The Most Expensive Ironing Boards in the World...

[Jay Honeck]

We received notification of a Ramada Inn that was selling everything to
the bare walls, in preparation for demolition. Although our hotel is
unique in many ways, we *all* use blow dryers, lamps, end tables --
and, yes, ironing boards -- so this seemed like a great opportunity to
find some real bargains.

Problem: This Ramada Inn happened to be located in Columbia, Missouri,
some 245 miles -- and almost 5 hours -- away.

Solution: General Aviation! Atlas, our Cherokee Pathfinder, with his
1460 pound useful load and 140 knot speed, was the perfect tool to
shrink this awful drive into an 80-minute flight.

The weather couldn't have been better today in Iowa, but a few pesky
1500-foot ceilings awaited us in Missouri. However, with a gigantic
Canadian high pressure system sagging to the south, conditions were
predicted to improve throughout the day -- so off we went.

The flight was utterly uneventful. The fall colors were lovely to
behold, and my landing on Columbia's gigantic Runway 2 was a piece of
cake. We taxied to where all the "little planes" were parked, and were
met by a very friendly line guy, who uttered those most horrible of all
words:

"Is all that oil normal?"

With a sinking feeling, I hopped off the wing to behold a mess of epic
proportions. Oil was EVERYWHERE on Atlas' right flank, dripping
steadily out the lower cowling. This obviously wasn't anything to be
ignored, so we de-cowled the engine, and stared numbly at the God-awful
mess that was our beautiful, low-time O-540.

Interestingly, we were only 1/2 quart down on the dipstick.
Nevertheless, we were unable to see where ANYTHING was coming from
(although it was clearly confined to the right firewall, near our
Airwolf remote mounted oil filter). Joe, the head of maintenance,
offered to pull it in the shop, and within minutes, Cliff -- his senior
A&P -- was meticulously spraying the engine down with degreasing
solvent. All of the mechanics were suspecting the hoses and fittings
going to the Airwolf, but I had my doubts. Those things were stainless
steel-wrapped and extremely high quality; it *had* to be something
else.

Standing a safe distance away, Mary and I pondered our sorry fate. The
kids were out of school in five hours (but, luckily, my son had one of
our cars), and my daughter had a volleyball game that we were supposed
to attend. AND it was parent-teacher conference night. In short, this
was a really BAD day to be stuck in the wrong state, with a broken
airplane. My thoughts turned darker as the mechanics started up the
newly cleaned engine...

Cliff stood in the howling propwash, poking around with a mirror and a
flashlight. Within seconds, he had found what he was looking for, and
signaled to his cohort to cut the engine. The news was not good -- our
oil cooler was leaking at a seam in the metal (not at a fitting), and
would need to be replaced.

Dejected, I asked about parts availability, and Joe, the head of
maintenance, just shrugged. He'd have to make some calls, and who
knows if anyone had one of them available? Rebuilding ours might be an
option, too. Either way, we weren't going anywhere today...

So, what to do? How to get home? We had talked about renting a truck
and hauling all the stuff back to Iowa that we might find at the hotel
sale -- but that was a plan to be executed AFTER we looked at the
stuff. If everything there was junk, there was no need for a truck.

Who did we know that could come rescue us?

After a few minutes of thought, our friend, Doug, came to mind. He had
recently gone from sole ownership of a Cherokee 180, into a 3-way
partnership on a nice, older Mooney. Being a loan officer, business
had been relatively slow lately, due to the housing slump -- and I knew
he had been looking for any excuse to fly that new hot-rod Mooney -- so
I gave him a call. Did he feel like flying for free today?

The answer was "Hell, yes!", and we soon had it arranged for Doug to
zip down from Iowa to rescue us. In his plane, it would take something
like 70 minutes, and his only limitation was that he had to be back for
a 5:30 meeting. We realized that we had plenty of time in the interim
to go to the sale -- so we borrowed the FBO's courtesy car and headed
off in search of that old Ramada Inn...

As I drove out of the lot, feeling crappy about leaving our plane at a
strange FBO far from home, I thought to call Keith, our A&P and good
friend -- mostly for a shoulder to cry on. (But also to see what he
thought about the local shop's diagnosis.) So I gave him a jingle and
we chatted for a bit, when he dropped the bomb shell: "You know, I
think I may have one of those coolers here in the shop."

Dumbfounded, I couldn't help but ask incredulously, "Why?" Keith runs
a very small, part-time shop, and he rarely keeps parts in stock. He
CERTAINLY doesn't keep major stuff like oil coolers laying around --
especially not ones made specifically for a Lycoming O-540 B4B5 model
engine. Yet, inexplicably, miraculously, he had the perfect match
laying on a shelf? I simply couldn't believe it.

He promised he would call Joe, the head of maintenance at the Columbia
FBO, just to make sure the part numbers matched -- and we hung up. I
couldn't stop laughing, and Mary and I enjoyed a much happier lunch
than we had thought possible just minutes earlier.

When I hadn't heard from either Keith or Joe after lunch, I called
Keith back. It seemed that their lunch hours were over-lapping, and
they couldn't find the other -- so I relayed the part numbers and
messages between them. The oil cooler *was* an exact match -- this was
going to work!

