NC Pilot
Cleared for Takeoff
Several weeks ago I volunteered for an Angel Flight that was to happen today from Hilton Head to New Bern, NC (EWN). Last Thursday I called to see what was going on since I had not heard anything. Turns out the link from Jacksonville, FL to Hilton Head had not been filled yet. Took a look at the time and figured that another 1.5 hours of flying an I could cover this, it was a good cause, so I took the entire trip from Craig Municipel (KCRG) to KEWN.
Plan was to arrive at Craig at 10:00 AM to pick up my passengers. Plan was working great. I was flaring the plane over the runway at precisely 10:00 when, as they say, "the best laid planes on mice and men" fall apart. As the nose wheel touched down the plane got real squirelly. Figuring the nose wheel was flat I added a little power and pulled back on the yoke to take the weight off the nose until I could get to the taxiway. Pulled off the runway, shut down and called the tower. Soon a tug came out to haul the plane in. Called the mechanic. He had parts for nothing smaller than a King Air. Called another mechanic. No answer.
At this point I went in to explain the situation to my two waiting Angel Flight passengers and quickly realized there was another problem. The 205 lb passenger had not seen a scale at least 100 pounds ago. I had enough useable weight in the plane, but it was fortunate my friend, who was going to ride along with me, cancelled on this flight. I decided to handle this later...
Back to the tire. I asked the line guys to please pull the plane into the hanger and I would repair the tire. They did, I jacked up the nose, removed the nose wheel, split the rims and removed the tube. Apparently the tube had gotten pinched when installed during the last annual (in April) and chose this moment to let go. One of the line guys offered to drive me to an auto parts place where I purchased a tire patch kit ($3.02) and repaired the tube on the way back to the airport. Once there, the tube, tire and wheel were reunited, pumped up to pressure and checked. Everything good so far.
Loaded my passengers in the plane (no, please don't hold onto the door to pull yourself in please), tossed a 20 to the line guys for their help and headed off after losing about 1.2 hours on the ground. The flight back to NC was uneventful compared to the time on the ground with great visibility and a wicked cross wind.
All in all a satisfying day, 6.8 hours of flying time and some challenges that were overcome. A fun day of aviating. Now to Email Angel Flight to make sure they push to emphisize the importance to telling the truth about weights...
Plan was to arrive at Craig at 10:00 AM to pick up my passengers. Plan was working great. I was flaring the plane over the runway at precisely 10:00 when, as they say, "the best laid planes on mice and men" fall apart. As the nose wheel touched down the plane got real squirelly. Figuring the nose wheel was flat I added a little power and pulled back on the yoke to take the weight off the nose until I could get to the taxiway. Pulled off the runway, shut down and called the tower. Soon a tug came out to haul the plane in. Called the mechanic. He had parts for nothing smaller than a King Air. Called another mechanic. No answer.
At this point I went in to explain the situation to my two waiting Angel Flight passengers and quickly realized there was another problem. The 205 lb passenger had not seen a scale at least 100 pounds ago. I had enough useable weight in the plane, but it was fortunate my friend, who was going to ride along with me, cancelled on this flight. I decided to handle this later...
Back to the tire. I asked the line guys to please pull the plane into the hanger and I would repair the tire. They did, I jacked up the nose, removed the nose wheel, split the rims and removed the tube. Apparently the tube had gotten pinched when installed during the last annual (in April) and chose this moment to let go. One of the line guys offered to drive me to an auto parts place where I purchased a tire patch kit ($3.02) and repaired the tube on the way back to the airport. Once there, the tube, tire and wheel were reunited, pumped up to pressure and checked. Everything good so far.
Loaded my passengers in the plane (no, please don't hold onto the door to pull yourself in please), tossed a 20 to the line guys for their help and headed off after losing about 1.2 hours on the ground. The flight back to NC was uneventful compared to the time on the ground with great visibility and a wicked cross wind.
All in all a satisfying day, 6.8 hours of flying time and some challenges that were overcome. A fun day of aviating. Now to Email Angel Flight to make sure they push to emphisize the importance to telling the truth about weights...
! Always good to check.