Hanger Flying/ I learned from this experience

At 15:55 09 April 2015, Jonathan St. Cloud wrote:
How did you know the TE was disconnected? My first thought would be
the vario does not work right, I would think it would be a process
involving
several flights and much frustration to find out the TE was disconnected?

Well since you ask -

It was a Duo. It was very obvious that the 302 vario had defective total

energy over the first few flights. There was no visible defect in the
tubing
or TE probe but when I sucked on the TE tube at the instrument end with
the TE tube outlets blocked it was obvious that there was a major leak. We

blew an air supply down the tube while I listened with a stethoscope down
the length of the fuselage and fin which told us only that it was from
somewhere in the fin area. I borrowed an old medical endoscope and we
introduced it through the elevator rod hole in the top of the fin could see
the
tube was completely detached from the fin fitting. The tricky bit was
getting
a photograph to prove it to the agent and factory so as to get the fin hole

and repair done under warranty as there was no direct line of sight - that

took an angled dentist's mirror in the fin, a camera peering into it and a
lot
of trial and error.

All three tubes were held on to the triple probe fitting by tie wraps which
are
worse than useless for that purpose.

John Galloway