So, I made a quick call to Doug, and his plan was no longer a rescue
mission -- but a parts delivery mission! On his way to his plane he
would simply stop at Keith's shop, grab the new oil cooler (and the
all-important yellow tag), and fly off to Missouri. Bada-bing --
problem solved.

Meanwhile, we found the Ramada, and spent over an hour wandering the
eerily silent halls of this once proud hotel. With hundreds of rooms,
gigantic banquet halls, and a kitchen that could easily handle ANY
wedding crowd, it was like wandering the set of "The Shining". We
could easily have spent thousands there, but we simply couldn't figure
out an economical way to ship large stuff (like end-tables and desks)
back to Iowa -- so we resolved to only purchase stuff that would fit
inside Atlas.

Thus, we ended up with a dozen absolutely brand-new wall-mount blow
dryers, and four new hanging ironing boards and irons. We packed the
stuff into the courtesy car, and hustled back to the airport, pulling
in the parking lot literally as Doug's Mooney taxied in.

Carefully carrying the oil cooler like the precious cargo it was, Doug
handed it to me -- and I handed it to Joe. He, in turn, handed it to
Cliff, who instantly set about installing it in the hole left where our
old, cracked cooler once lived.

A few tense minutes passed, as we uncomfortably shifted our weight from
one foot to the other. In my experience, there is ALWAYS the chance
that some holes won't line up, or the fittings won't be the same, or
some other such nonsense -- and I simply still could not believe our
good fortune that the part had been available AND delivered in such a
short span of time. I just EXPECTED it not to fit, and glumly waited
for confirmation of my fears.

It never came. Within minutes, Cliff and his helper were test-running
the plane, once again braving the slip-stream with his trusty mirror.
After a nice, long run at various power settings, he pronounced it
oil-tight and airworthy -- we were saved!

Doug quickly departed for his meeting (there's simply not enough beer
in the world to pay for what he did for us today), and we set about
loading Atlas with irons, ironing boards, and blow dryers. From stem
to stern, his whole underside was dripping with oil, but it was nothing
a few rolls of paper towels (and my son's elbow grease) wouldn't cure
-- and we sure wouldn't have to worry about any corrosion for a while!

After settling up the bill -- and profusely thanking Joe, Cliff, and
all the guys at Central Missouri Aviation -- we climbed into the cool,
crystal-clear sky, amazed at our good fortune. A potentially
disastrous oil leak (possibly the minor one that has bedeviled us for
the past year, gone bad?) turned into nothing but a cosmetic problem,
the parts we needed to fix it turned out to be readily available (from
a friend, no less!), and we happened to be at an FBO with the mechanics
and the time to do the job right when the part broke.

Of course, there *were* a few downsides. I'm not fond of launching on
90-minute cross-country flights with untested new engine parts on board
(the engine was totally dry when we arrived back in Iowa City), and we
REALLY don't want to think about how much those ironing boards cost us
in real terms -- but if things must break (and we know they will) --
*THIS* is the way you want things to go down when they do.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[No Spam]

On 10/5/06 21:30, "Jay Honeck" > wrote:

