"A legit business trip" or "I finally have something nice to say about the Cessna"

Jim K

Jim K

360 For Spacing
Management Council Member
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Richard Digits
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This effing tractor. It is, believe it or not, less reliable than my airplane. It consistently finds new and creative ways to fail. My personal favorite was when it tried to put itself into two gears at the same time and wiped out the transmission, but i digress.

For yesterday's trick, I had killed the engine pulling away after hitching up to a new nurse tank. Restarted and was on my way. Unbeknownst to me, the starter solenoid stuck on, and the starter kept running. This thing has a 200 amp alternator, so it kept up for quite a while. Almost five minutes, until the varnish on the starter windings melted off, creating a dead short, blowing the 200A alternator fuse, and shutting down every computer on the machine. With the ECU down and 16 knives in the soil, it stopped real quick. You can imagine my shock as I was being thrown into the steering wheel.

Everything booted back up, 12.4V, but no crank. I got out and verified all the oily bits were still inside. Something possessed me to touch the starter, and I was rewarded with a first degree burn. The smoking gun, as it were.

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So i called my dealer. Nope. Don't have one. None of our dealer chain has one. None of our competing dealers has one. It'll have to come from Case, it'll be a couple days.

To the computer. First hit was a company I deal with out of Kankakee. They're close to the airport, which has a courtesy car, they had it in stock, and about a third of the price of the dealer. Of course, I'll have to take the Cessna..................................

Anyway. I flew. First time in... six weeks? It was fine. Like last time. IKK was way windier than forecast by the time I got there. 22g30, but right down the runway. Taxiing was a little sporty. I managed to find two nice things to say about the 172.

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First, hanging your arm out the window like an old farm truck is pretty great on a warm, sunny day.

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Second, unlike the Pipers, I can fly it in my boots.

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It's just so slow. Still beat driving by at least half, though.

New starter, new 200A fuse. 1.7 flight time. Running again.
 
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Jim K said:
First, hanging your arm out the window like an old farm truck is pretty great on a warm, sunny day.

Second, unlike the Pipers, I can fly it in my boots.
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Slander! I fly my Cherokee in boots (cowboy and otherwise) all day long.

And yes, the arm out the window on a low, slow, sunny-day flight is one of the things I miss the most about my little Citabria.
 
AvNavCom said:
Slander! I fly my Cherokee in boots (cowboy and otherwise) all day long.
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Cowboy boots I could almost see. I wear lace up work boots, and always have problems with them getting wedged between the pedals and....whatever else is back there. Size 13 probably is part (most) of the problem. I always do the Mr. Rogers routine and change into running shoes or Chucks to fly. Both for the fit, and also because I feel like I have more feel & control. I keep thinking I should get a sweater to change into to complete the effect.
 
Jim K said:
First, hanging your arm out the window like an old farm truck is pretty great on a warm, sunny day.
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My first time was during my instrument training. It was a beautiful evening and after a tough session, we both popped open out windows for the flight home.
 
Jim K said:
Cowboy boots I could almost see. I wear lace up work boots, and always have problems with them getting wedged between the pedals and....whatever else is back there. Size 13 probably is part (most) of the problem. I always do the Mr. Rogers routine and change into running shoes or Chucks to fly. Both for the fit, and also because I feel like I have more feel & control. I keep thinking I should get a sweater to change into to complete the effect.
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Same here... except I'm not a giant. Carolina's with steel toe and metatarsal guard. Just can't the proper feel. I used to heel toe shift when racing so my feet can dance. Just not in the Cherokee. I keep a pair of Van's in the hangar.
 
First off, the real problem is the color of the tractor. :rofl:

But it reminds me of the first time I got turned loose with an airplane and a credit card…Cherokee 6 down to Ft. Dodge, IA, for a combine part.:rockon:
 
eman1200 said:
is there a beer cooler on that tractor?
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You know, a lot of guys used to do that. Not so many nowadays. I've never done it because I get a splitting headache if I day drink.
 
Jim K said:
Cowboy boots I could almost see. I wear lace up work boots, and always have problems with them getting wedged between the pedals and....whatever else is back there. Size 13 probably is part (most) of the problem. I always do the Mr. Rogers routine and change into running shoes or Chucks to fly. Both for the fit, and also because I feel like I have more feel & control. I keep thinking I should get a sweater to change into to complete the effect.
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Back to the tractor... So if the starter caused the problem, how long until you get to repeat the process? Or did you fix the starter solenoid?
 
eb87f said:
Back to the tractor... So if the starter caused the problem, how long until you get to repeat the process? Or did you fix the starter solenoid?
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I'd take guess and say a new solenoid is part of the new starter.
 
That's a good question. The solenoid is integrated with the starter so they're replaced as one unit. There's two other relays in the system that could also cause the issue, but those are (currently) working correctly. If it happens again, it'd be pretty trivial to wire a warning light into the system. The guys who work on these things tell me it's a weird failure though.
 
Your tractor is the wrong shade of green...then again, maybe that's how you were able to get non-dealer parts for it without contacting some JD Mafia connection...

was there any anhydrous left when you got back to it, or do folks not make off with that these days?
 
bentmettle said:
Your tractor is the wrong shade of green...then again, maybe that's how you were able to get non-dealer parts for it without contacting some JD Mafia connection...

was there any anhydrous left when you got back to it, or do folks not make off with that these days?
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From what i hear, nh3 thefts have not been a problem around here the last few years. Maybe 10 years ago it was a big deal.

