Two Pilots & an LSW: Home Again Home Again Frigid-y Frige

Wednesday we had a nice quiet day in Missouri, spent the morning in Jackson, went into Cape for lunch at a BBQ place and met a couple of new people--one of them was a retired police officer who told me that a Dodge Charger should definitely be on my list of cars to get some day. ;)

When it was time to go home after that, we thought it was cold at Cape. There was a little wind, and it was like 30 degrees. So the engines were at 6 (rt) and 6.5 (left) qts of oil, and normally we keep it at 7, but it was only an hour flight home, and 6 isn't too low for safety, so what the heck. Well, we've been in the air about 20 minutes, and the right engine's oil temp is higher than the left's. Normally they match up pretty well. 30 minutes into it, the right engine's oil temp is too high, just below the red. I power back a little bit, and I'm watching the oil pressure, CHTs and EGTs. Everything seems fine, but I point it out to Steve. If you lose the right engine, you also lose your hydraulics. So I'm staring and staring at the thing, and now it hit that red line, and even though nothing else seems wrong, indicating a probably gauge issue and not an engine issue, I can't stand it any more, and I tell ATC that I'm going to stop at Frankfort, which is the nearest airport. I land in very gusty winds, taxi to the ramp, and we check things out. The oil seems low on that side, but it's hot, thin, and low on the stick anyway, but I give Steve two quarts of oil to put in. He starts doing that, but it's not going in fast, and he thinks it just must be too cold. Meanwhile I'm standing there in 15 degree temps with 30 knot winds, no gloves, holding onto things in my hands, and I lose all feeling in my fingers. I mean, they were frozen. Dead. I finally had to run inside, and I couldn't feel my hands to grab a door handle, couldn't move my bright red fingers at all. They had oil on them and I couldn't feel it. I get inside and go to the bathroom and run cool water on my hands, and I can't even feel the water on my hands until it gets about close to my wrist. Once I did start feeling my hands, it was bad. They were on fire, and I was in so much pain I was bent over and trying not to cry, or make weird groany noises. Steve gave me his gloves and yelled at me, and then we were on our way back to Kokomo. Everything was okay on the oil, engine, etc., so it was a gauge issue as we suspected, but I stayed VFR under the clouds. We had a 50 degree 30+ knot crosswind, very gusty. After I touched down (nicely might I add), I was having trouble gripping the yoke enough to push it over the rest of the way into the crosswind, so Steve reached up and helped. Once it got far enough over I could use the heel of my hand to keep the ailerons all the way over. Next we had to put the airplane away, either with the World's Slowest Tug (not in these temps) or by hand. So the two of us shoved it back in the hangar, loaded up the car, and finally were on our way home. The heater didn't work in the plane on the way home, and the ramp activities at Frankfort plus the putting away of the plane and loading and unloading the car, all being outside in high winds and terrible temps, wiped us the heck out.

My hands still hurt today a little bit. And we're tired. Beat up. Mostly we both just feel beat up. Nasty, nasty weather.

Late last night Steve told me that this morning our house was being cleaned at 10 am, so that meant I had to be out of the house by then, and for most of the day. So no relaxing, or doing laundry, or sleeping in. *sigh*

Instead, this morning when I left the house, I took my shattered iPad to the repair place. $250 to replace the screen. Ugh. He asked if the cellular still works, because where it hit is right by the antenna. I said it did, thankfully. They think they can bend the back back all right, and will be careful, and can replace the screen, but it'll be like Tuesday before it's ready. Meanwhile I have a trip on Sunday to pick up Kaylee in Illinois, but hopefully I can make a trip without an iPad still. ;) They did tell me if I do two things, I get a $25 discount. Steve's iPad isn't holding a battery charge at all, so I took that in to them as well to replace the battery, which needed done anyway, and now at least we save $25 for doing both at once. Bummer that we needed two things done at once, but at least the battery was cheaper.

So we're out at the airport today and I'm on my laptop out here doing stuff. In walks one of our instructors, coughing. I say "Catch a cold?" He says "My wife tested positive for Covid, doesn't have really any symptoms. I tested negative but I have this cold." What? Dude. I said "Keep testing and it'll come up positive shortly here. Your wife has Covid, and you have Covid symptoms. You don't need to be in a small airplane with anyone else!" I told him to go home and rest up. He has several people on the schedule that we'll be canceling. Whether it's a cold or the Rona, you don't need to pass it on right now to anybody. Then one of my students who cleans for us called in and asked if it was okay if she stayed home because she has a really bad cold, with a high fever, and bad fatigue and shortness of breath. I'm like.... You don't have a high fever with a cold, you have a high fever with a virus. Stay home, good grief, yes, thanks! Just because I'm not refusing to stay home in daily life stuff doesn't mean I appreciate people being cavalier about when they're sick. If you're sick with anything, stay home! Can't believe I'm about to have to send out an email to the club telling people that. The student was out and about, went to Texas not feeling well, assuming it was just a cold. Be smarter, people, c'mon...

When the instructor left I wiped down everything he touched with Lysol and then washed my own hands.

Nothing big planned for tonight. Something for dinner, probably jump in on my laundry, get some sleep and try to stop feeling beat up. ;)