> We received notification of a Ramada Inn that was selling everything to
> the bare walls, in preparation for demolition. Although our hotel is
> unique in many ways, we *all* use blow dryers, lamps, end tables --
> and, yes, ironing boards -- so this seemed like a great opportunity to
> find some real bargains.
>
> Problem: This Ramada Inn happened to be located in Columbia, Missouri,
> some 245 miles -- and almost 5 hours -- away.
>
> Solution: General Aviation! Atlas, our Cherokee Pathfinder, with his
> 1460 pound useful load and 140 knot speed, was the perfect tool to
> shrink this awful drive into an 80-minute flight.
>
> The weather couldn't have been better today in Iowa, but a few pesky
> 1500-foot ceilings awaited us in Missouri. However, with a gigantic
> Canadian high pressure system sagging to the south, conditions were
> predicted to improve throughout the day -- so off we went.
>
> The flight was utterly uneventful. The fall colors were lovely to
> behold, and my landing on Columbia's gigantic Runway 2 was a piece of
> cake. We taxied to where all the "little planes" were parked, and were
> met by a very friendly line guy, who uttered those most horrible of all
> words:
>
> "Is all that oil normal?"
>
> With a sinking feeling, I hopped off the wing to behold a mess of epic
> proportions. Oil was EVERYWHERE on Atlas' right flank, dripping
> steadily out the lower cowling. This obviously wasn't anything to be
> ignored, so we de-cowled the engine, and stared numbly at the God-awful
> mess that was our beautiful, low-time O-540.
>
> Interestingly, we were only 1/2 quart down on the dipstick.
> Nevertheless, we were unable to see where ANYTHING was coming from
> (although it was clearly confined to the right firewall, near our
> Airwolf remote mounted oil filter). Joe, the head of maintenance,
> offered to pull it in the shop, and within minutes, Cliff -- his senior
> A&P -- was meticulously spraying the engine down with degreasing
> solvent. All of the mechanics were suspecting the hoses and fittings
> going to the Airwolf, but I had my doubts. Those things were stainless
> steel-wrapped and extremely high quality; it *had* to be something
> else.
>
> Standing a safe distance away, Mary and I pondered our sorry fate. The
> kids were out of school in five hours (but, luckily, my son had one of
> our cars), and my daughter had a volleyball game that we were supposed
> to attend. AND it was parent-teacher conference night. In short, this
> was a really BAD day to be stuck in the wrong state, with a broken
> airplane. My thoughts turned darker as the mechanics started up the
> newly cleaned engine...
>
> Cliff stood in the howling propwash, poking around with a mirror and a
> flashlight. Within seconds, he had found what he was looking for, and
> signaled to his cohort to cut the engine. The news was not good -- our
> oil cooler was leaking at a seam in the metal (not at a fitting), and
> would need to be replaced.
>
> Dejected, I asked about parts availability, and Joe, the head of
> maintenance, just shrugged. He'd have to make some calls, and who
> knows if anyone had one of them available? Rebuilding ours might be an
> option, too. Either way, we weren't going anywhere today...
>
> So, what to do? How to get home? We had talked about renting a truck
> and hauling all the stuff back to Iowa that we might find at the hotel
> sale -- but that was a plan to be executed AFTER we looked at the
> stuff. If everything there was junk, there was no need for a truck.
>
> Who did we know that could come rescue us?
>
> After a few minutes of thought, our friend, Doug, came to mind. He had
> recently gone from sole ownership of a Cherokee 180, into a 3-way
> partnership on a nice, older Mooney. Being a loan officer, business
> had been relatively slow lately, due to the housing slump -- and I knew
> he had been looking for any excuse to fly that new hot-rod Mooney -- so
> I gave him a call. Did he feel like flying for free today?
>
> The answer was "Hell, yes!", and we soon had it arranged for Doug to
> zip down from Iowa to rescue us. In his plane, it would take something
> like 70 minutes, and his only limitation was that he had to be back for
> a 5:30 meeting. We realized that we had plenty of time in the interim
> to go to the sale -- so we borrowed the FBO's courtesy car and headed
> off in search of that old Ramada Inn...
>
> As I drove out of the lot, feeling crappy about leaving our plane at a
> strange FBO far from home, I thought to call Keith, our A&P and good
> friend -- mostly for a shoulder to cry on. (But also to see what he
> thought about the local shop's diagnosis.) So I gave him a jingle and
> we chatted for a bit, when he dropped the bomb shell: "You know, I
> think I may have one of those coolers here in the shop."
>
> Dumbfounded, I couldn't help but ask incredulously, "Why?" Keith runs
> a very small, part-time shop, and he rarely keeps parts in stock. He
> CERTAINLY doesn't keep major stuff like oil coolers laying around --
> especially not ones made specifically for a Lycoming O-540 B4B5 model
> engine. Yet, inexplicably, miraculously, he had the perfect match
> laying on a shelf? I simply couldn't believe it.
>
> He promised he would call Joe, the head of maintenance at the Columbia
> FBO, just to make sure the part numbers matched -- and we hung up. I
> couldn't stop laughing, and Mary and I enjoyed a much happier lunch
> than we had thought possible just minutes earlier.
>
> When I hadn't heard from either Keith or Joe after lunch, I called
> Keith back. It seemed that their lunch hours were over-lapping, and
> they couldn't find the other -- so I relayed the part numbers and
> messages between them. The oil cooler *was* an exact match -- this was
> going to work!
>
> So, I made a quick call to Doug, and his plan was no longer a rescue
> mission -- but a parts delivery mission! On his way to his plane he
> would simply stop at Keith's shop, grab the new oil cooler (and the
> all-important yellow tag), and fly off to Missouri. Bada-bing --
> problem solved.
>
> Meanwhile, we found the Ramada, and spent over an hour wandering the
> eerily silent halls of this once proud hotel. With hundreds of rooms,
> gigantic banquet halls, and a kitchen that could easily handle ANY
> wedding crowd, it was like wandering the set of "The Shining". We
> could easily have spent thousands there, but we simply couldn't figure
> out an economical way to ship large stuff (like end-tables and desks)
> back to Iowa -- so we resolved to only purchase stuff that would fit
> inside Atlas.
>
> Thus, we ended up with a dozen absolutely brand-new wall-mount blow
> dryers, and four new hanging ironing boards and irons. We packed the
> stuff into the courtesy car, and hustled back to the airport, pulling
> in the parking lot literally as Doug's Mooney taxied in.
>
> Carefully carrying the oil cooler like the precious cargo it was, Doug
> handed it to me -- and I handed it to Joe. He, in turn, handed it to
> Cliff, who instantly set about installing it in the hole left where our
> old, cracked cooler once lived.
>
> A few tense minutes passed, as we uncomfortably shifted our weight from
> one foot to the other. In my experience, there is ALWAYS the chance
> that some holes won't line up, or the fittings won't be the same, or
> some other such nonsense -- and I simply still could not believe our
> good fortune that the part had been available AND delivered in such a
> short span of time. I just EXPECTED it not to fit, and glumly waited
> for confirmation of my fears.
>
> It never came. Within minutes, Cliff and his helper were test-running
> the plane, once again braving the slip-stream with his trusty mirror.
> After a nice, long run at various power settings, he pronounced it
> oil-tight and airworthy -- we were saved!
>
> Doug quickly departed for his meeting (there's simply not enough beer
> in the world to pay for what he did for us today), and we set about
> loading Atlas with irons, ironing boards, and blow dryers. From stem
> to stern, his whole underside was dripping with oil, but it was nothing
> a few rolls of paper towels (and my son's elbow grease) wouldn't cure
> -- and we sure wouldn't have to worry about any corrosion for a while!
>
> After settling up the bill -- and profusely thanking Joe, Cliff, and
> all the guys at Central Missouri Aviation -- we climbed into the cool,
> crystal-clear sky, amazed at our good fortune. A potentially
> disastrous oil leak (possibly the minor one that has bedeviled us for
> the past year, gone bad?) turned into nothing but a cosmetic problem,
> the parts we needed to fix it turned out to be readily available (from
> a friend, no less!), and we happened to be at an FBO with the mechanics
> and the time to do the job right when the part broke.
>
> Of course, there *were* a few downsides. I'm not fond of launching on
> 90-minute cross-country flights with untested new engine parts on board
> (the engine was totally dry when we arrived back in Iowa City), and we
> REALLY don't want to think about how much those ironing boards cost us
> in real terms -- but if things must break (and we know they will) --
> *THIS* is the way you want things to go down when they do.
> --
> Jay Honeck
> Iowa City, IA
> Pathfinder N56993
> www.AlexisParkInn.com
> "Your Aviation Destination"
>

