Ted
The pilot formerly known as Twin Engine Ted
- Joined
- Oct 9, 2007
- Messages
- 29,942
- Display Name
Display name:
iFlyNothing
The past week has been a long one for me, with spending almost every night in a different state. Friday night I left heading for Iowa, but unforecasted fog came in, with the METARs showing VV001 1/4SM FZFG. Yeah, I'm not getting in there.
I stopped at Burlington, WI (KBUU) for fuel, and gave Pete a call and asked if he wanted to get a couple beers... in 30 minutes. Pete was kind enough to come to the airport on zero notice and pick me up, take me to dinner, and let me sleep on his couch for the night. Let's not forget take me to breakfast and back to the airport in the morning!
Made it to Iowa, shooting the ILS to mins. The METARs said OVC003. They lied. I was about to push the throttles forward to go missed when the runway appeared. The next day I headed off to Lincoln to pick up Jesse, who was going to come along on the adventure out west. We loaded up and were ready to go and... the left engine wouldn't start. Turned out the shower of sparks lead had broken on the left mag, and good luck getting the thing to start without that. Those engineers who figured that out were pretty smart. After fiddling with it for about an hour, we realized we weren't going to figure out the problem, and it was going to cost a lot to get a mechanic out there that afternoon, plus they wouldn't likely have the parts (this was before we knew the problem).
So, Jesse and Tristan were gracious enough to host me for the night. The next morning the mechanics at the airport fixed the plane, and I was on my way.
Tony and Leah get an honorable mention, as they would have gladly hosted me on my way back eastbound, but I ended up going to Iowa instead.
PoA is a great group for a lot of reasons, but one of the best is the fact that if you're on PoA, you have friends all over the country who will show up on a moment's notice to help you out. I'm the sort of person who tries to not rely on anyone, but it sure is both nice and comforting to have friends who you know you can rely on. Thanks to Pete, Jesse, and Tristan for being there when I needed help! (and Tony and Leah for being willing to!)
I stopped at Burlington, WI (KBUU) for fuel, and gave Pete a call and asked if he wanted to get a couple beers... in 30 minutes. Pete was kind enough to come to the airport on zero notice and pick me up, take me to dinner, and let me sleep on his couch for the night. Let's not forget take me to breakfast and back to the airport in the morning!
Made it to Iowa, shooting the ILS to mins. The METARs said OVC003. They lied. I was about to push the throttles forward to go missed when the runway appeared. The next day I headed off to Lincoln to pick up Jesse, who was going to come along on the adventure out west. We loaded up and were ready to go and... the left engine wouldn't start. Turned out the shower of sparks lead had broken on the left mag, and good luck getting the thing to start without that. Those engineers who figured that out were pretty smart. After fiddling with it for about an hour, we realized we weren't going to figure out the problem, and it was going to cost a lot to get a mechanic out there that afternoon, plus they wouldn't likely have the parts (this was before we knew the problem).
So, Jesse and Tristan were gracious enough to host me for the night. The next morning the mechanics at the airport fixed the plane, and I was on my way.
Tony and Leah get an honorable mention, as they would have gladly hosted me on my way back eastbound, but I ended up going to Iowa instead.
PoA is a great group for a lot of reasons, but one of the best is the fact that if you're on PoA, you have friends all over the country who will show up on a moment's notice to help you out. I'm the sort of person who tries to not rely on anyone, but it sure is both nice and comforting to have friends who you know you can rely on. Thanks to Pete, Jesse, and Tristan for being there when I needed help! (and Tony and Leah for being willing to!)