Pennsylvania to Connecticut to South Carolina... and everywhere in between

[Ted]

This weekend is a big event for ARF (Animal Rescue Flights), an organization I've been working with for about the past 6 months. We're transporting 30 dogs (this is just one trip) from South Carolina up to New York and New Hampshire.

When you have a plane that has characteristics similar to a winged truck, it's amazing how many friends you make, especially when transport involves lots of stuff.

I was going to fly up to Connecticut last night (I had to go to New York City anyway to check on my mom's apartment). Then a friend asked me if I could drop him and his friend off in Atlantic City. Sure, why not, it's mostly on the way. I filed that flight plan, and 10 minutes later, my flight instructor called me:

"Hi Ted!"
"Hi Scott!"
"Why's your plane still here?"
"Because I haven't left yet"
"Oh, great! Can you drop me off in Philly?"

Well, it's hard to not do the man who taught you how to fly a favor, especially when he's done so many favors for me and helped me out so much. Plus, I was pretty much flying over Philadelphia anyway. This was my first time flying into a Bravo airport since I got my private. It was a lot of fun, and also good to have my instructor along for the ride just to have him there in case I needed help, even though I had no issues. Philadelphia approach, tower, and ground are all professional and on the ball. I have a lot of respect for how they manage to handle all these planes. We landed at about 5:50 PM and I then departed at 6:30 PM. On a Friday especially, that is extremely busy flying time. On approach, I got a "Keep speed at or above 150 kts until within 5 DME, cleared visual approach runway 26." Nice. Coming out of there they assigned me to 27L, and then amended it to a 35 intersection K departure. Ready, set, go, and a tight 180 degree left turn upon takeoff. Be on the ball, and they're great to work with. I ended up filing IFR for yesterday's legs, but didn't need to - it ended up being VFR the whole time. It was good practice for me, though, as I don't usually do IFR in that busy of airspace. I find it all a lot of fun.

Today, we're flying down to South Carolina via Norfolk, VA (cheap fuel). Tomorrow we're picking up 10+ dogs (I have a feeling we'll end up with more) and flying them up to Frederick, MD and Orange County, NY. After that, drop off my co-pilot back home and return to Williamsport.

It should be a great weekend of flying, and putting my Aztec to use doing the things I bought it to do. Track me if you get bored, I have a feeling I'll be primarily on IFR flight plans.

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N6927Y

 

[GMascelli]

Ted,

Have a fun day with all the critters! I'll be tracking, taking pleasure in others flights until I get back in the air.


KBDR 091552Z 12003KT 1/2SM FG OVC001 14/13 A2967

KBDR 091624Z 12003KT 3SM BR OVC003 14/14 A2965

 

[AdamB]

And he's off.

Looks like he had to delay due to LIFR conditions that seem to be lifting now.

 

[GMascelli]

getting ready for the second leg.....

 

[Nav8tor]

Ted,

Where did you drop off your instructor? Atlantic Aviation? Do they provide shuttle service to the main terminals?

Lee

 

[Rob Schaffer]

did you see the leg from atlantic city up to conneticut? Wow, out over the water quite a ways. Good to have a twin

 

[Teller1900]

NORFOLK! You should'a said something sooner, I rent from PVG, it's only about 20 minutes from my house. Next time we'll have to do lunch.

 

[GMascelli]

He's got some ugly stuff ahead

 

[flyingcheesehead]

He's got some ugly stuff ahead

For a second there, I was like "Jeez, FlightAware must be frozen, he's still right there!" But then I realized Gary hotlinked the image.

So, here's where he's at right now, and this image won't change as the situation does:

Looks like he's got a pretty stiff headwind too.

 

[Rob Schaffer]

I like his info on FlightAware,... Aztruck Air LLC

 

[Ted]

Actually, the IFR wasn't the reason for not taking off - it was the FBO, plus general delays. We got to the airport about 12:30 PM. It turned out that we were flying in the same day as a big show (that obviously had no takeoffs or landings due to the IFR) but successfully screwed up the airport. It took us about an hour to get to the plane to even load up, plus it was a hot/humid/muggy day, which didn't make the process any more enjoyable.

We took off out of BDR in OVC003, which quickly turned into mostly VFR for the remainder of the flight. We stopped in PVG for all of 20 minutes - bathroom, 60 gallon top-off, and back in the air. Sorry, Matt, hopefully I can give you notice next time (especially with $2.94/gallon fuel) now that I know!

