Shaking off the Rust

Saturday, 24 February 2007

Forgive me Father for I have sinned!
It has been three months since my last flight.
I didn't mean to stay grounded for so long, but the weather and my
schedule just have not cooperated.
I preheated the engine to prevent excessive wear. I allowed the engine
to idle until the oil temperature and pressure were sufficiently in the
green before takeoff. I put the cowl plugs in and closed the cowl flaps
at each stop to keep the residual heat in the engine compartment.
I did fly 3.7 hours, have six takeoffs/landing at four different
airports, and did not travel more than 80 nm from my home base.
I did take a friend flying and fly to an out of state airport for lunch.
I did stop in at SPORTY's and check out the display cases.
All my landings were cross-wind with the winds gusting 20-25 kts.
My flying was not up to my usual standards as I flew wide patterns and
pattern speeds were too fast.
I plan to fly two more days in the next month to help get me back into
my natural rhythm.
I did a good deed. I arrived just in time to watch as a Cirrus pilot who
had flooded his engine while trying to start yet again. Fuel was
dripping from the lower cowling. A fuel puddle the size of a large pizza
lie beneath the exhaust stack. The battery was getting weaker with each
attempt. The strobes were flashing and the beacon was on. During a break
in the start attempts, I walked up and knocked on the side window. When
he opened the door, I noticed that the display screens were brightly
lit. I advised him to shut down all his electrical equipment, turn on
only the battery switch and follow his flooded engine procedure. The
engine started on his next attempt.
It felt good to aid clueless pilot.
I hope he remembered to turn on the alternator switch after the engine
started.

"john smith" wrote in message
...
Saturday, 24 February 2007

Forgive me Father for I have sinned!
It has been three months since my last flight.
I didn't mean to stay grounded for so long, but the weather and my
schedule just have not cooperated.
I preheated the engine to prevent excessive wear. I allowed the engine
to idle until the oil temperature and pressure were sufficiently in the
green before takeoff. I put the cowl plugs in and closed the cowl flaps
at each stop to keep the residual heat in the engine compartment.
I did fly 3.7 hours, have six takeoffs/landing at four different
airports, and did not travel more than 80 nm from my home base.
I did take a friend flying and fly to an out of state airport for lunch.
I did stop in at SPORTY's and check out the display cases.
All my landings were cross-wind with the winds gusting 20-25 kts.
My flying was not up to my usual standards as I flew wide patterns and
pattern speeds were too fast.
I plan to fly two more days in the next month to help get me back into
my natural rhythm.
I did a good deed. I arrived just in time to watch as a Cirrus pilot who
had flooded his engine while trying to start yet again. Fuel was
dripping from the lower cowling. A fuel puddle the size of a large pizza
lie beneath the exhaust stack. The battery was getting weaker with each
attempt. The strobes were flashing and the beacon was on. During a break
in the start attempts, I walked up and knocked on the side window. When
he opened the door, I noticed that the display screens were brightly
lit. I advised him to shut down all his electrical equipment, turn on
only the battery switch and follow his flooded engine procedure. The
engine started on his next attempt.
It felt good to aid clueless pilot.
I hope he remembered to turn on the alternator switch after the engine
started.

Ditto. Had a IPC scheduled last weekend. The weather wasn't too bad but my
plane was iced over (including ice in the belly which can interfere with
control rods) and it wasn't worth it to me to pay for a hangar.

Re-scheduled for yesterday. The local weather was flyable. The plane was
clear. But, just to the north and west was the beginnings of the ice storm
(not exactly a storm here but ice non-the-less). Scrubbed again.

Maybe next weekend. Arghh.

--
-------------------------------
Travis
Lake N3094P
PWK

john smith wrote:
Forgive me Father for I have sinned!
It has been three months since my last flight.

Yeah...I just had to fill out a questionnaire for our insurance and when
filling out the flight hours for the last 90 days was surprised at the
lower than average number.

I did a good deed. I arrived just in time to watch as a Cirrus pilot who
had flooded his engine while trying to start yet again. Fuel was
dripping from the lower cowling. A fuel puddle the size of a large pizza
lie beneath the exhaust stack.
Nice recipe for disaster. Add an ignition source and poof, you could
end up with a melted plastic...er...um...composite, yeah that's it,
airplane.

The strobes were flashing and the beacon was on.

...I noticed that the display screens were brightly
lit.
I guess he missed the "master off" item on the checklist...if a
checklist was being followed that is.

