Last 5 flights

[robert7467]

These flights occurred over the last 5 years (yes only 5 flights). The plane was down a considerable amount of time.

Gear up: I was doing a biannual flight review after a 2 year avionics install. We were doing pattern work and my Sandel 3308 went out (a factor leading up). The instructor was busting my chops of when to drop the gear (I always dropped entering downwind, like I was taught). Then when the runway numbers are next to me, I pull the carb heat, like I was thought. He wanted carb heat pulled on short final. Then we were on final approach, and he kept leaning over my adjusting power settings for that perfect glide slope. Upon flare, I heard a buzzing noise and I pushed the power in and did a go around. I ended up knocking 1/4' off my prop. 

Lesson learned: brief the instructor on your habilitual, taught procedures prior to the flight, so there is no confusion in the air. Another factor was the Sandel going out. Several distractions led up to the incident, resulting in a gear up prop strike. Even though the instructor had several thousands of hours of flight time, it's still my life on the line. If I would have aviated first, this would have never happened.

Even though the prop was in tolerance and we could have just dressed it, we decided to put it in one of the best engine shops around to preserve the resellibility of the plane.

Then I picked it up from the engine shop:

Did a high RPM runup and the engine guy told me to fly it a couple times around the patch and if all checks out, proceed to home base.

I got up in the air and so much oil dumped on the windshield, it was like a solid sheet of ice. Since I couldn't see out the front window, my 3 options were, attempt to land first, then if unsuccessful, find a suitable place to ditch the airplane (water or trees). I ended up slipping the plane in for visibility out of the side window. Then did a no flap (lower angle of decent approach), and when I got low, I just kept popping the nose up like a fishing pole until she sat down. Luckily in the past, I was with an instructor when a landing light went out on final and we practiced that technique.

A couple days later I recieved a call saying it was fixed. I showed up to the airport and was told to take it around the patch.

The same exact thing happened. Then he tells me that he might have used the wrong prop seal.

He puts the new seal in and I take it up, and there was a little oil misting, but it was so minor I figured it was likely residual from the last incidents.

Got the plane to home base and she sat for a little bit more. Then annual comes around and I asked the mechanic to check the prop because I wanted to make sure the mist was not a leak. The shop that put my prop on did not match the prop with the dowels (might be wrong terminology), but let's just say the prop was not on right. There is a good chance if I would have flown it, something really really bad would have likely happened.

Flight 4: Binannual flight review in a Bonanza by a very, very competent and excellent instructor.

Flight 5: in my Mooney, engine failure on takeoff which is discussed in a different post.

Mechanically we couldn't have done anything different. We dont skimp on maintenance and repairs. Overall the bird is in tip top shape. Now it's likely a carb issue due to gumming up from sitting, I will know more next week. 

I think the lessons that I have learned are: You can do a thorough runup, a high RPM runup, but once you put stress on the engine (flight), that's when all the gremlins come out. The high RPM runups did not put enough stress on the engine to indicate any problems. The oil leaks didn't even present themselves after a long standard runup followed up by a high RPM runup. 

 

When I was doing my BFR, I learned a lot that day. The instructor on every takeoff had me pull all the way back on the yoke until she lifts off. (Like a short field) This allows you to gain altitude quicker. He also started his turn at around 300'-400' when I was tought 1000'. If you think about it, if his fan quits at 1000' then the impossible turn is not so impossible anymore. Everyone has different ways of doing things and you might not agree with his way, but after evaluating what could have happened during my engine failure, it's all starting to make sense.

Many pilots dont experience any of these in their lifetimes, much less the last 5 flights.

I think the biggest thing I have learned, is to plan an engine failure on departure. Know what's on the other end of that runway, so if it happens, you can execute your plan immediately without hesitation.

Sorry for the lengthy post, but I have been doing a lot of thinking lately. Breaking down each situation and the chain of events that led up to them.

Robert 

Edited July 12, 2020 by robert7467

[ArtVandelay]

You need a new mechanic.

 

And a new CFI...some CFIs feel like they always need to talk and correct every little thing.

[201er]

[robert7467]

2 minutes ago, ArtVandelay said:

You need a new mechanic.

 

And a new CFI...some CFIs feel like they always need to talk and correct every little thing.

I have a a really good mechanic, it was this reputable engine shop that I had issues with. As far as that instructor goes, that was the first and last flight with him.

When I did my BFR, I briefed procedures on the ground.

[toto]

Why only five flights in five years?