Great story, Jay. It's nice to hear ones that turn out like that.

-> Don
Any man who may be asked in this century what he did to make his life
worthwhile... Can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction,
"I served in the United States Navy." - President John F. Kennedy

[Gene Seibel]

More than once we've flown 2 hours to "save" $15 shipping on an Ebay
purchase and thought it made perfect sense. ;) ;)
--
Gene Seibel
Tales of Flight - http://pad39a.com/gene/tales.html
Because I fly, I envy no one.





Jay Honeck wrote:
> Of course, there *were* a few downsides. I'm not fond of launching on
> 90-minute cross-country flights with untested new engine parts on board
> (the engine was totally dry when we arrived back in Iowa City), and we
> REALLY don't want to think about how much those ironing boards cost us
> in real terms -- but if things must break (and we know they will) --
> *THIS* is the way you want things to go down when they do.
> --
> Jay Honeck
> Iowa City, IA
> Pathfinder N56993
> www.AlexisParkInn.com
> "Your Aviation Destination"

[NW_Pilot]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> We received notification of a Ramada Inn that was selling everything to
> the bare walls, in preparation for demolition. Although our hotel is
> unique in many ways, we *all* use blow dryers, lamps, end tables --
> and, yes, ironing boards -- so this seemed like a great opportunity to
> find some real bargains.
>
> Problem: This Ramada Inn happened to be located in Columbia, Missouri,
> some 245 miles -- and almost 5 hours -- away.
>
> Solution: General Aviation! Atlas, our Cherokee Pathfinder, with his
> 1460 pound useful load and 140 knot speed, was the perfect tool to
> shrink this awful drive into an 80-minute flight.
>
> The weather couldn't have been better today in Iowa, but a few pesky
> 1500-foot ceilings awaited us in Missouri. However, with a gigantic
> Canadian high pressure system sagging to the south, conditions were
> predicted to improve throughout the day -- so off we went.
>
> The flight was utterly uneventful. The fall colors were lovely to
> behold, and my landing on Columbia's gigantic Runway 2 was a piece of
> cake. We taxied to where all the "little planes" were parked, and were
> met by a very friendly line guy, who uttered those most horrible of all
> words:
>
> "Is all that oil normal?"
>
> With a sinking feeling, I hopped off the wing to behold a mess of epic
> proportions. Oil was EVERYWHERE on Atlas' right flank, dripping
> steadily out the lower cowling. This obviously wasn't anything to be
> ignored, so we de-cowled the engine, and stared numbly at the God-awful
> mess that was our beautiful, low-time O-540.
>
> Interestingly, we were only 1/2 quart down on the dipstick.
> Nevertheless, we were unable to see where ANYTHING was coming from
> (although it was clearly confined to the right firewall, near our
> Airwolf remote mounted oil filter). Joe, the head of maintenance,
> offered to pull it in the shop, and within minutes, Cliff -- his senior
> A&P -- was meticulously spraying the engine down with degreasing
> solvent. All of the mechanics were suspecting the hoses and fittings
> going to the Airwolf, but I had my doubts. Those things were stainless
> steel-wrapped and extremely high quality; it *had* to be something
> else.
>
> Standing a safe distance away, Mary and I pondered our sorry fate. The
> kids were out of school in five hours (but, luckily, my son had one of
> our cars), and my daughter had a volleyball game that we were supposed
> to attend. AND it was parent-teacher conference night. In short, this
> was a really BAD day to be stuck in the wrong state, with a broken
> airplane. My thoughts turned darker as the mechanics started up the
> newly cleaned engine...
>
> Cliff stood in the howling propwash, poking around with a mirror and a
> flashlight. Within seconds, he had found what he was looking for, and
> signaled to his cohort to cut the engine. The news was not good -- our
> oil cooler was leaking at a seam in the metal (not at a fitting), and
> would need to be replaced.
>
> Dejected, I asked about parts availability, and Joe, the head of
> maintenance, just shrugged. He'd have to make some calls, and who
> knows if anyone had one of them available? Rebuilding ours might be an
> option, too. Either way, we weren't going anywhere today...
>
> So, what to do? How to get home? We had talked about renting a truck
> and hauling all the stuff back to Iowa that we might find at the hotel
> sale -- but that was a plan to be executed AFTER we looked at the
> stuff. If everything there was junk, there was no need for a truck.
>
> Who did we know that could come rescue us?
>
> After a few minutes of thought, our friend, Doug, came to mind. He had
> recently gone from sole ownership of a Cherokee 180, into a 3-way
> partnership on a nice, older Mooney. Being a loan officer, business
> had been relatively slow lately, due to the housing slump -- and I knew
> he had been looking for any excuse to fly that new hot-rod Mooney -- so
> I gave him a call. Did he feel like flying for free today?
>
> The answer was "Hell, yes!", and we soon had it arranged for Doug to
> zip down from Iowa to rescue us. In his plane, it would take something
> like 70 minutes, and his only limitation was that he had to be back for
