Alternator shut down after takeoff, daytime vfr. What would you do?

[rbridges]

Left PDK and noticed my alternator stopped charging. I left the bravo shelf and landed at a nearby airport. I checked the belt and CB. No obvious loose wires. I made the decision to fly home. It was 30 minutes in daytime vfr conditions. Turned off avionics master and used foreflight/stratus for situational awareness. 

I figured the plane would run the engine off magnetos and I would only turn on radios to announce my landing. Just wanted some input if my decision was unsafe or if others would have done the same.

Btw, the alternator kicked back on after 10 minutes of flight. I'm going to still have it checked. 

[jetdriven]

Recycling the field circuit breaker often will restore power.  Otherwise, load shed and you can likely continue the flight.  I did a VFR checkout with a guy in my plane and the voltage light came on.  We turned everything else off but the transponder and the COM2.  Flew another 45 mins  including 3 gear cycles.  Still had enough juice to start the engine.  

[toto]

I've had to do this a few times over the years. Day VFR presents no regulatory problems, depending on the airspace, but I do always carry a handheld transceiver with fresh batteries just in case. 

It has occurred to me that this sort of thing becomes complicated after January 1, when there are far fewer places you can fly with no electrical system (since you'll need to be broadcasting ADS-B out or have separate prearranged authorization).

 

[Seth]

Funny - this happened to me during my solo cross country in a 172 in 2004 . . . out of PDK!!  Landed in Dalton, GA (if my memory serves correctly) instead of Chattanooga, TN.  Called the flight school, they said that if I could get the engine started, load shed, and fly back to PDK, and then if I could, contact the tower and land.  If I couldn't, they'd be in the tower and look for the light gun.  I was stupid and said OK!

I shed enough, turned the transponder back on once I was in 60 miles, and had plenty of juice on the one radio for the tower who cleared me to land as soon as I made contact about 10 miles out.  I used dead reckoning and approximate headings to fly back.  Not bad for a newbie with less than 40 hours.

My first indication of issues is what I tried to reach Chattanooga approach in TN and they couldn't hear my transmission but I could hear thiers.  Then my Garmin 430 screen died.  I scanned and saw the low voltage indicator.  I turned away from the airspace I was approaching (class C), load shed, and landed at the uncontrolled field as indicated.

In hindsight and after many years experience (and still gaining more every day).  AOG - get it fixed, send out a ferry plane or pay for my taxi ride home!

-Seth

 

 

[EricJ]

3 hours ago, toto said:

I've had to do this a few times over the years. Day VFR presents no regulatory problems, depending on the airspace, but I do always carry a handheld transceiver with fresh batteries just in case. 

It has occurred to me that this sort of thing becomes complicated after January 1, when there are far fewer places you can fly with no electrical system (since you'll need to be broadcasting ADS-B out or have separate prearranged authorization).

 

My home field is Class D under a Bravo shelf inside the Mode C ring.   I had an alternator failure and did a precautionary landing at an uncontrolled field about 80 miles from home.   After unsuccessfully trying to find an A&P that would work on it, I called the number for our tower.   I told them I had my handheld but didn't know whether they'd be able to hear it, etc., and we figured out my ETA and that I might be flying back dark, no transponder, etc..   I showed up right on time, and the response to my first transmission was something like, "We can hear somebody transmitting, but can't understand it, if this is N201TS click twice."   They cleared traffic, made somebody else go away for a while, and got me in with double mic clicks only.

So, yeah, sometimes you just call 'em and it works out.   Probably helps to not be on their sh*t list. 

[Marauder]

4 hours ago, rbridges said:

Left PDK and noticed my alternator stopped charging. I left the bravo shelf and landed at a nearby airport. I checked the belt and CB. No obvious loose wires. I made the decision to fly home. It was 30 minutes in daytime vfr conditions. Turned off avionics master and used foreflight/stratus for situational awareness. 

I figured the plane would run the engine off magnetos and I would only turn on radios to announce my landing. Just wanted some input if my decision was unsafe or if others would have done the same.

Btw, the alternator kicked back on after 10 minutes of flight. I'm going to still have it checked. 

Mine failed in a similar fashion last week. It was an old Prestolite that I had overhauled back in 1995. I saw the voltage begin dropping after startup but would stay in the 13.5 range. On a 1.5 hour flight, it kept dropping to the 12.9 to 13.0 range. I would pull and reset the field breaker and it would come back up to 13.3. When I reached my destination, dropping the gear caused it to hard fail. The shop in NY that looked at it said they started the plane later the day I arrived and it came back for the 10 minutes or so that they ran it. They thought it was probably heating up and failing. I opted to replace it with a new Plane Power. It also got me thinking about a B&C standby backup. 

[N201MKTurbo]

I had my transponder fail about 100 miles north of KCHD a couple of years ago. I was talking to Phoenix approach, which covers half of AZ these days. KCHD is south of town, under the class B, and inside of the mode c vail.

They asked me what my intentions were and I said I wanted to fly to KCHD. The lady sounded annoyed and said “stand by”.

She came back a few minutes later with a full clearance through the class B, over KPHX and to KCHD. She said to report any heading and altitude changes. They worked me as a primary target through the class B, I reported my position and altitude just like in the 80s before mode C. 