Also possible they just got smarter and learned to only steal the few gallons they need and not leave the valve open...
 
Is that tank on the back filled with N2O and piped into the cabin?
 
Whew. Seeing that setup in the field makes my eyes water and nose burn just thinking about filling those stinking tanks. The last year I worked at our outfit, we had two risers that could fill 4 tanks each at a time, so we had 8 slots to juggle at a time. Add in the pain of adding N-serve to only some tanks and having some farmers that could pull the big tanks and some that could only pull the smaller OG tanks, and during peak time it was a constant logistics nightmare. I don't miss that part.

I do miss being on the other end of the rig in the cab of the tractor, though. Putting down gas until 2-3am to try to beat the incoming weather. Getting out to take a leak or change a tank and realizing 'Holy crap.. It got cold out here!', then piling back into the warm cab that smells like a combination of diesel and hydraulic fluid. Mmmmm.. They should make that into a cologne. ha

Hope you have a good spring and stay safe!
 
MauleSkinner said:
First off, the real problem is the color of the tractor. :rofl:

But it reminds me of the first time I got turned loose with an airplane and a credit card…Cherokee 6 down to Ft. Dodge, IA, for a combine part.:rockon:
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If he changed it to green, he would be broken down just as much but he wouldn't be able to replace the starter himself and the cost would be double. Right to repair indeed, lol.
 
CJones said:
Whew. Seeing that setup in the field makes my eyes water and nose burn just thinking about filling those stinking tanks. The last year I worked at our outfit, we had two risers that could fill 4 tanks each at a time, so we had 8 slots to juggle at a time. Add in the pain of adding N-serve to only some tanks and having some farmers that could pull the big tanks and some that could only pull the smaller OG tanks, and during peak time it was a constant logistics nightmare. I don't miss that part.

I do miss being on the other end of the rig in the cab of the tractor, though. Putting down gas until 2-3am to try to beat the incoming weather. Getting out to take a leak or change a tank and realizing 'Holy crap.. It got cold out here!', then piling back into the warm cab that smells like a combination of diesel and hydraulic fluid. Mmmmm.. They should make that into a cologne. ha

Hope you have a good spring and stay safe!
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Is it weird that I like the smell of nh3? There's something kind of fun about the process, too. The big industrial valves, handling such a nasty chemical, the wisps of vapor.

Gotta respect it though. I got a NASTY burn a few years ago. Scraping the dead skin off was the most painful thing I've every experienced. A couple years ago I got a full face respirator and that's been a game changer.
 
Jim K said:
Is it weird that I like the smell of nh3? There's something kind of fun about the process, too. The big industrial valves, handling such a nasty chemical, the wisps of vapor.

Gotta respect it though. I got a NASTY burn a few years ago. Scraping the dead skin off was the most painful thing I've every experienced. A couple years ago I got a full face respirator and that's been a game changer.
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It reminds me of when I first started working ground crew for the crop duster. The first morning I was there, when the PT-6 fired up, I told my boss "Oh man.. I love the smell of jet exhaust". He looked at me and grinned and said "That won't last". Fast forward to an insanely hot July afternoon sitting on the wing of the 402 fueling it up with the hot exhaust blowing right on my neck and fumes seemingly wrapping around the bill of my hat directly into my eyes, looking at the other three planes lined up waiting to be loaded, and yeah... jet fumes have a different effect and trigger a different memory than it used to.

As for NH3, I escaped without any issues, which is saying something b/c one of the guys I worked with was a walking OSHA violation. Probably the worst was when we were working on the toolbars between seasons and found one that hadn't had the cooler bled, and the previously mentioned OSHA violation guy decided that it would be a good idea to stick the nurse hose into a 5 gal bucket of water and bleed the NH3 off in the water INSIDE THE SHOP... We all bailed out of the shop with snot blowing out our noses from the burning and eyes swelled up and watering. The shop wreaked for weeks after that. Sigh.
 
Jim K said:
Is it weird that I like the smell of nh3? There's something kind of fun about the process, too. The big industrial valves, handling such a nasty chemical, the wisps of vapor.

Gotta respect it though. I got a NASTY burn a few years ago. Scraping the dead skin off was the most painful thing I've every experienced. A couple years ago I got a full face respirator and that's been a game changer.
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I never particularly cared for the smell of jet exhaust, but when I was working for the Navy there was one morning I spent on the flight line at China Lake near where the F-18s were running up, after spending the previous night drinking with the Navy Chiefs I was working with... after that I really don't like the smell! :vomit:
 
Dana said:
I never particularly cared for the smell of jet exhaust, but when I was working for the Navy there was one morning I spent on the flight line at China Lake near where the F-18s were running up, after spending the previous night drinking with the Navy Chiefs I was working with... after that I really don't like the smell! :vomit:
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Smells are powerful memory aids. Jet exhaust always takes me back to learning to fly at Williams Air Force Base in 1969.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Nuh uh! Al Mooney was eleventeen feet 137 inches tall! :D
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Al Mooney invented air seeding when he spat a mouthful of seed wheat at a fallow quarter of land and, just six weeks later, the field yielded so many bushels that the local elevator cooperative voted to ban him for life for disrupting the market. That’s why he got into aviation.
 
iamtheari said:
Al Mooney invented air seeding when he spat a mouthful of seed wheat at a fallow quarter of land and, just six weeks later, the field yielded so many bushels that the local elevator cooperative voted to ban him for life for disrupting the market. That’s why he got into aviation.
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Thank God he & Chuck Norris lived in different eras.
 
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