> a 5:30 meeting. We realized that we had plenty of time in the interim
> to go to the sale -- so we borrowed the FBO's courtesy car and headed
> off in search of that old Ramada Inn...
>
> As I drove out of the lot, feeling crappy about leaving our plane at a
> strange FBO far from home, I thought to call Keith, our A&P and good
> friend -- mostly for a shoulder to cry on. (But also to see what he
> thought about the local shop's diagnosis.) So I gave him a jingle and
> we chatted for a bit, when he dropped the bomb shell: "You know, I
> think I may have one of those coolers here in the shop."
>
> Dumbfounded, I couldn't help but ask incredulously, "Why?" Keith runs
> a very small, part-time shop, and he rarely keeps parts in stock. He
> CERTAINLY doesn't keep major stuff like oil coolers laying around --
> especially not ones made specifically for a Lycoming O-540 B4B5 model
> engine. Yet, inexplicably, miraculously, he had the perfect match
> laying on a shelf? I simply couldn't believe it.
>
> He promised he would call Joe, the head of maintenance at the Columbia
> FBO, just to make sure the part numbers matched -- and we hung up. I
> couldn't stop laughing, and Mary and I enjoyed a much happier lunch
> than we had thought possible just minutes earlier.
>
> When I hadn't heard from either Keith or Joe after lunch, I called
> Keith back. It seemed that their lunch hours were over-lapping, and
> they couldn't find the other -- so I relayed the part numbers and
> messages between them. The oil cooler *was* an exact match -- this was
> going to work!
>
> So, I made a quick call to Doug, and his plan was no longer a rescue
> mission -- but a parts delivery mission! On his way to his plane he
> would simply stop at Keith's shop, grab the new oil cooler (and the
> all-important yellow tag), and fly off to Missouri. Bada-bing --
> problem solved.
>
> Meanwhile, we found the Ramada, and spent over an hour wandering the
> eerily silent halls of this once proud hotel. With hundreds of rooms,
> gigantic banquet halls, and a kitchen that could easily handle ANY
> wedding crowd, it was like wandering the set of "The Shining". We
> could easily have spent thousands there, but we simply couldn't figure
> out an economical way to ship large stuff (like end-tables and desks)
> back to Iowa -- so we resolved to only purchase stuff that would fit
> inside Atlas.
>
> Thus, we ended up with a dozen absolutely brand-new wall-mount blow
> dryers, and four new hanging ironing boards and irons. We packed the
> stuff into the courtesy car, and hustled back to the airport, pulling
> in the parking lot literally as Doug's Mooney taxied in.
>
> Carefully carrying the oil cooler like the precious cargo it was, Doug
> handed it to me -- and I handed it to Joe. He, in turn, handed it to
> Cliff, who instantly set about installing it in the hole left where our
> old, cracked cooler once lived.
>
> A few tense minutes passed, as we uncomfortably shifted our weight from
> one foot to the other. In my experience, there is ALWAYS the chance
> that some holes won't line up, or the fittings won't be the same, or
> some other such nonsense -- and I simply still could not believe our
> good fortune that the part had been available AND delivered in such a
> short span of time. I just EXPECTED it not to fit, and glumly waited
> for confirmation of my fears.
>
> It never came. Within minutes, Cliff and his helper were test-running
> the plane, once again braving the slip-stream with his trusty mirror.
> After a nice, long run at various power settings, he pronounced it
> oil-tight and airworthy -- we were saved!
>
> Doug quickly departed for his meeting (there's simply not enough beer
> in the world to pay for what he did for us today), and we set about
> loading Atlas with irons, ironing boards, and blow dryers. From stem
> to stern, his whole underside was dripping with oil, but it was nothing
> a few rolls of paper towels (and my son's elbow grease) wouldn't cure
> -- and we sure wouldn't have to worry about any corrosion for a while!
>
> After settling up the bill -- and profusely thanking Joe, Cliff, and
> all the guys at Central Missouri Aviation -- we climbed into the cool,
> crystal-clear sky, amazed at our good fortune. A potentially
> disastrous oil leak (possibly the minor one that has bedeviled us for
> the past year, gone bad?) turned into nothing but a cosmetic problem,
> the parts we needed to fix it turned out to be readily available (from
> a friend, no less!), and we happened to be at an FBO with the mechanics
> and the time to do the job right when the part broke.
>
> Of course, there *were* a few downsides. I'm not fond of launching on
> 90-minute cross-country flights with untested new engine parts on board
> (the engine was totally dry when we arrived back in Iowa City), and we
> REALLY don't want to think about how much those ironing boards cost us
> in real terms -- but if things must break (and we know they will) --
> *THIS* is the way you want things to go down when they do.
> --
> Jay Honeck
> Iowa City, IA
> Pathfinder N56993
> www.AlexisParkInn.com
> "Your Aviation Destination"
>

Hey, Jay go talk to your tax man see if the expenses of getting the stuff
including the repairs can be used as a business expense?

