Big scare story

Doing a 180 and landing on 9R with a 172H after having an engine
failure taking off 27R at FCM (Flying Cloud Minneapolis) on a bitterly
cold day. I don't think I left the airport boundary & the tower said
the wing tips were within a few feet of the 9R snowbank maneuvering
with full flaps in a near-vertical bank. They were reaching for the
fire button expecting me to cartwheel, but I got it stopped OK.

Accumulated ice crystals in the fuel from the previous user blocked the
gascolator screen. In hindsight I shoulda stuffed it straight in (not
a real friendly area) but I thought I'd at least see how far around I
could get. My passenger never flew with me again.........

I now use a little yellow can Heet in the winter and don't fly in below
zero (F) temps.

Looks like I'll now always request a third--floor room from you.


On Wed, 16 Nov 2005 13:03:00 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
wrote:


Pikers.

We've got 38 toilets. When one of the third-floor ones erupts, look out
below!

;-)

I got bit by a gerbil one time.

tom

"Jim Burns" wrote in message
...
More scariest... mean old nasty cow knocked a co-worker down and
proceeded
to grind his face into the barn floor because she thought he was taking
her
calf away. He was unconscious, I jumped in to drag him out. Cow
continued
to step on him and roll him around as I dragged him by the arm hoping that
she preferred him to me. After several surgeries he recovered from a
broken
arm, shoulder, nose, and cheekbone.

I got bit by a gerbil one time.


I won't ask where.




--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

VE

I now use a little yellow can Heet in the winter and don't fly in below
zero (F) temps.

You put alcohol in your fuel?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

This assumes no gasahol - a separate issue in both our states (MN & IA)


I add a couple of tablespoons full of yellow can (isopropyl) HEET every
now and then when the temps drop below freezing. Pure gasoline will
dissolve a small amount of water that will come out of solution and
freeze as the temperature drops below freezing. It looks like very
light snow but it won't go thru a gascolator screen. Consider that in
the winter, gas is usually colder that it has ever been since it was
made down south. It will be cooled in your airplane even more when it
comes out of the ground tanks at say 45 deg F. Like air, warm gas will
dissolve more water than cold gas. The difference on chilling, shows
as snow. The gascolator provides a way that the very smallest amount
of H2O can interrupt the fuel flow - especially at full throttle.

In my case I took a previously fueled airplane from someone else that
had already flown it an hour on that -20 deg F morning. It probably
had the gascolator fully iced from that flight, but there was enough
fuel flow and reserve in the carb bowl to do a normal run up so away we
innocently went. However there was insufficient fuel flow to sustain
takeoff power & we only got above and a little beyond the end of the
runway when it just faded away over only a couple of seconds.

The FAA wasn't able to explain it at the time except to say that "there
are some things we just don't really know about fuels". I found some
data from Amoco that gave the water solubility in gasolines, cranked
some numbers, blended in enough knowledge of chemistry & meteorology to
be dangerous, and yep, that would explain it.

Another FAA fellow had seen the same thing happen to others but didn't
have a good explanation. We went together and published an article in
the Sport Aviation December 1986 issue. It should be required reading
for anyone flying in colder climates.

In the mean time - BEWARE of fuel that has been severely chilled since
it was last filtered!

1984, Comanche 250, I in right seat, all 250 went REALLY quiet on
downwind after switching tanks in a circuit.

Switching tanks again got the noise back. We had swung wide in the
circuit for spacing and could NOT make the runway from that position.

Ten loooooong seconds..

Dave

Dallas wrote:

Ha... I've got rental properties - been there, done that.

I've got a loose contract for repairs to some rentals out in Sea Bright. Two of
them are a steady source of income from this sort of thing.

George Patterson
If a tank is out of ammunition, what you have is a sixty ton portable
radio.

"gatt" == gatt writes:
Fueling a rented 172 and putting 40 gallons into the two
21-gallon tanks.

gatt LOL! Bonus for being short and to the point!

Which reminds me of the joke about the shortest sci-fi story:

The last man on earth was alone in a room. There was a knock on the
door.

Which someone topped:

The last man on earth was alone in a room. There was a lock on the
door.

going to court on the dec 8th because of a rental.
"George Patterson" wrote in message
news:ahRef.44312$Vb.6221@trndny05...
Dallas wrote:

Ha... I've got rental properties - been there, done that.

I've got a loose contract for repairs to some rentals out in Sea Bright.
Two of them are a steady source of income from this sort of thing.

George Patterson
If a tank is out of ammunition, what you have is a sixty ton portable
radio.