Why are airplanes such a pain in the a$$

Kitch

Kitch

Line Up and Wait
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Oct 29, 2018
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SE Mass
Display Name
Kitch
I think my airplane hates me for some reason. I’ve given it its best life since it left the factory yet it seems to not appreciate what I do for it. Great trip planned on Sunday to do a PALS flight with my wife. Weather looks perfect. Airplane has been running like a swiss watch. Go to the airport tonight to go see if we can find any whales around cape cod. Quick lap in the pattern land taxi back. On the takeoff roll my fuel flow goes from 29 gph to 17gph. Abort takeoff clear runway. Run it up to full power a couple times and fuel flow keeps dropping off. Boost pump on it comes right up so I’m guessing I need a fuel pump. So now we’re out of business for the weekend and PALS will have to scramble to cover my leg.

Somedays I think I should just sell this thing and build hot rods or just throw money In a paper shredder instead.

Rant over. I’ll be better in the morning.
 
Thankfully we are home this time, and more thankful that it didn’t happen with the PALS pax on board or turned into an emergency with them on board.

The good days definitely outweigh the bad for sure it just has a way of getting under my skin when no expense is spared and it still insists on f@cking up. Whether it’s a piece of equipment or the airplane.
 
I completely feel your pain and wish the planes were more reliable, given how simple they are.
Best wishes after this hiccup.
 
It might not be the plane, it might be something in the fuel that caused a clog. You never know until you look. At least you treated her right and gave her a chance to live.
 
Airplane -
She can kill with a smile, she can wound with her eyes
And she can ruin your faith with her casual lies
And she'll promise you more than the garden of Eden
Then she'll carelessly cut you and laugh while you're bleeding
But she'll bring out the best and the worst you can be

 
Airplanes are like that extremely hot, but bat $hi+ crazy girlfriend....extremely expensive, makes you pull your hair out and question your sanity, but... when they pull themselves together and give you a good ride, you can't stop from coming back for more.
 
Last edited:
robin ardoin said:
Airplanes are like that extremely hot, but bat $hi+ crazy girlfriend....extremely expensive, make you pull your hair out and question your sanity, but... when they pull themselves together and give you a good ride, you can't stop from coming back for more.
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So you're telling me this is a life long commitment... :goofy:
 
(Parodying Billy Joel)

[Verse 1]
She can kill with a smile
She can wound with her eyes
And she can ruin your faith with her casual lies
And she only reveals
What she wants you to see
She hides like a child
But she's always an airplane to me

[Verse 2]
She can lead you to love
She can take you or leave you
She can ask for the truth
But she'll never believe you
And she'll take what you give her
As long as it's free
Yeah, she steals like a thief
But she's always an airplane to me

[Chorus]
Oh, she takes for herself
She can wait if she wants
She's ahead of her time
Oh, and she never gives out
And she never gives in
She just changes her mind

[Verse 3]
And she'll promise you more
Than the Garden of Eden
Then she'll carelessly cut you
And laugh while you're bleedin'
But she'll bring out the best
And the worst you can be
Blame it all on yourself
Cause she's always an airplane to me


[Chorus]
Oh, she takes care of herself
She can wait if she wants
She's ahead of her time
Oh, and she never gives out
And she never gives in
She just changes her mind

[Verse 4]
She is frequently kind
And she's suddenly cruel
She can do as she pleases
She's nobody's fool
But she can't be convicted
She's earned her degree
And the most she will do
Is throw shadows at you
But she's always an airplane to me
 
I knew some of you would empathize. Official diagnosis is the fuel pump is punching out. New one will be here Monday. Yes I'm still pi$$ed. No I won't throw her out yet. When we rotate Monday night all my hard feelings will be gone and I will be in love again....
 
I'll be looking for you Sunday! next time you're up! Last report showed a bunch of whales in the bay. I haven't seen any sharks yet.

Sucks when a plane treats you that way.
 
Kitch said:
I knew some of you would empathize. Official diagnosis is the fuel pump is punching out. New one will be here Monday. Yes I'm still pi$$ed. No I won't throw her out yet. When we rotate Monday night all my hard feelings will be gone and I will be in love again....
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Wait until it takes the shop 2+ years of futzing to get the dang thing set up right. :mad:
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Wait until it takes the shop 2+ years of futzing to get the dang thing set up right. :mad:
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I’m very thankful for the no BS relationship I have with my shop.

Kudos to you. I couldn’t remain calm that long. A night in jail is just 1 night but the memory would last forever.
 
Kitch said:
I knew some of you would empathize. Official diagnosis is the fuel pump is punching out. New one will be here Monday. Yes I'm still pi$$ed. No I won't throw her out yet. When we rotate Monday night all my hard feelings will be gone and I will be in love again....
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Get two airplanes
 
She's a really nice bird. I wouldn't let her go either.
Instead of being mad at her, just figure out a way to blame the FAA. It's more fun, and usually pretty easy. ;)

If they'd approved that unleaded it wouldn't be all gunked up!
 
Skyrys62 said:
If they'd approved that unleaded it wouldn't be all gunked up!
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Right! You’d just have to repaint your plane every year! :)

The airplane gremlins all work together don’t you know.
 
I dunno. Mechanics seem to be a close second. I've called and emailed 3 different places and nobody wants to make money.
 
StraightnLevel said:
This! I get the impression that we have about 20% fewer A&Ps than the industry could support.
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In some locations its more. There's been a number of threads on this in recent times on the reasons why. And from what I hear it will be getting a little worse in the near-term as a number of my peers are approaching 65 and will retire or only work part time.

bflynn said:
I've called and emailed 3 different places and nobody wants to make money.
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Its not a point of making money, they simply don't have the free time.
 
