Two Pilots & an LSW: Ugh (and Fulton, NY)

I am in an awful mood, and the day didn't help. I've been up so early so many days in a row, and I'm tired and grumpy. Today wasn't TOO bad at 6 am, but since when is 6 am not too bad? Since I've been getting up at 3:30 - 5 am, that's when. Just...wrong.

Today I was taking the Conquest, Morgan and Logan out to Fulton, NY. It was going to be me instead of her in the Meridian because there was supposed to be low IFR/fog, and the approach was at or below minimums, and the Meridian doesn't have the fuel range to get to a good alternate, and the Conquest does. So I went, but I didn't feel much like it, frankly. I needed a morning off. But it wasn't happening today, so, onward.

We get loaded up on time, and the left engine won't start. I spend 20 minutes trying to start the left engine manually and all manner of ways. No luck. Now it's too late to take the Meridian which is over at Marion. So all that's left is the C-340. Which I still have to power back every 15 minutes for the cylinder stuff. Which is still a slow airplane. Also doesn't have a lot of fuel range. And slow. The only good news is that it's so slow, it took so long to get there, the ceilings were up to 500' instead of at the minimums of 300'. So that was lovely.

Morgan and I went into town at Mimi's Cafe and had brunch, and then I sat in the pilot's lounge in a continued bad, sleepy mood.

Went out to leave around 2:30, and the...left engine wouldn't start. On the 340. I tried Everything. I started the right engine to keep a battery. I tried a cold start, a hot start, a flooded start, it didn't even try. It didn't cough. I pulled the POH out (twice in one day on two different airplanes) and ran through clearing the engine with the mags off, tried some more. Nothing. Nada. Zip. It's raining, too, by the way. I unload everyone and go inside and text Steve F., the mechanic from Ohio. I was out of ideas, and I didn't think he could help me, but we were now stuck in New York. In the rain. My mood is not improving.

Steve F calls me back and runs through a few things. I tell him what I've tried. He asked if the impulse couplings on the mags were working, and I'm like...I have no idea. How do I know that? He told me to pull the prop through slowly and if they were right, I'd hear two clicks. I did, and I did, and I thought that was interesting, because I learned something new. Did not know that. And yes, I made sure the mags were off before I pulled the prop through, but it still didn't feel good, in the rain, phone in one hand, having to put myself in the prop arc to get the blade pulled through with the other hand. But anyway. That worked. So then he asked me if I had fuel flow indication. This made me pause, and made me mad at myself. Why didn't I think of that?? It got worse from here.

I go into the plane, and try it, and sure enough, no fuel flow! I say "That's it!" He tells me to put the fuel selector on the right engine and start it that way, that it's probably a pump gone bad and I should be able to start on the right pump and then run like normal. I reach down to put the fuel selector on "right", and...it's already there.

See, when we got there, we hit the self serve fuel pump. I could only top off the left main and left tip, and then I had to use their fuel truck. So when I started the plane to move it to the main ramp, I ran both engines off the right tank, just because that way I could top the right side off before we left, and start off with full fuel, on a very long 3 hour flight where I needed all the fuel.

I put it back on the left tank, primed it, started, and it fired right off. Now I'm in an even worse mood, because it was my own dumb-assery that caused a problem that left us sitting there for an hour. AND I have to admit it to both the mechanic and the owner. I would have caught the fuel selectors before takeoff, because that's on my pre-takeoff check. But I didn't catch it on start up. I was using the left primer, which wasn't working because I had the right engine selected. So no prime, it wasn't starting, and that's why. I finally get the left engine started, text the others to bring my stuff and come out there and get in, they do, I fire up the other engine, and we fly for over 3 hours home. Eye yi yi. Long, long flight. No internet, powering back all the time, then powering up, because you want to slow down when you want to get home. I'm mad at myself, mad at the Conquest, mad at all the problems I have because of the Conquest going down--again--and losing out on the trips I was going to take on it --again-- like to Colorado for three days with Steve and getting paid, like picking up Andy in New York on Saturday, like taking Kevin to FL in a few days, and now they don't think it'll be fixed, and I have a bunch of problems to figure out. The Meridian is going in for maintenance on Sunday and won't be back for weeks, maybe months, maybe at all. The Cheyenne is down for 3 months. So, yeah. I'm not in a good mood.

I found a link to something, so I went down a rabbit hole, and saw where the family who sued us made a little movie called "From the Ashes" talking about their bravery and grace and awesomeness with their two new boys via two IVFs the lawsuit paid for. Although of course the lawsuit wasn't mentioned. But reading all about how mad they still were at those who were responsible for the boys death along with what great Christians they are, and all the things they do with all their money, that all helped my mood. The new kids are cute.

We haven't heard anything from the guy who is supposed to be helping us with the sewer line, so we still have to go next door for most things. So that's always fun too. I take camp showers, try to time my "constitutionals", dehydrate so I don't have to do anything in the middle of the night, and just gather dishes and laundry and wait. Yep, that'll all put you in a good mood, right?

Then there's the political world right now. That'll put you in a good mood too.

Kaylee is taking antibiotics for a rash on her face, prescribed. Today she threw it up, and her throat is burning. I told her to eat yogurt or even drink some chocolate milk, something to coat her throat, and she said they told her not to take dairy within 2 hours of it. Huh? I was told TO take yogurt with mine. I know there are different kinds of antibiotics, but I told her to look into it herself.

Tomorrow I'm sleeping in. I'm going to make SURE I'm sleeping in, in fact. I'm done waking up early and being grumpy. I will sleep in, and then I will laze around the house, after I go next door to go to the bathroom, before I have some stuff to do in the afternoon.