You can't make this up......

Threefingeredjack

Threefingeredjack

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Mar 18, 2012
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Threefingeredjack
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Today I was heading to Tillamook and with Seattle Center for following and I heard this exchange:

"Seattle Center Bonanza 1234."

"Bonanza 1234 Seattle go ahead"

"Bonanza needs to return to Portland....(Wait for it) my autopilot just quit"

Silence for a minute......"Uh Bonanza 1234 Seattle Center Roger, contact Portland approach....frequency change approved."

WTF?? :dunno:

(Severe clear was over the entire region)
 
Is there a rating for auto pilot only operations. If so I missed it.Fly the plane.
 
It is harder to sleep soundly if the autopilot quits, unless you trim for a slight climb. :goofy:
 
Not knowing what was wrong with the thing bolted to his control surfaces it may nti be a bad idea to get on the ground and figgure out what is up
 
I can think of a million reasons to turn back with faulty equipment. The plane either works or it doesn't and the PIC gets to decide what to do when it stops working as advertised.

I know you guys all feel macho patting yourselves on the back proudly knowing you don't need an autopilot to fly, but neither did he. The plane didn't crash did it?
 
I should point out that by regulation many 135 IFR operations require either a working autopilot or a co-pilot. Other than that...

Oy.
 
Ron Levy said:
I should point out that by regulation many 135 IFR operations require either a working autopilot or a co-pilot. Other than that...

Oy.
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For dispatch. If it fails after departure the trip can continue to the destination.

However, with that being said, if it was a 135 operator then they may have had a round trip with revenue and decided that landing somewhere with out maintenance would have grounded the aircraft. :dunno:
 
The go pro camera cemented onto his vertical stab was causing flutter, I guess....
 
Ron Levy said:
I should point out that by regulation many 135 IFR operations require either a working autopilot or a co-pilot. Other than that...

Oy.
Click to expand...

Exactly, BUT I was about 45 miles south of Portland at the time and could see Mt. Baker, which is about 60 miles north of PDX. :dunno:


(And I omitted that it was a woman's voice because I didn't think it was relevant.)
 
Threefingeredjack said:
So....pull the breaker and carry on? If the unit has no power it can't be much of an issue.
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Unless there is a mechanical failure,

With just a radio call we don't know what was going on, maybe a clutch locked up and he has a servo dragging the control.

My auto pilot is a no go item, at least until I determine the failure mode, then I'll happily pull the breaker and go fly.
 
Threefingeredjack said:
Exactly, BUT I was about 45 miles south of Portland at the time and could see Mt. Baker, which is about 60 miles north of PDX. :dunno:


(And I omitted that it was a woman's voice because I didn't think it was relevant.)
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Unless the opspec requires all flights to be conducted under IFR. Many do.
 
Unfortunately, the degree of dependence on autopilots is higher than we probably like to admit. Those who fly with and/or evaluate other pilots are aware of the degree of button-push-knob-twist flying that goes on, much of which is well and good and we do it too.

The problem we know about but probably don't talk about enough is that the pilots don't use the autopilot because it's convenient, they do it because it's almost necessary for them to fly the trip. Asiana doesn't have a monopoly on that part of the puzzle.
 
Oh please.
If I had a not so important three hours there, three hours back trip and the autopilot crapped out twenty minutes after departure I'd go home too. Trip there might be severe clear, but the trip back may turn out SPIFR, and there's nothing I need to prove to anybody.
Longest xc hand flown - FL to Oshkosh and back, about quarter of it in formation. Fun, but also a tad exhausting. Also try peeing when your wife is driving for the first time in her life.
 
SoloEqs said:
Nobody brought up the possibility that her MECHANIC was at PDX, and could maybe FIX the thing.
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Or he'd just gotten it back from the autopilot shop and was going to go put a boot up someone's backside. ;)
 
Just had it fixed, RTB
AP fam flight with CFI, RTB
Base mechanic, RTB
Not her plane, RTB
OpSpec will ground her at destination, RTB
Long flight and not that bothered to get there, RTB
Doesn't really want to go wherever she was going and looking for an excuse, RTB
Flight Controls felt funny, RTB
Another plane available back at base, RTB
Called base on radio and its their call, RTB
She's one of those weird people that quit after 3 'strikes' and 2 already happened, RTB
ATC demanded a reason for changing airports and she doesn't think it's their business so she lied, RTB


Okay, I'm way short of a million. :) but there's a lot there and none of them warrant a thread on the Internet second guessing her decision to turn around. We always praise people here for taking the conservative option anyway, right? So worst case, her motivation was she wasn't comfortable hand flying the entire flight and choose to cancel the flight with no AP, who cares? Btw, that option is least likely in my mind...I'd guess there is more to it. But we'll never know with just the information provided in the OP.
 
Yeah I had a time once when my vacuum pump failed on a VFR flight in CAVU conditions. I didn't need the instrumentation to continue the flight, but on a Continental TSIO 360 engine the vacuum pump is coupled mechanically to the engine by a shaft, and for all I knew, there could possibly be oil spewing out of a hole where a shaft used to be so I turned back.

Wasn't the case, but still....
 
SoloEqs said:
Nobody brought up the possibility that her MECHANIC was at PDX, and could maybe FIX the thing.
Click to expand...
Or that the flight could have been the first leg of a very, VERY long trip, and the pilot wanted everything perfect before starting out.

Ron Wanttaja
 
Seems like a humorous story, but until I know all the facts I will tell that pilot, "Good on ya."
 
I guess they do have a certain similarity of appearance!
 
Captain said:
Just had it fixed, RTB
AP fam flight with CFI, RTB
Base mechanic, RTB
Not her plane, RTB
OpSpec will ground her at destination, RTB
Long flight and not that bothered to get there, RTB
Doesn't really want to go wherever she was going and looking for an excuse, RTB
Flight Controls felt funny, RTB
Another plane available back at base, RTB
Called base on radio and its their call, RTB
She's one of those weird people that quit after 3 'strikes' and 2 already happened, RTB
ATC demanded a reason for changing airports and she doesn't think it's their business so she lied, RTB


Okay, I'm way short of a million. :) but there's a lot there and none of them warrant a thread on the Internet second guessing her decision to turn around. We always praise people here for taking the conservative option anyway, right? So worst case, her motivation was she wasn't comfortable hand flying the entire flight and choose to cancel the flight with no AP, who cares? Btw, that option is least likely in my mind...I'd guess there is more to it. But we'll never know with just the information provided in the OP.
Click to expand...

I agree, there could be many valid reasons for returning after the A/P craps out. It is now standard policy for ATC to inquire as to the reason for the change in destination, so while advising over the air wasn't very manly (good thing it was a woman), it saved some radio traffic from ATC playing twenty questions with thepilot regarding the reason for the destination change.
 
When would you prefer it to happen? And why?

SoloEqs said:
Or pretty much any other ATP certificate.

When the cabin attendant tells you it's okay to start playing games on your iPad, the guys up front already ARE. That autopilot went on about the time the main gear doors locked closed.
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Brad Z said:
I agree, there could be many valid reasons for returning after the A/P craps out. It is now standard policy for ATC to inquire as to the reason for the change in destination, so while advising over the air wasn't very manly (good thing it was a woman), it saved some radio traffic from ATC playing twenty questions with thepilot regarding the reason for the destination change.
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I'm going to start telling them I left my flux capacitor at home.
 
Having come within a couple seconds of being killed by a flaky autopilot once, I can understand the pilot's decision not to continue the flight.
 
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