Maybe your perspective is wrong. Maybe it’s that planes are appropriately priced and everything else is just too cheap? There: problem solved!

On a serious note: this is why I am always like “buy a plane that doesn’t stretch you financially, because it will.” But also, often it’s not the expense that gets me going, it’s the downtime and shuttling the damn thing around to shops and scratching and pleading for help here and there were I can find it. So damn inconvenient to maintain a 50-year old GA plane, sometimes I feel like I just don’t have the bandwidth for it.
 
WDD said:
Basic Econ 101. Raise your rates. You’ll get more of both.
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Except it doesn't. And has been extensively discussed as to why. But for an example, I assist a friend on occasion when he gets back up. He runs a small one-man shop and in the last 10 years three area IAs have retired or moved up to 135/121. He picked up quite a bit of that work. However, raising his rates will not give him more hours in a day or more days in a week. But it will cull some of his existing clients and most probably reduce the number of phone calls he gets. Which would be a good thing for him but a bad thing for local owners. So no gain on either side.

So while basic econ 101 may work in your field, until you can figure a way to get more young people interested in A&P school, figure a way to get them 6 years relevant experience in a 3 year timeframe, or push to ensure MOSAIC will provide some method for owners to perform maintenance on certain TC'd aircraft, no extra money will fix this problem... or could even make things worse.
 
So, the question at hand is, "Why is it that a piece of transportation equipment that is typically decades past its designed life, has spent much of its lifespan out doors, was made with technology from the middle of the last century, was produced in small numbers with a large amount of hand labor, and was built with a focus on lightness, is not as reliable as a modern automobile, and requires frequent maintenance and repair?
 
FormerHangie said:
So, the question at hand is, "Why is it that a piece of transportation equipment that is typically decades past its designed life, has spent much of its lifespan out doors, was made with technology from the middle of the last century, was produced in small numbers with a large amount of hand labor, and was built with a focus on lightness, is not as reliable as a modern automobile, and requires frequent maintenance and repair?
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Same thing could be said about most of us. I know my warranty expired a couple of decades ago
 
FormerHangie said:
So, the question at hand is, "Why is it that a piece of transportation equipment that is typically decades past its designed life, has spent much of its lifespan out doors, was made with technology from the middle of the last century, was produced in small numbers with a large amount of hand labor, and was built with a focus on lightness, is not as reliable as a modern automobile, and requires frequent maintenance and repair?
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There's that.

And then there's the thing where responsible owners really want everything "right" about their airplanes to provide some insulation around safety and dispatch reliability. Also to promote airframe/engine longevity. I certainly maintain my airplanes to a higher standard than my automobiles. And that takes a lot of work, since the airplanes are (for the most part) ancient technology designed in an environment when maintenance labor was relatively inexpensive.
 
FormerHangie said:
So, the question at hand is, "Why is it that a piece of transportation equipment that is typically decades past its designed life, has spent much of its lifespan out doors, was made with technology from the middle of the last century, was produced in small numbers with a large amount of hand labor, and was built with a focus on lightness, is not as reliable as a modern automobile, and requires frequent maintenance and repair?
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I generally agree with this. There are certainly more than a few airframes out there that don't need to be flying anymore, and wouldn't be but for the insane level of dedication (unhealthy addiction?) of their owners.

At the same time, my personal experience has been that the things on the plane that are new seem to cause the most problems. Of all the squawks I've dealt with in the past couple of years, at least 80% of them have involved new/upgraded components less than a few years old.
 
I'm ready to sell too. Left engine seems to have sprung an oil leak. And our on field mechanic retired with no replacement. I need to find a traveling mechanic.
 
Well, next year around this time there will be one more A&P around. (No, not me.) Oldest will get his from WMU. Unfortunately, right now he thinks he wants to work for a manufacturer. Maybe I should tell him going rate is $100+/hr for piston guys - at least if you're the shop owner.
 
EdFred said:
Well, next year around this time there will be one more A&P around. (No, not me.) Oldest will get his from WMU. Unfortunately, right now he thinks he wants to work for a manufacturer. Maybe I should tell him going rate is $100+/hr for piston guys - at least if you're the shop owner.
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Where are you finding $100/hr?
 
StraightnLevel said:
Where are you finding $100/hr?
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My shop is $105, and all the owners here ***** about them being too expensive. I'm guessing the guys turning the wrenches see 1/3 of that. The lady down at Casey is I think $85.
 
EdFred said:
I'm not. It's actually $95/hr and he's booked solid through the summer. Next year it will be $0/hr though. Mom already said he(the kid, not my current A&P) owes us.
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Nice. I have hinted to my son that he could make really good $$$ as an airframe mech, but he hasn't taken the bait.
 
StraightnLevel said:
Nice. I have hinted to my son that he could make really good $$$ as an airframe mech, but he hasn't taken the bait.
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My son is off to flight school. I think the gold rush may be over. I know several mechanics that ended up left seat of jets.
 
StraightnLevel said:
Nice. I have hinted to my son that he could make really good $$$ as an airframe mech, but he hasn't taken the bait.
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If he likes computers, avionics, and electronics, perhaps bait him with that route provided he gets his A&P along with that training? In certain circles an electronics guru with an A&P is known as the golden ticket.

NealRomeoGolf said:
I would happily pay $120/hr to have another (good) mechanic start up at our field. I can't get @Bell206 to move here though.
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Maybe offer the 120 to an area mechanic as an incentive just to handle your aircraft at your location? I have seen a slight shift with some mechanics that are looking for a semi-retire route start to provide those type services. But it does take some networking on your part with the right incentive. As to me moving... Tu no recuerde? No hablo ingles y su pueblo hace mucho frio todovia.
 
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