking about it.<\/p>\n The email was telling us that there apparently are many candidates that have signed up for\u00a0a Captain upgrade slot, but lacked the time requirements. Requirements include 1500 hours total and 1000 hours in a part 121. I’m not surprised, since all of us were told to do just that as soon as we were able. It never ever mattered before since the movement took about 8 years.<\/p>\n The FOs were all\u00a0doing what they were told to do,\u00a0and I was one of them. The only difference for me is that I came in with 3500 total hours, and as\u00a0of\u00a0this writing have about 5000 hours total. Only in September did I surpass the 1000 hours in a 121 environment requirement, so I just now became eligible. The letter warned us to change our bid to FO if we didn’t qualify, but it seemed I was good as of this month.\u00a0Not that it mattered anyway – we’d all have the time when slots opened up.<\/p>\n We get to her parents and turned on the coffee. Nice family time together, and a chance to reconnect with everyone I’ve been too busy to see.\u00a0My phone pings again, just as I sit on the couch. \u00a0New email has arrived and it is a follow-up on the previous email from\u00a0the company. I open it and am absolutely floored. Six names appear as being awarded a Captain upgrade slot, and Frank Dorrin was the fourth of seven.\u00a0I was surprised, excited, and a little concerned. With all the confusion – I’d be leaving in only 7 days and had allot of work to do getting ready.<\/p>\n Had\u00a0I known 14 months ago that I’d have this upgrade opportunity this soon, the decision to retire would have been even easier. This is better than I possibly could have imagined.<\/p>\n
![\"IMG_1574\"](\"http:\/\/www.airdorrin.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/IMG_1574.jpg\")
<\/a>software updates for Garmins and Aspen, and to develop a bid for the ADS-B work coming up. I also needed to replace the Aspen Battery for continued airworthiness, and that was accomplished. Flew a few approaches on the way home; then topped off all tanks since it would most likely be sitting for awhile.<\/p>\n