They seemed to enjoy the process.

So, exceptions can be made. 

[RLCarter]

24 minutes ago, N201MKTurbo said:

They seemed to enjoy the process.

So, exceptions can be made. 

I lost an alternator, day VFR. Told ATC what was going on and that was turn ALL electrical off and I would power the X-ponder and a radio back up in about an hour, they had no issues with it. Was kinda nice not hearing all the chatter, lol

[takair]

5 hours ago, toto said:

I've had to do this a few times over the years. Day VFR presents no regulatory problems, depending on the airspace, but I do always carry a handheld transceiver with fresh batteries just in case. 

It has occurred to me that this sort of thing becomes complicated after January 1, when there are far fewer places you can fly with no electrical system (since you'll need to be broadcasting ADS-B out or have separate prearranged authorization).

 

I believe that generally speaking, if you didn’t need a transponder in the airspace you also won’t need ADS-B.  Even in our area...not far from NY city, I will occasionally come across an aircraft without a transponder.  This will continue beyond January.  I find myself more and more reliant on watching for traffic in the cockpit and sometimes need to remind myself that not everybody is equipped.

[toto]

26 minutes ago, takair said:

I believe that generally speaking, if you didn’t need a transponder in the airspace you also won’t need ADS-B.  Even in our area...not far from NY city, I will occasionally come across an aircraft without a transponder.  This will continue beyond January.  I find myself more and more reliant on watching for traffic in the cockpit and sometimes need to remind myself that not everybody is equipped.

Right, but my understanding was that if your aircraft is equipped with ADS-B out, you must be broadcasting all the time unless you have been granted a deviation from ATC. 

I think they'll give you a deviation, but it would require making some arrangements before departing VFR. 

[RLCarter]

5 minutes ago, toto said:

I think they'll give you a deviation, but it would require making some arrangements before departing VFR. 

If the failure is in flight they will work with you as well

[Hank]

41 minutes ago, takair said:

I believe that generally speaking, if you didn’t need a transponder in the airspace you also won’t need ADS-B.  Even in our area...not far from NY city, I will occasionally come across an aircraft without a transponder.  This will continue beyond January.  I find myself more and more reliant on watching for traffic in the cockpit and sometimes need to remind myself that not everybody is equipped.

Some planes have no electrical system. 

Some of us have transponders but will not have ADS-B.

We all need to watch out the windows all of the time. 

[N201MKTurbo]

FWIW,

It is a waiver,  not a deviation.

[takair]

What I find interesting about the ADS-B deadline is that I don’t see any evidence of ATC using any form of my ADS-B signal.  While we can watch ADS-B equipped aircraft on our iPad, ATC continues to get my N number wrong and seem to rely solely on my transponder.  You would think by now they would be transitioning to some degree.  Any controllers on here who might know the scoop?

[toto]

23 minutes ago, N201MKTurbo said:

FWIW,

It is a waiver,  not a deviation.

I just meant a deviation from the rule, which is essentially a temporary waiver of the requirement. 

[toto]

Just now, toto said:

I just meant a deviation from the rule, which is essentially a temporary waiver of the requirement. 

91.225 []

(g) Requests for ATC authorized deviations from the requirements of this section must be made to the ATC facility having jurisdiction over the concerned airspace within the time periods specified as follows:

(1) For operation of an aircraft with an inoperative ADS-B Out, to the airport of ultimate destination, including any intermediate stops, or to proceed to a place where suitable repairs can be made or both, the request may be made at any time.

(2) For operation of an aircraft that is not equipped with ADS-B Out, the request must be made at least 1 hour before the proposed operation.

[GeeBee]

The important thing is you landed and checked the mechanical condition. Too often I see people say, "Oh, I can continue without the alternator".  Yes you can but can you continue with the alternator banging around inside the cowl, or the belt flopping around or a bearing smoking? After you assess the mechanical condition, circumstances dictate your ability to continue. Airspace, time of day, comm all factor, just remember, aircraft batteries even ones in good shape do not have that much reserve capacity. Oh and the next time, stop in at KGVL, be happy to let you use my hangar and tools, I even am on good terms with my IA there to help you!

 

 

[N201MKTurbo]

I once had an alternator fan come apart. A piece of it flew across the engine compartment and hit the oil cooler. It made a tiny little hole. I was amazed how much oil can come out of a tiny little hole. I landed at the nearest airport and had less than 2 quarts of oil left. Another minute or two and I would have had a dead engine. Landing immediately is the best course of action. 

[Bravoman]

You guys should splurge for Mooneys with dual alternators!

[rbridges]

4 minutes ago, Bravoman said:

You guys should splurge for Mooneys with dual alternators!

Haha. We're not making lawyer money. 

[Hank]

Just now, rbridges said:

Haha. We're not making lawyer money. 

. . . said the Dentist to his patient.  

[Bravoman]

1 hour ago, rbridges said:

Haha. We're not making lawyer money. 

I call BS on that, I know you are killing it down there Rob!

[EricJ]

1 hour ago, Bravoman said:

You guys should splurge for Mooneys with dual alternators!

Sorting out how to do that when I finally get to the vacuum pump deletion.