[Greg B]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>
> Of course, there *were* a few downsides. I'm not fond of launching on
> 90-minute cross-country flights with untested new engine parts on board
> (the engine was totally dry when we arrived back in Iowa City), and we
> REALLY don't want to think about how much those ironing boards cost us
> in real terms -- but if things must break (and we know they will) --
> *THIS* is the way you want things to go down when they do.
> --

Hope your oil leak problem is finally resolved! Sounds like you're living
right, everything worked out well.

Quarter of an AMU per ironing board? ;-)

-Greg B.

[Quilljar]

Jay,
Do you write for Reader's Digest? Because I have read worse titles and worse
stories in that mag. I wd think they would be grateful to publish -
brilliant! Thanks

Quilljar

Never trust anybody who is too sophisticated to own a rubber chicken.

[cjcampbell]

Jay Honeck wrote:

>
> With a sinking feeling, I hopped off the wing to behold a mess of epic
> proportions. Oil was EVERYWHERE on Atlas' right flank, dripping
> steadily out the lower cowling. This obviously wasn't anything to be
> ignored, so we de-cowled the engine, and stared numbly at the God-awful
> mess that was our beautiful, low-time O-540.
>
> Interestingly, we were only 1/2 quart down on the dipstick.

A very little oil sure goes a long way, eh? Amazing, isn't it?

[Bob Noel]

In article . com>,
"Jay Honeck" > wrote:

[snip]
> we
> REALLY don't want to think about how much those ironing boards cost us
> in real terms

Those ironing boards cost almost nothing. You found and fixed a problem
with your airplane. And what better way to find out about a failed
oil cooler than on a SHORT trip?

btw - instead of launching back to IOW, you could have orbited the field
for 30-45 minutes as an extra test, landed, rechecked everything,
and then RTB.

And, of course, I'm glad Atlas is fixed.

--
Bob Noel
Looking for a sig the
lawyers will hate

[Denny]

Jay, just goes to show, ya gotta have friends!

denny

[Jay Honeck]

> Hope your oil leak problem is finally resolved! Sounds like you're living
> right, everything worked out well.

If that pesky, nagging, maddening, un-traceable little oil leak is
finally fixed, I will kiss Atlas' spinner right on the lips, and all
will be forgiven. I've wasted more hours trying to figure out where
that drip was coming from than you can imagine.

The oil cooler leaked right at a seam between two metal segments, which
made seeing the leak impossible without a mirror. And before it let go
enough to actually produce a series of active drips, it just looked
oily like everything else in that general area.

I'm just really, REALLY glad that it didn't "let go" more than it did.
Large parts of Missouri between Iowa City and Columbia are not great
for forced landings...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[real_name]

In article . com>,
"Jay Honeck" > wrote:

> > Hope your oil leak problem is finally resolved! Sounds like you're living
> > right, everything worked out well.
>
> If that pesky, nagging, maddening, un-traceable little oil leak is
> finally fixed, I will kiss Atlas' spinner right on the lips, and all
> will be forgiven.

and post pictures of it on your gallery?

[Jim Burns[_1_]]

Sounds like Coumbia, MO ranks right up there with Dalhart, TX for service
and accommodating people!

Great story, glad everything worked out well. The last time I was in
Columbia MO, I got spanked for walking across the ramp towards an exit
gate.... which was on the other side of the yellow line that designated the
Air National Guard base.

Does your oil cooler "hang" from one side with the opposite side free to
vibrate and rattle around in the wind? If so, you might want to talk to
your A&P about fashioning a support brace for the unsupported side. Next
time we get together, I'll show you what we have on ours.

Jim

[rps]

Jay Honeck wrote:
> ...
> As I drove out of the lot, feeling crappy about leaving our plane at a
> strange FBO far from home, I thought to call Keith, our A&P and good
> friend -- mostly for a shoulder to cry on. (But also to see what he
> thought about the local shop's diagnosis.) So I gave him a jingle and
> we chatted for a bit, when he dropped the bomb shell: "You know, I
> think I may have one of those coolers here in the shop."
>
> Dumbfounded, I couldn't help but ask incredulously, "Why?" Keith runs
> a very small, part-time shop, and he rarely keeps parts in stock. He
> CERTAINLY doesn't keep major stuff like oil coolers laying around --
> especially not ones made specifically for a Lycoming O-540 B4B5 model
> engine. Yet, inexplicably, miraculously, he had the perfect match
> laying on a shelf? I simply couldn't believe it.
> ...

That's one heck of a lucky coincidence. By any chance, did your a&p
acquire the part after you visited him about the oil problem or an
annual? (Not that I'm a conspiracist, or anything...) Most people in
aviation are true gems, but one does run into questionable characters
from time to time.

[Newps]

NW_Pilot wrote:


>>
>
>
> Hey, Jay go talk to your tax man see if the expenses of getting the stuff
> including the repairs can be used as a business expense?

