Learning to Fly

Wings and Wheels '09 @ KTEB

The annual Wings and Wheels expo at Teterboro Airport.  Some very interesting and fantastic airplanes on display.  (Yes, there were some nice cars there, too.)  Some photos here.

Pilots N Paws 5000

The good folks at Pilots N Paws are trying to raise awareness by transporting 5000 pets this week.  This seemed like a really good opportunity to fly, so this past Tuesday, I make arrangements to pickup 5 dogs in MD coming from VA for transport to Orange County in NY.

On my way down to Carroll County airport in MD, I have an electrical system fault.  (Not again!)  I get a low voltage warning, as well as a failed alternator warning, and have no choice but to put down in Reading, PA.  The mechanic agrees that it is most likely the alternator, but having arrived at 4:30pm, there is nothing he could do that day.  The folks at Millennium Aviation were super helpful, and they arrange for an rental car for me to drive back to NJ (at 120 miles, not too bad), while I scramble to arrange for repairs to the plane, and contact the pilot flying the first leg that I will not be able to meet him in MD.

The dogs are stranded in MD for the time being---thanks to the heroic efforts of a local PNP pilot, they have shelter for a few days while we scramble to find a pilot to fly them the rest of the way.  Unfortunately, the pilot who volunteered was kept on the ground by bad weather on Wed & Thurs, and on Thursday night I get a call from the first-leg pilot that the dogs are still in MD.

So, I put out another emergency request, while trying to secure another plane to do the transport myself.  As luck would have it, the club 172 is available for the afternoon, so I decide to do the transport myself.

The weather up in NJ is clear blue skies with a few clouds.  The weather down in MD is not so good---ceiling is at 1000 feet.  I call for the weather forecast---30 knot headwinds forecast all the way, IMC at the destination (though with the forecast set to improve), and an Airmet Tango forecast for "moderate" turbulence along the route.  (For the benefit of non-pilots, what most people think of as "turbulence" hardly registers.  The definition of "moderate" turbulence is momentary loss of control of the aircraft.) I huddle with the flight instructor, and he says that if I encounter turbulence, I just need to remember to reduce the speed (to prevent excessive stress on the airframe), and I need to have a plan B.  I note that there are numerous major airports along the route I could put down at, and decide to head out. On the tarmac, I bump into another instructor who quips "They alway have Airmet Tangos.  If you didn't go every time, you would never go anywhere.  Just have a plan B."  Okay then.

I figure that this would give me good practice in actual instrument conditions.  No such luck. I take off on an instrument flight plan, climb to 6000 feet, and find myself VFR-on-top (clouds below me, but clear skies all around). And as I proceed southward, the clouds below seem to be burning off.  By the time I get to Carroll County, VFR conditions prevail, and after punching through a thin layer of remaining clouds, I get a visual approach into the airport.

Pick up the 5 cutest dogs (the black lab puppy was to die for).  The two puppies get crated and put behind the back seat of the aircraft.  Two medium sized dogs get put in a medium crate on the back seat, and one dog gets harnessed to the back seat.  The C172 is tiny (think 1970s Honda Civic), but is able to carry a surprising number of dogs if you are creative about loading.

Take off from Carroll County Airport under VFR conditions.  Request VFR flight following (communication with the controller, where ATC keeps an eye on you) over Harrisburg.  The trip to Orange County airport is a quick hour and 40 minutes. (The head wind on the way down that was supposed to become a tail wind has died down quite a bit.)  And now, we are starting to see some clouds.  I start off at 5500 feet, but there is a pretty thick layer of clouds right at my altitude past Harrisburg, and since I'm flying VFR, I duck down to 3500 feet the rest of the way.

Funny thing about dogs, most howl and whine when they are first put on a plane, but most seem to just fall asleep en route.  And so it was with the five.  I hardly knew they were there.

Touch down at Orange County right at 6pm---on time for once.  The dogs get herded into a van on their way to a new (and hopefully better) life.

I return home to a voicemail box full of messages from pilots responding to my urgent request for assistance on PNP.  It is amazing how people will step up---from the various pilots who volunteered their time and planes, to the people down in MD who took care of the 5 dogs while they waited for transport.

Yet Another PNP Rescue Flight

I was off to do another PNP rescue flight---this time picking up a bunch of puppies being moved up to NY from VA.  Having just recently been checked out on the SMA "Diesel" C182Q, I decide to take this plane down.  Supposed to meet the first leg pilot at KDMW.

Depart from Caldwell without incident, check in with Allentown approach to request flight following.  But just past Reading (KRDG), the alternator warning light illuminates.  I shut down all unnecessary avionics and let the controller know that I am having electrical problems, and I need to diver to the nearest airport. I pull out my handheld radio just in case my onboard radio dies.  So far the FADEC warning light hasn't come on, so the FADEC is working fine on just the batteries.  He points me to Reading airport which is about 10 miles to the northwest.  I have a straight in approach to runway 31.  I land without incident, and just as I am landing the alternator briefly comes back to life, and stays up through most of the taxi, but abruptly quits again at the end.

I pull up to an FBO with a mechanic on site, explain to him my problem. This is the first time he's seen a compression ignition piston aircraft, but he confirms that the alternator is probably dead.  But seeming as it is 4:30pm, nothing he could do that day.

I briefly contemplate having him charge up the batteries to full, and heading back to CDW running the engine in mechanical backup mode where I could get the plane to a mechanic who knows the plane.  But with a TFR in place around the NY area (I think Pres. Obama was visiting, or maybe it's the UN), the thought of losing my transponder and radio is not appealing.

So, I decide to leave the plane with the folks at the FBO---if it is the alternator, it should be a pretty easy fix. I scramble to arrange to have the dogs kenneled around KDMW, and rent a car to drive back to NY (about a 2 hour drive).  I will come get the plane when the repairs are done---thank goodness it didn't happen further into my trip.

I have to say that in all this, the folks at Millenium Aviation at KRDG were incredibly accommodating and helpful.