[robert7467]

Just now, toto said:

Why only five flights in five years?

2 years for panel upgrade, then the plane was in the shop for a prop strike, then 2018-2019 were  bad years for me (almost went out of business) and didn't have funds for ADSB, also half of the avionics that were sold to me were inop it took additional time and money to get everything resolved. The guy who sold me this stuff had legal issues and is now on a 6 year leave of absence. Now she is compliant and I am doing better financially, so it's time to get back in the saddle and start working on my IFR.

[toto]

1 minute ago, robert7467 said:

2 years for panel upgrade, then the plane was in the shop for a prop strike, then 2018-2019 were  bad years for me (almost went out of business) and didn't have funds for ADSB, also half of the avionics that were sold to me were inop it took additional time and money to get everything resolved. The guy who sold me this stuff had legal issues and is now on a 6 year leave of absence. Now she is compliant and I am doing better financially, so it's time to get back in the saddle and start working on my IFR.

Understood. If the airplane is out of commission for whatever reason, there are lots of different ways to get stick time. But if *you're* out of commission due to external stress, then it makes sense to hangar fly until you're in a better place. 

If at all possible, you need a more gentle introduction next time Book a block of time at a flight school with a well maintained aircraft that has no open squawks. Get the rust knocked off your basic skills, then turn attention to your plane after you're up to speed.

Being the test pilot in an aircraft with recent maintenance is a lot to take on - especially if you're not proficient yourself. 

Having a CFI along is a great idea, but if your CFI isn't very familiar with the aircraft, s/he can be yet another distraction for a rusty pilot. And honestly, if the CFI *is* very familiar with the aircraft, I might ask the instructor to fly left seat for a little while just to get the flows down and shake some cobwebs out of my head. 

[robert7467]

14 minutes ago, toto said:

Understood. If the airplane is out of commission for whatever reason, there are lots of different ways to get stick time. But if *you're* out of commission due to external stress, then it makes sense to hangar fly until you're in a better place. 

If at all possible, you need a more gentle introduction next time Book a block of time at a flight school with a well maintained aircraft that has no open squawks. Get the rust knocked off your basic skills, then turn attention to your plane after you're up to speed.

Being the test pilot in an aircraft with recent maintenance is a lot to take on - especially if you're not proficient yourself. 

Having a CFI along is a great idea, but if your CFI isn't very familiar with the aircraft, s/he can be yet another distraction for a rusty pilot. And honestly, if the CFI *is* very familiar with the aircraft, I might ask the instructor to fly left seat for a little while just to get the flows down and shake some cobwebs out of my head. 

When I get this carb issue resolved, I am going to do some high speed taxis to put some takeoff stress on the engine, get used to the plane again with a high time instructor and jump straight into IFR. Luckily I am starting fresh again so I can develop new, better habits. Surving the above situations, proves that I am competent in flying the aircraft itself, but I still have a lot to learn and a lot to think about. I was watching a video the other day where a group of flight instructors were taking turns flying a DC3. The instructor threw a curve ball on each flight by activating the gear up lights, even though the gear was down. Each time, the CFI would start focusing on the gear problem and lost altitude, heading, airspeed. Basically it takes 1 event to set off an entire chain, which boils down to aviating first. The same thing happened with the prop strike. First it was the Sandel going out, 2nd it was the ball busting on carb heat and when to lower the gear, then the distraction of power settings on approach. In a way, I think reflecting on that situation, prepared me for the rest of the situations. The lesson I learned was to aviate first above all else. When I did my recent BFR, I briefed the instructor on procedures on the ground and made sure we were both on the same page prior to departure.

[Skates97]

Your flight review sounds a lot more like a lesson than a flight review. 

This is just me, and I've only had one flight review as I took my check ride in 2016, my next one will be this October. A CFI isn't going to touch the throttle if I'm the one with the plane, and absolutely not on final. If I give the CFI the plane ("Your Plane") to show me something that's a different story, but if I'm flying it they aren't touching any controls. The CFI isn't there on a flight review to teach me to fly the plane, they are there to observe and make sure I know the rules and can safely fly the plane. 

[robert7467]

Thank you guys for all of the advice. I thought this might have turned into a bashing post, but I still wanted to throw it out there in case anyone else could learn from my experiences. On the first experience, all it took was 1 event to start a whole chain of events. The remaining events were beyond my control and I think I handled them well. However I learned a lot from those in idecidents such as such as planning for an engine failure at every phase of takeoff while I am still on the ground. I also learned not to fully trust instructors, no matter how good they look on paper. I see many high time pilots get complacent not doing a pre flight, not doing a post flight, not dipping or sumping their tanks or even getting a weather briefing. They just jump in the plane and go as if they were driving a car. Stay safe! I hope someone can get something off of this post. You never know when the little piece of information, that you learned somewhere, can save your life!