It's all a write off.

[Doug[_1_]]

The quickest repairs I've EVER had have been on the road. That would
have taken a week back at home base! I considered taking my airplane up
to Casper Wyoming and "breaking down" when I want something fixed
pronto, but never did it.

[David Lesher]

Did you bring the old one back? If fixable, a spare never hurts...

--
A host is a host from coast to
& no one will talk to a host that's close........[v].(301) 56-LINUX
Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433
is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433

[Jay Honeck]

> Did you bring the old one back? If fixable, a spare never hurts...

Yep -- but my A&P wants it for the core value. That was part of the
price he charged for the new one.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[JJS]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message oups.com...
>> Hope your oil leak problem is finally resolved! Sounds like you're living
>> right, everything worked out well.
>
> If that pesky, nagging, maddening, un-traceable little oil leak is
> finally fixed, I will kiss Atlas' spinner right on the lips, and all
> will be forgiven. I've wasted more hours trying to figure out where
> that drip was coming from than you can imagine.
>
> The oil cooler leaked right at a seam between two metal segments, which
> made seeing the leak impossible without a mirror. And before it let go
> enough to actually produce a series of active drips, it just looked
> oily like everything else in that general area.
>
> I'm just really, REALLY glad that it didn't "let go" more than it did.
> Large parts of Missouri between Iowa City and Columbia are not great
> for forced landings...
> --
> Jay Honeck
> Iowa City, IA
> Pathfinder N56993
> www.AlexisParkInn.com
> "Your Aviation Destination"
>
>

Hi Jay,
I had the same thing happen to me in 1999 on the way to Oshkosh. I noticed oil on the wing while in flight and
quickly looked at the oil pressure and temperature. We were very close to our first fuel stop so we landed as
planned and when I got out I found the same situation you described. Only a few quarts of oil remained in the
engine. Another cooler was rounded up from a nearby airport and we went on our merry way a few hours later. When I
got to Osh, I looked up the Pacific Oil Coolers, Inc. booth and talked to them about getting my old cooler repaired.
They cautioned me about the unknown origin of the installed oil cooler and suggested that since it was used, and if
it hadn't been cleaned thoroughly, it might have contained some congealed oil and debris from the aircraft from
whence it came. That gunk could be circulating in my engine. Needless to say, that concerned me. I checked up on
Pacific and found several good references. They had a good reputation. When I got home, I sent my leaking cooler to
them and they repaired, cleaned, and yellow tagged it. I pulled the other cooler and reinstalled the yellow tagged
unit.

If the cooler you installed was used and hadn't been cleaned, (and I don't mean flushed with solvent), then I
recommend you consider doing it.

Here's a link to their website and procedure:

http://www.oilcoolers.com/howwell.htm

Joe Schneider
Cherokee 8437R



----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==----
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[Jay Honeck]

> If the cooler you installed was used and hadn't been cleaned, (and I don't mean flushed with solvent), then I
> recommend you consider doing it.

Thanks, Joe, but no worries. This was a yellow-tagged, overhauled oil
cooler that we installed.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Jay Honeck]

> Do you write for Reader's Digest? Because I have read worse titles and worse
> stories in that mag. I wd think they would be grateful to publish -
> brilliant! Thanks

Thanks for the compliment. I haven't measured -- is my story about the
length of time it takes for a "morning constitutional"? (That *is*
the standard story length for Reader's Digest, BTW...)

That's also why the Digest is the size it is. It's designed to fit
perfectly on the toilet tank lid.

(And I'm a life-long subscriber, BTW... ;-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[karl gruber[_1_]]

Jay,

After you overhauled your engine did you get a dynamic prop balance?

When accessories or their mounting brackets start cracking that's a good
place to start looking.

Karl
"Curator" N185KG

[Jay Honeck]

> After you overhauled your engine did you get a dynamic prop balance?
>
> When accessories or their mounting brackets start cracking that's a good
> place to start looking.

Interesting point. We *have* noticed some vibration in the yoke (most
visible on the yoke-mounted GPS) lately, and have discussed getting the
prop balanced (like we did on our old Warrior) -- but when IT started
leaking, we kind of put that on hold.

Now, of course, the prop has STOPPED leaking of its own accord, just to
**** me off...

;-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Morgans[_2_]]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
ups.com...
>> After you overhauled your engine did you get a dynamic prop balance?
>>
>> When accessories or their mounting brackets start cracking that's a good
>> place to start looking.
>
> Interesting point. We *have* noticed some vibration in the yoke (most
> visible on the yoke-mounted GPS) lately, and have discussed getting the
> prop balanced (like we did on our old Warrior) -- but when IT started
> leaking, we kind of put that on hold.
>
> Now, of course, the prop has STOPPED leaking of its own accord, just to
> **** me off...

Sounds like it is time to have the prop balanced.

You got off easy, with a warning failure, in a good place, and a good time,
without jeopardizing your safety. Next time, who knows?

You usually don't get off so easy, the second time.
--
Jim in NC

[karl gruber[_1_]]

Jay,

I don't think I'll ever let a prop shop "overhaul" another prop, unless the
blades are in really bad shape.

The prop shops GRIND away huge amounts of blade and that's why one can never
get more than 3 overhauls on a blade. I need a re-seal right now on my prop.
I'm getting oil on the windshield. It is difficult to keep a BIG prop sealed
because of all the weight being slung around.