Charlotte had a bunch of weather to get around, and there was another storm as we approached AND. I borrowed Missa's 496 for the trip, plus used the old RCA black and white radar in the plane. For the first time, it told me something besides the fact that the ground is below us, as I haven't flown the plane around convective activity. Worked like a charm. A few deviations to get around the weather. My copilot took a nap after the first storm, and woke up after I passed the second storm. She woke up and asked "Did I miss anything?" and I pointed out the window at the cell to FL400 and said "That". The headwinds sucked, getting Archer ground speeds at Aztec fuel burn, but hopefully today we'll do a bit better. I filed for 11,000 for the first leg from AND to FDK, and will hopefully get some nice (mostly) tailwinds up there.

Today promises to be another fun and busy day.

 

[GMascelli]

Ted,

I fired up my 496 just to get a look at what you were skirting around the first storm. It was showing thunderstorms out in front close to your flight path. I also had washington center dialed in and heard all the spam cans looking for smooth air, the chatter was non-stop. It seems the tops were FL40 and thats where the smooth air was. I did see the second storm as it passed by AND, I had shut everything down here and missed your arrival.

Hope to track your flights today. Fly safe and have a fun ride north!

 

[Nav8tor]

Look's like he made it to FDK.

 

[Missa]

Look's like he made it to FDK.

Nope... but he can provide the details.

 

[Rob Schaffer]

Uh O.

From your post in the FlyBQ thread, I'm trying to be patient and await the details......

 

[Missa]

Uh O.

From your post in the FlyBQ thread, I'm trying to be patient and await the details......

Ok, I'll give a little more as I continue to beat on him to get his full write up finished. I heard the flights saga over spagitti last night so you know it all turned out ok.

 

[gprellwitz]

Ok, I'll give a little more as I continue to beat on him to get his full write up finished. I heard the flights saga over spagitti last night so you know it all turned out ok.

So he's reusable, but is the plane?

 

[Missa]

So he's reusable, but is the plane?

Yes, but not without $$. Ok a bit more... just because I hate to see anyone worried and I can't think of a way to do that without a bit more detail.

Somthing about electrical system failure makes you drop off of flight aware.

 

[Ted]

Ok, cat's out of the bag. There goes Missa blabbing on me, I was just going to make a post after I got some sleep.

Yesterday morning I woke up at 6 (after not nearly enough sleep, but a really great evening with some wonderful people). Checked the weather, saw all was looking good, and filed my flight plans for the day. It was looking to be a successful day, accomplishing our mission. I filed for the 411 nm flight (along victor airways - silly /U) at 11,000 ft to get some better winds and get a nice economy cruise out of the engines. After breakfast, we got to the airport, loaded up the plane with 11 dogs and were ready to go.

The first two hours or so of the flight were great. We climbed up to 11,000 (through a small layer), got some tailwinds, and were seeing nice ground speeds. After about two hours, ATC called up and said that my Mode C dropped out. I thought that was odd, and cycled the transponder. No good. Then I figured I'd try cycling the avionics, which I did, and then the audio panel wouldn't come on. At that point I realized that I was having an electrical failure. We weighed the options of where to go. The first stop was Frederick to help coordinate the other dogs, but all the dogs in my plane were going to continue with me to Orange County, New York anyway. So the next idea was to go to New York as we had the fuel for it, but then I decided that wasn't a great idea because then my plane would be stuck there. Williamsport was a bit closer than New York, we had the fuel for it, and then my plane and I would be safe at home.

We then flipped the master switch off to conserve what power was remaining and descended to get some cell phone reception to send out a few text messages to let people know what happened, and try to keep everything else rolling. I ended up having enough power left to inform ATC of what happened. The controller, wanting to make sure we made it home safely, gave me a phone number to call once I got on the ground just to check in. Pulling out the sectionals and using Missa's 496 (this was very nice to have), we flew VFR back home. I had enough power to call Williamsport tower as we approached and explain the situation. He cleared us to land early in case of any further electronics failures. Everything went completely dead on downwind, and once we landed I called tower to thank him for the help, called Washington Center to let the controller know I'd landed safely, and then went about making contingency plans. As we rolled out from landing, there was a strong smell from the right engine that my co-pilot thought was the engine, but it didn't smell like dying engine, more like dying electronics.

I called my instructor (who's also my A&P/IA) up and explained the situation. He came over and we found out at least one problem: the right engine's alternator had physically broken, and the stator was coming out. The belt was twisted, and it was clearly not doing anything. The voltage regulator did not appear to be getting sufficient voltage, either. We don't know if the failure of the right alternator caused a failure of the left as well (if it shorted out), but we knew the Aztec wasn't flying anymore that day. So, we pulled out the Navajo, loaded the dogs in it, and flew them the short hop to Orange County from Williamsport.

