Friday, December 20, 2019

The fun of a 44 year old airplane

Did a lesson today. Holds were better, not perfect, but better.

Did 3 approaches, they were good. All RNAV, so pretty much just "follow the needles" Didn't talk to ATC, they were pretty busy.

Second approach, I couldn't get the Carb heat to work. Not the cable, it is brand new. So returned to the barn for some maintenance....

De-cowled the 182 and found that the pivots for the flapper were just dry. a bit of oil and they now move freely....Nothing wrong with the whole thing, it is just shit that happens. Tuesday and Wed the carb heat worked fine. I did the maintenance 'cause the main mechanic was busy and his help had all left after the lunch/Christmas feast....Plus I helped him re-cowl the last plane to be released today....I will never understand how someone can bitch about how long a repair is taking, especially one that is a last minute rush job, all while standing around watching the person who is doing them a favor by staying late work.

Irritating, but not a big deal.

Oh, and I broke the main hangar door. Halfway up (just high enough for the tail to clear) the main lift cable on one end just snapped. It's only 30 years old......

So the plane is gonna be hangared in the maintenance shop for the next few days until they can get a cable made for the big hangar door.

I think tomorrow I will fly to Clow International for lunch. 

1 comment:

Unknown said...

You have a good plane. Its a great traveler, a time machine, it compresses time. However, cross country trips present the opportunity to practice maneuvers or impromptu holds, etc. At least once I flew a short X/C making Lazy 8s to commercial standards the whole way. Asking for a published hold even while VFR is not unheard of. Or, ask for a PAR approach. ATC will like the practice too. But whatever, adhere to IFR standards. Make if fun, have fun. You have a great machine.

Rick