Two Pilots & an LSW: Monday the 13th

The last two days have been unbelievably Monday the 13th-ish. Seriously.

Yesterday I was to take Ethan's 340 to Chattanooga to drop off Nick, then go over to Roanoke to pick up the family of 5 I dropped off earlier. I got Nick down there fine, even though I had an engine cowl full of fuel because of a leak out of the vent which meant I had to motor through the engine for awhile prior to starting it to get rid of the fumes, then lost a vacuum pump, and then a circuit breaker popped for the left aux fuel pump. The oxygen was also at zero, but fortunately I wasn't going that high. Leaving got even better. I got up to 17,000', leveled off, and the airplane started vibrating. This was Morgan's leg, she was in the left seat. She asked what that was, and after looking around I asked if she'd left the landing lights extended, because that's exactly what it felt like. Nope. Then the right engine started showing issues. #5 cylinder CHT dropped to red, EGT rose. Oil pressure and temps stayed green. I threw the mixture rich, the fuel pump on, powered back just a bit, and it stabilized, but it was shaking, stumbling, sounded bad, sounded like it wasn't going to stay running. I called Atlanta and told them I needed to return to Chattanooga. I had Morgan fly, while I monitored the engine. If it showed any sign of oil pressure loss or oil temp rise, I'd have shut down the right engine. But that didn't happen, fortunately, and I landed safely back at Chattanooga, and called the mechanic. We talked for awhile, I showed him photos, and his opinion was that it was a fuel injector nozzle. I've had that happen before, it does feel like that. He suggests it could even have cleared itself up. Only one way to know that though. Me, Ethan and Mechanic agree I will limp the plane back home. I talked to Morgan, since her butt was in there too. She was on board. I did say I wouldn't be going to Roanoke and loading up a family of 5 on board first. Everyone agreed. With just two of us on board, more like 1.5, we'd be okay. I took off in the dusk. Operated it carefully, ran the right side rich, had to manage the fuel because of the left aux tank pump failure, all the things, and it behaved better for the trip home. I flew that leg, monitored the systems all the way home, and we landed back at Frankfort around 10 pm. I'm on downwind in the pattern, and suddenly the CHTs and EGTs are all normal again and it seems to be running fine. Weird timing, but glad it happened. Could've happened over the mountains at night and been more relaxing of a flight, but hey.

I get home after 11 pm. Get up at 6:15 am, because I'm supposed to take MBros 340 over to Muncie for avionics work, and then pick up the stranded family in Roanoke in the Aerostar, and then take Ethan's 340 over to the mechanic in Ohio. Yeah.

I get to the airport and the MBros 340 doesn't have much gas. It's only a 12 minute flight, which is good, because I've got just over an hour's worth of fuel, and an hour's worth of fuel is as low as I care to go. I deliver the 340 in the mist at sunrise, and it's accomplished. I get a ride back in the 172RG from Brennan. Good kid, I like him. And man he greases on his RG landings.

I now go to pull out the Aerostar. It also needs gas. *sigh* I call the gas truck over, and while I'm leaned over the front seat, Greg loses control of the fuel hose, and it sprays 100LL all over the wing, and him, and me. It shoots across and hits my back and shirt. Now I load up and takeoff to go pick up the family. I get several minutes away and I look over into the shiny spinner on the left engine, and I see a nosewheel hanging down. That's not supposed to happen. I look at the "gear up" light which I thought was on, but it was the sun on it--the light was not on. I look over at my hydraulic pressure, and it's lower than it normally was, but it started there. It's not any lower than it started. I cycled the flaps a couple times to see if I could pump the hydraulics up and made sure the back up pump was on, and no go. So for the second time in two days I had to tell ATC I was returning to my point of departure for a maintenance issue. I turned around and headed back to Kokomo. Got as slow as possible and put the gear down with a held breath, and it all came down and locked in and looked good. I land, taxi up, and tell the guys the problem. We spend the rest of the day futzing with that.

I tell the family I can't get down there right now but my guys think it will be an easy fix. Three times in a row I told them I was on my way and three times I had to tell them I couldn't do it, after I try test runs (on the ground). I went to lunch.

I'm driving to lunch, and I need gas. I was going to get it in Frankfort last night because Frankfort is usually cheaper than Kokomo. Not now. It was 40 cents a gallon more expensive than Kokomo. So I waited for today. First place I go to stop, it was just as expensive as Frankfort. I keep going and see a BP with the proper price. I pull in, and EVERY pump has a bag over the handle. I leave. I keep going, and see another one at an expensive price, and right across the street is one cheap. I pull in right there, up to a pump--and it has a bag on it. I drive to another, and finally, finally I can get gas. This is how my entire day is going.

After lunch, Cameron took me in the 172RG down to Frankfort, so I could take the 340 over to Ohio. I fire it up, and everything seems to be running properly. I take off, and all the temps are perfect. The plugged fuel injector nozzle seems to have unplugged itself. So that made for an uneventful flight...FINALLY. I get it to Ohio, and he's going to fix all the other crap that went wrong in one day. I get picked up by Cameron and we go back to Kokomo.

It's time to test fly the Aerostar. They think they have it fixed. I take off, and they don't have it fixed. Gear won't go up, hydraulic pressure that started perfect dropped, and once again I'm bringing it back with issues. I send Morgan in the Meridian to go get that family in Roanoke. Let's face it. Something in the universe did not want me to go fetch that family, apparently.

I am now tired. I've flown 7 legs today plus a bunch of test runs, got up at 6:15 am, didn't get home until after 5 pm, and it's been stressful and tiring for two days straight. I get home, and Steve texts me a photo. The 172RG pulled out of the hangar--with a totally flat nose wheel. I was the last one in it.

So let's recap.

The Cheyenne broke and is in maintenance in Pennsylvania.

The Conquest broke and is stuck at Frankfort.

The 340 broke and is in maintenance in Ohio.

The Aerostar broke and is in maintenance in our hangar.

The other 340 isn't broke but is in avionics at Muncie.

The 172RG broke and is shoved into a hangar with a flat nosewheel for the night. It will at least be fixed tomorrow.

What fun!

They joked about me breaking them all, but if you're the one flying 950 hours in a year, and you're the one sitting in the planes all the time, then the odds are good that you'll be the one sitting there when something breaks. ;)

I also filled out two insurance forms today. One for MBros 340, and one for John R's, 421.

Kaylee came over for awhile, and we're watching Tulsa King with Stallone. Season 2.

Mostly I feel like I need a couple of drinks after this Monday the 13th.