I couldn't have asked for a better time or outcome for a failure like that to occur. We had enough fuel to make it back to my home base, it was a good VFR day so no worries about having trouble navigating or being in IMC. I had a great co-pilot with me who's better with sectionals than I am, and was a true asset in helping. I was able to delegate the sectional tracking to her while I focused on flying the plane and messing with the 496. To conserve the 496's power, we would estimate direct, keep track of it with the sectionals, and turn it off while flying a heading for 15 minutes or so, then turn it back on. Also fortunate is that my plane uses electricity only for a few functions. The gear and flaps are hydraulic, and those both worked fine.

So, why didn't we identify a failure sooner? Well, the Aztec doesn't have a voltmeter on it, which would have helped identify a failure. There is no alternator failure warning light. Also, the ammeter was in roughly the same position it's always in, so I didn't notice a discharge. Unfortunately these are a few airframe issues. I tried flipping off the alternator switches one at a time once I identified the problem, and wasn't getting any indication of one charging while the other wasn't.

The main takeaways from this:

1) Keep charts handy, even when you don't legally need them. I was going to be IFR the whole time, but had my sectionals handy.

2) Rationally evaluate the options when a failure occurs, and figure out what makes the most sense. Being able to get to a safe place is most important. If you can make it to home base, even better, as that will give options.

3) Know the systems of your plane inside and out so that you know how to work with them when something goes wrong.

4) Having that VFR GPS on board is a great tool. Had we been in hard IMC, that would have been our way of getting home. Thank you, Missa, for letting me borrow your 496!

5) Fly the plane. It isn't battery powered.

So, I'm sorry to say that my Aztec won't be making it to Wings, but we'll still be making it to Gaston's. I, however, will still be making it to Wings, just in something else. The repairs will probably occur sometime next week.

Pictures from the trip to come later. I'm still pretty tired, but I will post pictures when I can.

 

[Anthony]

Wow Ted. Great story and nice job with the electrical failure and 11 dogs! Youza!

I've had a few electrical failures in the Tiger before I got the electrical gremlins sorted out. They are no fun. You handled it very very well.

 

[Missa]

You forgot the best part of the story!!!!

The part where you were flying the plane like it was a clown car so your co-pilot could reach back, open the kennel door and retreive the stinky present that one of your rescues gave you.

 

[vontresc]

Hmm almost sounds like my Gaston's Adventure last year without the 2 day layover

So are you adding a voltmeter?

 

[Everskyward]

The part where you were flying the plane like it was a clown car so your co-pilot could reach back, open the kennel door and retreive the stinky present that one of your rescues gave you.

I'm still marveling at how he got 11 dogs in the airplane.

Nice job getting home, Ted. I'm curious about why both alternators failed. I guess one could've shorted out the other one. I don't know anything about the Aztec's electrical system, though.

 

[jmaynard]

I'm still marveling at how he got 11 dogs in the airplane.

Crates do stack, you know...and the Aztec has lots of interior room.

Nice job getting home, Ted. I'm curious about why both alternators failed. I guess one could've shorted out the other one. I don't know anything about the Aztec's electrical system, though.

Yeah. That will be the interesting question to answer. In particular, I wouldn't necessarily assume the left alternator had failed without testing it.

 

[tonycondon]

takes a week to change an alternator?

 

[Ted]

Wow Ted. Great story and nice job with the electrical failure and 11 dogs! Youza!

Having the dogs in there definitely made the experience more interesting.

I've had a few electrical failures in the Tiger before I got the electrical gremlins sorted out. They are no fun. You handled it very very well.

Thank you. Hopefully we'll get this sorted out soon and then I'll be back in the air.

You forgot the best part of the story!!!!

The part where you were flying the plane like it was a clown car so your co-pilot could reach back, open the kennel door and retreive the stinky present that one of your rescues gave you.

Yeah, well that was certainly interesting. We followed the regulations regarding dropping objects from airplanes at altitude after dealing with that. Fortuantely, the dog that decided to do that decided to use the front of the cage (within reach) and be in a cage that was right behind us. Otherwise we would have had to deal with the smell for the entire flight.

Hmm almost sounds like my Gaston's Adventure last year without the 2 day layover

This is part of why I couldn't have asked for a better situation for this failure. I made it home all in the same day.

So are you adding a voltmeter?

I think most of the engine monitors I'm looking at have voltmeters built in. That is definitely on the list.

