Day 3… Flying to Colorado Springs
I wanted to leave RR fairly early in the morning as I had a LONG flight out to Colorado. About a 5.5 hrs flight. I was …I think… the first plane to lift off off at 8:15 am. I wanted to do a fly by, so a quick call on the radio and I overflew the air field on final at an eye popping 238 kts indicated. That is 273 MPH. Wow, this plane is REALLY fast. All felt well and it was very stable. Later I was wondering where all the cold air was coming from and found I had left my landing light down. Am extra bit of drag. Heck I might have gone even faster!!
First stop is a 30 minute flight to Sturgis for fuel. Yikes, $5.40 per gal.
Sec0nd stop is an hour flight to Rolla National for fuel and to take my buddy Chris up for a quick flight. Chris has been following the restoration of the plane on my blog and really wanted see it up close. He is the young man who I have know from Oshkosh through Lee Devlin. Chris usually camps with us and it has been fun to see him grow and develop over the last few years. When we first met (he was a hyper 15 yr old), I used to yell at him “run Forest, run” because he had so much energy he ran everywhere. A brilliant home schooled kid. I still call him Forest.
After a quick lunch and even quicker loop around the pattern it is off for a 4 hr flight to Colorado Springs to visit with Burrall Sanders.
About 2.5 hrs into the flight at 10,000 ft is when the fun started. I was cruising along, writing emails on my ipad when all of a sudden, I smelled weird odor…. a burning electrical sort of smell. SHIT. I quickly switched the EFIS panel to the engine page and saw the oil pressure bar graph was showing 0 psi oil pressure.
Oh shit. (that is a technical term you NEVER want to hear a pilot say). I called Kansas center and immediately found a close by airport to head toward. I was in the middle of freaking nowhere, somewhere in Kansas, so off I went. What struck me as funny was I didn’t get any alarm on the EFIS panel and when I looked closely, I noticed a number above the bar graph.
Hum, could it be me? I had played with the setting of the GRT EFIS, and apparently I set the bar graph setting wrong (teaches me) and when I changed it, sure enough I had oil pressure (the small number). I decided to land anyway to check the bird out. Something still didn’t feel right.
I landed at a 3000 foot strip in the middle of ??? nothing there except one lonely plane.
After finding nothing wrong, I was ready to head out and continue on my trip, and when I did the mag check, I found one of the ignition systems had failed. Shit! That was what the burning smell was. Frying electronics. My Pmag had failed (the other side is a Lightspeed which is bullet proof).
What to do? I am in the middle of nowhere land, no hangar, no FBO, not even a road close by, so I elected to travel on to Burralls (1.5 hrs away) as he has a repair facility where I can fix her. Off I went, picked up flight following in case anything else would happen and routed myself over a series of small airports which I could easily glide if needed. Nothing out here except fields, isolated farm houses and nice long dirt road I could use if needed.
Here is what I wrote while flying….
I am currently at 10,000 ft typing away with my iPad (in it holder) which really works great and was worth the effort.
I have sitting in this plane for 3.6 hrs with 1.6 to go and I can tell you these seats suck. My legs are not too comfortable. My plane has temper-pedic foam and I have sat for almost 6hrs comfortably. Ouch…
This is the longest leg. UuuhhhOoooo
Back in the air. Crap I had do an emergency decent. Travel plans are now shot. Oh well stuff like this makes life exciting an gives me another story to tell.
I miss my tweedy bird. She would never do this to me.
one hour to sit here at 10,500 ft on pins and needles.
After a nervious flight to Colorado Springs and I am on the ground. Burrall greeted me and escorted me to his HUGE hangar where is repairs canards (Free Flight Composites).
After a beautiful sunset set over the mountains,
I need a drink (a frozen margarita please) and food. The plane can wait. Off to a fantastic TexMex restaurant for a real chili relleno made with real a roasted fresh poblano pepper. They just dont know how to make a good chili rellenos in Charleston. Yummy…. life is good.