I had an interesting thing happen while starting the Arrow last week. A
few times when it's been fairly cold (for us) and the plane hasn't flown
in a week or so, it will take a bit more cranking than normal to start.
The last time I flew, it was bad enough that after two blades, it
would stop cranking. Normally the only thing electrical that is turned
on via switches prior to cranking the engine is the beacon. I killed
the beacon...still, two blades and no more. I then thought I'd kill the
alt half of the master. On the next start attempt, it fired right up.
I don't remember if it was after two or three blades. Maybe
coincidence, maybe not having the t/c gyro and everything else
electrical that doesn't go through the avionics master did the trick.


--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL-Instrument Airplane

"To become a Jedi knight, you must master a single force. To become
a private pilot you must strive to master four of them"
- Rod Machado

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)

Normally the only thing electrical that is turned on via switches prior
to cranking the engine is the beacon. I killed the beacon...still, two
blades and no more. I then thought I'd kill the alt half of the master.
On the next start attempt, it fired right up. I don't remember if it was
after two or three blades. Maybe coincidence, maybe not having the t/c
gyro and everything else electrical that doesn't go through the avionics
master did the trick.

I know what I am going to type is counter-intuitive, but hear me out.

If you run into a battery that is not quite up to the job of getting enough
cranking speed, try the following procedure.

If it does not catch as quickly as it usually does, before you kill the
battery, stop-turn everything off, for two minutes. Look at your watch, or
timer. After the two is up, turn on your landing light, for one minute.
Again, time it. Turn everything off, and immediately try turning it over to
start. It will turn over faster than it did the first time.

The theory is that putting a relatively small continuous load on the battery
heats it up a bit, without taking too many amps out of it. The warm battery
will now be capable of putting out more amps than it could at the
temperature it was before.

Anyone else ever hear of that, or do this procedure before? It has worked
for me.
--
Jim in NC

In article ,
"Morgans" wrote:

Normally the only thing electrical that is turned on via switches prior
to cranking the engine is the beacon. I killed the beacon...still, two
blades and no more. I then thought I'd kill the alt half of the master.
On the next start attempt, it fired right up. I don't remember if it was
after two or three blades. Maybe coincidence, maybe not having the t/c
gyro and everything else electrical that doesn't go through the avionics
master did the trick.

I know what I am going to type is counter-intuitive, but hear me out.

If you run into a battery that is not quite up to the job of getting enough
cranking speed, try the following procedure.

If it does not catch as quickly as it usually does, before you kill the
battery, stop-turn everything off, for two minutes. Look at your watch, or
timer. After the two is up, turn on your landing light, for one minute.
Again, time it. Turn everything off, and immediately try turning it over to
start. It will turn over faster than it did the first time.

The theory is that putting a relatively small continuous load on the battery
heats it up a bit, without taking too many amps out of it. The warm battery
will now be capable of putting out more amps than it could at the
temperature it was before.

Anyone else ever hear of that, or do this procedure before? It has worked
for me.

I have heard of (probably on this group a couple years ago) but have
never tried it. Cold starts depend on the amount of priming, also.

Jim, I've used that "trick" many times. If you live up here in the
frozen tundra it will make you a believer. I've used it successfully
on trucks, tractors, garden tractors, and the Aztec. I've haven't
heard that it makes the battery warmer, but rather that the draw
causes the battery to "wake up" and re-charge itself. Suposedly the
draw from the starter isn't long enough to "wake up" the battery.
JimB

"Travis Marlatte" wrote in message
Ditto. Had a IPC scheduled last weekend. The weather wasn't too bad but my
plane was iced over (including ice in the belly which can interfere with
control rods) and it wasn't worth it to me to pay for a hangar.

I was mowing the lawn today and got ****ed when I hit a sprinkler head.
Muttered some expletives and drove to the marina with the convertible's top
down. The girlfriend showed up wearing short shorts and a bikini top. We
hopped in the boat and went fishing.

Why do people still live up north?

D.

Forgive me Father for I have sinned!
It has been three months since my last flight.

You are forgiven, my son -- but only if you perform the following
penance:

1. 3 "Hail Mary" simulated engine-out landings...
2. 2 "Our Father" cross-country flights...
3. 1 "Rosary" Young Eagle flight...

And, finally, don't forget the "Stations of the cross"-wind
landings...

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

Why do people still live up north?

Personally, I'm banking on "global warming"...

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

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message Personally, I'm banking on "global
warming"...

Something is going on. It's the middle of February and a zillion boats have
been crossing over from the States all winter. Usually in the winter I see
nothing but whitecaps when flying overhead. Usually the seas are so rough
that even the small freighters can't make a crossing. This year I see a
bunch of boats on calm waters. The sea bottom hasn't been stirred up once.
The last time I saw this weather pattern was 1992, which brought Hurricane
Andrew.

D. (navigating by the color of the water)