I'm still marveling at how he got 11 dogs in the airplane.

Crates do stack, you know...and the Aztec has lots of interior room.

Jay's right. I had removed the 2nd and 3rd row seats from the Aztec, which allowed us a lot of room for putting the crates. You'd be surprised how much room you have once you remove those seats. Plus, since we have front and rear loading doors and the front door is right at the front seats, we could pack the thing. We actually could have fit another 2 or 3 small cages in. The dogs we had were medium to large, no really little ones.

Nice job getting home, Ted. I'm curious about why both alternators failed. I guess one could've shorted out the other one. I don't know anything about the Aztec's electrical system, though.

Yeah. That will be the interesting question to answer. In particular, I wouldn't necessarily assume the left alternator had failed without testing it.

takes a week to change an alternator?

We haven't fully diagnosed the issue, which is part of the problem. The other problem is that the FBO has one mechanic (my instructor) who's taking the Cheyenne out west this week. We know one alternator failed. We don't know if it took out the other alternator (which sometimes can happen if the first one fails and shorts out the other).

I may be able to get the thing fixed sooner, but my basic assumption right now is that it's not going to happen until sometime next week.

Fortunately, I have enough friends with airplanes that I have options.

 

[Missa]

takes a week to change an alternator?

It does if you know his A&P/Instructor who also flys and teaches at the collage and has his hands in more stuff then he can handle.. It doesn't take long to get it changed, it takes long to get on the schedule.

 

[EdFred]

Heck, an alternator replacement is pretty quick and easy. Ted could do that himself and have the A&P sign off on it.

 

[tonycondon]

I may be able to get the thing fixed sooner, but my basic assumption right now is that it's not going to happen until sometime next week.

Fortunately, I have enough friends with airplanes that I have options.

bbbbut how am I going to stay multi current????

 

[AdamZ]

Anyone have a screen shot of the over water portion? Glad the Failure didn't occur then!

 

[Rob Schaffer]

ask, and ye shall receive....

 

[gprellwitz]

Anyone have a screen shot of the over water portion? Glad the Failure didn't occur then!

Why do you say that? The plane flies fine with no electric, and it was pretty much VFR. Plus, he had a hand-held GPS thanks to Missa.

 

[Nav8tor]

Wow, there must be something about ARF flights and electrical failures!

I had the same thing happen on an ARF flight back in February except I hadn't picked up the dog yet. I was on my way out to Western PA and when I first checked in with Harrisburg Approach they weren't receiving my mode C. They did eventurally receive it but a short time later the traffic avoidance system in the airplane announced "low voltage" and a look at the ammeter verified a discharge. I recycled the master but it didn't help and since I was only 1/2 hour from home base I told Harrisburg I was heading back there. I turned off everything but com 1, the transponder and the GPS and still had enough power to drop the flaps when I got back home.

This one also turned out to be a bad alternator.

 

[Missa]

Heck, an alternator replacement is pretty quick and easy. Ted could do that himself and have the A&P sign off on it.

And it's not like he doesn't know 6-8 of 'em hanging around here.

 

[Ted]

Lee, I didn't know that you flew for ARF as well.

Over water wouldn't have been bad. The engines aren't battery powered and we had plenty of means of finding our way back to shore. I would've been less happy if it had happened while on climb-out from BDR through the OVC003 layer, but even then, we have vacuum gauges and two vacuum pumps, both of which were working fine. The issue then would've been just getting to wherever we wanted to land. This would've been significantly more annoying were we in hard IMC, but we had enough power still that we could have shot an ILS if necessary, and turned off the master while using the 496 for navigation until getting to the appropriate point.

 

[Ted]

bbbbut how am I going to stay multi current????

You'll just have to come visit me in Williamsport sometime.

 

[AdamZ]

Why do you say that? The plane flies fine with no electric, and it was pretty much VFR. Plus, he had a hand-held GPS thanks to Missa.

1) Did not realize it was VFR
2) If the problem was greater than it was and who would know it the air except Perhaps Henning He has more options over land than 30 some miles out to sea.

 

[gprellwitz]

1) Did not realize it was VFR
2) If the problem was greater than it was and who would know it the air except Perhaps Henning

He has more options over land than 30 some miles out to sea.

Certainly true!

 

[Nav8tor]

Lee, I didn't know that you flew for ARF as well.

That was my first and, so far, only ARF flight. Technically I haven't flown for them yet since I never actually got the dog in the airplane.

 

[Ted]

Pictures to come soon. Here's the video from my takeoff out of KBDR in the Aztec.