Recent content by whitepines

Definitely seeing more "hit or miss" competence. Depends on the sector / controller, but one recent (short) flight I had was an ATC train wreck, using wrong shortened call signs, multiple aborted incorrect calls to other aircraft using break to reset, etc. My favorite from that same flight was...

I can't even imagine what the controllers were going through. Spent over 45 minutes waiting in line on Alpha for IFR release on departure, it was a complete zoo with all the traffic and ZKC just couldn't accept any more departures. That was after a ground stop earlier in the day when they...

Somewhere above Austin, TX suburbs...

Cloud surfing at sunset. Was good to finally see the sun again, been LIFR / IFR with fog / mist for days and days...

Green Bay earlier today from FL200. You can see the ice forming along the edges of the smaller lakes. About the only glimpse of the ground I got enroute!

Instrument pilot here. Not a bad question at all. A lot of instrument training is learning how to multitask as effectively as possible (the human brain is not wired for it, all we can do is approximate true preemptive multitasking), but even then there is a definite cliff -- 100% saturation is...

Just to wrap things up here, new turbo, new turbo mount, new cylinder, new exhaust system parts (header etc.), and the plane is back in service. All told around a $17k unexpected bill and a bunch of driving around the country vs. flying (extra time off work). My biggest takeaways are... 1.)...

Wait, so even after the 0.0 was confirmed he had to remain in HIMS? That's a special kind of kafkaesque nightmare. :eek:

I did edit that out as we learned a lot more about the failure since. I'll chalk this one up to learning about the engines and how small (imperceptible) issues can cascade into huge problems, which is why an engine monitor is a good idea when keeping track of 12 cylinders and two turbochargers...

No, looks like it was flown for a couple of years on those parts before it went up for sale.

Not sure, I can ask. I know the lifters were damaged. Thankfully the cam etc. are fine, so the damaged parts will all be replaced as part of the new cylinder assembly. Digging back in the logs again, the failed cylinder is not original, it was replaced at the same time as the turbo. Several...

Quick update -- we just found broken rocker arm bolts in the No. 5 cylinder. Mechanic and I are both starting to think this was a cascade failure initiated by the cylinder failing on climbout, which surprisingly didn't cause much in the way of additional vibration in the airframe itself prior...

Looks like the last time the turbo was touched was when a new one was installed in 2019. I guess it could have taken several years for the bolts to finally fail? Yeah, I never understood that. If you fly to a professional standard an engine failure in a twin is a non-event. That means...

Got it. So basically being overtorqued there would be no visible indication until one finally let go and a cascade failure occured on the rest? I'll do exactly that. My main concern right now is whether No. 2 is similarly affected, and if there's any way to verify before I have a repeat...

Yeah, and I was hesitant to go there, hence "might have been". Speaking to a couple people just now I don't think the turbo was removed at all since engine installation, as that would not be a normal procedure. I'm definitely learning a lot about these engines! The big question I have is if...