So......I just want to have the blades lightly sanded, forget the grinder.
There aren't any rock chips anyway and no peeling from float operations.
Re-seal, sand and paint. Only Pt.135 airplanes require a certified overhaul.

Karl
"Curator" N185KG


"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
ups.com...
>> After you overhauled your engine did you get a dynamic prop balance?
>>
>> When accessories or their mounting brackets start cracking that's a good
>> place to start looking.
>
> Interesting point. We *have* noticed some vibration in the yoke (most
> visible on the yoke-mounted GPS) lately, and have discussed getting the
> prop balanced (like we did on our old Warrior) -- but when IT started
> leaking, we kind of put that on hold.
>
> Now, of course, the prop has STOPPED leaking of its own accord, just to
> **** me off...
>
> ;-)
> --
> Jay Honeck
> Iowa City, IA
> Pathfinder N56993
> www.AlexisParkInn.com
> "Your Aviation Destination"
>

[Doug[_1_]]

You might want to spring for a dynamic balance. Smooths things out
which helps on wear and tear and makes the plane nicer to ride in as
well....

[Dylan Smith]

On 2006-10-06, Jay Honeck > wrote:
> "Is all that oil normal?"
>
> Interestingly, we were only 1/2 quart down on the dipstick.

A little oil, when smeared over the side of the aircraft, goes a long
way. I once did a stupid pilot trick (was interrupted during my preflight and
forgot to replace the oil filler cap/dipstick on the C140!) and on
landing a short time later discovered what looked like a gallon of oil
coating the side and belly of the aircraft. However, not much had
actually been blown out the engine. Fortunately, the cap/dipstick was
still where this idiot had left it - on top of the engine!

--
Yes, the Reply-To email address is valid.
Oolite-Linux: an Elite tribute: http://oolite-linux.berlios.de

[A Lieberma]

Dylan Smith > wrote in
:

> Fortunately, the
> cap/dipstick was still where this idiot had left it - on top of the
> engine!

Fortunately, I have not done this, but this is one of my greatest
fears..... My way of reducing this is to never completely remove the
dipstick, just enough to see the level and put it right back on. The dip
stick on my Sundowner is not a screw on type, but the type you push it to
"click it" in place and put the pull handle in a flat position.

Whenever possible, I try to top off the oil after a flight, so it gives me
a second oppurtunity (subsequent pre-flight) to catch a mistake should I do
something like you describe above.

You must have a very well balanced prop for the dip stick not to shift in
flight sitting on top of your engine :-)

Allen

[John Galban]

Dylan Smith wrote:
>
> A little oil, when smeared over the side of the aircraft, goes a long
> way. I once did a stupid pilot trick (was interrupted during my preflight and
> forgot to replace the oil filler cap/dipstick on the C140!) and on
> landing a short time later discovered what looked like a gallon of oil
> coating the side and belly of the aircraft. However, not much had
> actually been blown out the engine. Fortunately, the cap/dipstick was
> still where this idiot had left it - on top of the engine!
>

I did this on a Continetal powered 172. The dipstick was separate
from the oil filler neck (much bigger opening). I lost 2 quarts on a
3 hr. flight and the plane was covered from nose to tail and dripping
all over my tiedown. Like you, I opened the cowl and found the cap
right where I'd left it. Sitting on top of the battery box. It was
pretty embarrasing, as my IA had come out to see what happened after
seeing me taxi past.

A few years later (same plane) I landed in the middle of nowhere in
Nevada and the FBO lady came out and was excitedly pointing at my
plane. When I got out and saw oil all down the side, I couldn't
believe I'd done it again. As it turned out, I didn't. This time, the
entire oil filler neck had departed the engine somewhere over Idaho or
Nevada. It was press-fit into the engine and had come loose over the
decades. This time I lost 2 1/2 quarts and had to wait 3 days for the
part.

John Galban=====>N4BQ (PA28-180)

[Margy Natalie]

Jay Honeck wrote:
>>Do you write for Reader's Digest? Because I have read worse titles and worse
>>stories in that mag. I wd think they would be grateful to publish -
>>brilliant! Thanks
>
>
> Thanks for the compliment. I haven't measured -- is my story about the
> length of time it takes for a "morning constitutional"? (That *is*
> the standard story length for Reader's Digest, BTW...)

We have a bookcase in the aforementioned room. I don't have any books
in it. I think it's a guy thing (especially if She is WAITING for the
room)!
>
> That's also why the Digest is the size it is. It's designed to fit
> perfectly on the toilet tank lid.
>
> (And I'm a life-long subscriber, BTW... ;-)
> --
> Jay Honeck
> Iowa City, IA
> Pathfinder N56993
> www.AlexisParkInn.com
> "Your Aviation Destination"
>

[Jay Honeck]

> > Thanks for the compliment. I haven't measured -- is my story about the
> > length of time it takes for a "morning constitutional"? (That *is*
> > the standard story length for Reader's Digest, BTW...)
>
> We have a bookcase in the aforementioned room. I don't have any books
> in it. I think it's a guy thing (especially if She is WAITING for the
> room)!

That's why we have three full bathroom/tubs/showers in a home occupied
by just four people.

(And each one has a good selection of reading material...)

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"