Maule Driver
December 23rd 03, 11:22 PM
It's difficult to fly when you gotta take a leak. So always carry a relief device and use it when you have to.
It was only a 1:15 night flight over a well known route into a very familiar airport (14A) Forecast was for clear skies but we ran thru a beautiful line of flurries where visibility stayed over 10 miles and the strobes painted a gorgeous winter season picture with the flakes. Beethoven's 9th was on the intercom, my mate was dozing, I had a thermos of coffee and everything was in the green.
However, this first truly cold weather flight of the season tested my 2 yo battery. I had to pull the cowling and apply a charger before leaving. The bump in the departure process caused me to miss my **** before TO.
So ever so slowly, the urge built up. Intuitively knowing the route, I figured I could make it but didn't quite account for the 25 knot headwind making the trip just a bit longer.
14A has a pretty good slope so even though the wind might give me a little tailwind component, they were supposed to be light. So I do steep descent directly onto a long base leg for 14. As the urge to purge grows, I aim for a short final. Turning final, I can see I'm high so I start a side slip but I"m fast and it's night and I'm just too high. I hold on for a little longer and descend into some uncomfortable chop from the wind rolling over the tree line. Go around.
Amazing how just a touch of adrenaline can focus the mind... what urge? So now I do a full pattern but cut it short again and find myself high. A 2nd go around!
Now I'm quietly mad with myself but know that all I have to do is fly a proper pattern and land the damn a/c. Which I proceed to do though I was still long. I've been into 14A well over 50 times and made more than a score of night landings. This was the first and second time I ever missed it.
As we taxied in we could see our ride pull in but I couldn't make it to the tie down. Mixture out,master off and a quick dismount for relief. Our ride couldn't figure out where we went and started searching the ramp with his headlights until our lights came back on.
Anyway, during my descent I knew that I should just level off, grab the bag, drop the pants, and calm my mind but a form of gethereitis took over. It ended up taking longer taking the shortcut. Sometimes you don't learn anything new, just re-learn what you already knew.
It was only a 1:15 night flight over a well known route into a very familiar airport (14A) Forecast was for clear skies but we ran thru a beautiful line of flurries where visibility stayed over 10 miles and the strobes painted a gorgeous winter season picture with the flakes. Beethoven's 9th was on the intercom, my mate was dozing, I had a thermos of coffee and everything was in the green.
However, this first truly cold weather flight of the season tested my 2 yo battery. I had to pull the cowling and apply a charger before leaving. The bump in the departure process caused me to miss my **** before TO.
So ever so slowly, the urge built up. Intuitively knowing the route, I figured I could make it but didn't quite account for the 25 knot headwind making the trip just a bit longer.
14A has a pretty good slope so even though the wind might give me a little tailwind component, they were supposed to be light. So I do steep descent directly onto a long base leg for 14. As the urge to purge grows, I aim for a short final. Turning final, I can see I'm high so I start a side slip but I"m fast and it's night and I'm just too high. I hold on for a little longer and descend into some uncomfortable chop from the wind rolling over the tree line. Go around.
Amazing how just a touch of adrenaline can focus the mind... what urge? So now I do a full pattern but cut it short again and find myself high. A 2nd go around!
Now I'm quietly mad with myself but know that all I have to do is fly a proper pattern and land the damn a/c. Which I proceed to do though I was still long. I've been into 14A well over 50 times and made more than a score of night landings. This was the first and second time I ever missed it.
As we taxied in we could see our ride pull in but I couldn't make it to the tie down. Mixture out,master off and a quick dismount for relief. Our ride couldn't figure out where we went and started searching the ramp with his headlights until our lights came back on.
Anyway, during my descent I knew that I should just level off, grab the bag, drop the pants, and calm my mind but a form of gethereitis took over. It ended up taking longer taking the shortcut. Sometimes you don't learn anything new, just re-learn what you already knew.