[Ragsf15e]

2 hours ago, robert7467 said:

Thank you guys for all of the advice. I thought this might have turned into a bashing post, but I still wanted to throw it out there in case anyone else could learn from my experiences. On the first experience, all it took was 1 event to start a whole chain of events. The remaining events were beyond my control and I think I handled them well. However I learned a lot from those in idecidents such as such as planning for an engine failure at every phase of takeoff while I am still on the ground. I also learned not to fully trust instructors, no matter how good they look on paper. I see many high time pilots get complacent not doing a pre flight, not doing a post flight, not dipping or sumping their tanks or even getting a weather briefing. They just jump in the plane and go as if they were driving a car. Stay safe! I hope someone can get something off of this post. You never know when the little piece of information, that you learned somewhere, can save your life!

You and your airplane definitely need to fly more.  Something around 60hours a year depending on your prior experience is gonna be required for both of you to remain proficient and mechanically sound.

 

Additionally, I’m all for new techniques, but tell me more about this “controls full aft”  thing on normal takeoff and “getting more altitude quickly”... generally you want to accelerate in a normal takeoff attitude if there’s room because an engine failure at low speed and high pitch angle is less likely to end happily than one at a slightly lower altitude but higher airspeed and lower pitch.

[carusoam]

Robert,

You are going to find bashing is an old style...  MS is all about respect for everybody... even though it may not look that way to every casual observer....

Some CFIs are stuck in an old style as well...  That was normal for the 90s... CFIs looked better by making the student feel bad?

The more you get comfortable with yourself, the easier it becomes to get decent feed back...

There are many MSers on a budget...

There are many MSers that can’t get enough flight time...

There are plenty of MSers with good input, but can’t write very well... (I’m one... not the good input one...)

There are couple of people that have GU landings with a CFI on board...

Nice to see the avatar update...

Once you add a location to your avatar, you will more feel like part of the community...

When you add your Mooney’s model, the responses you get will be more specific...

You have been here longer than many...

Stay focussed on what you want to achieve...

Some things happen to everybody...

As a PP you are in command of your ship...

While Re-building time, find somebody you can trust to fly right seat with you... not easy, not everyone is going to want to be in a plane that has sat a long time... or want to be right seat with somebody with very little recency...
 

Be honest with that person about the mechanical part of your plane...  most Mooneys don’t do very well sitting idle for years... my M20C stuck a valve after sitting for two.... really stuck as in it  didn't move... it went in the cylinder, and crashed with the piston as it came up...

Many MSers use a technique called verbal mediation... they actually say what they are doing just prior to doing it...    this takes out the confusion of what you are doing... If you can’t verbally mediate... it is a sign that you may be running out of cognitive power as the multi-tasking increases...Or you are uncomfortable...? Or some other challenge is happening that you want to get control of... practice, practice, practice....
 

With so little flight time... expect some rust to need being removed... pilot wise... and same for the plane...

It really helps to build relationships with CFIs and mechanics... an hour here and an hour there could be really beneficial...

Avoid the need to do things twice... and not get anything out of it...
 

Making headway costs time, money, effort, or a combination of all three...

At MS you are never alone...

There is one acceptable type of bashing that occurs around here... that orca looking plane takes some heat every now and then... 

PP thoughts only, not a CFI or mechanic...

Best regards,

-a-

[BaldEagle]

If it’s any consolation I also had the prop seal issue — twice (the prop shop replaced the incorrect size seal with another incorrect size seal).  Landing with zero forward vis was quite sporting I seem to recall.  The same shop nearly killed a friend some years later through some spectacular negligence.  The shop is no longer in business as the proprietor is now deceased.

Then there was the time I took it up after having a cylinder replaced and I noticed the fuel pressure bouncing all over the place, a strong smell of fuel, and running a little rough.  When I landed the left side of the fuselage looked like a Jackson Pollack.  The A&P had neglected to secure the fuel line into the injector and it was spraying fuel all over the hot engine.  Oh how we laughed at the one.  The A&P no longer works on aircraft on account of crystal methamphetameme abuse (he is also deceased).

[robert7467]

Yeah there is a little rust to be knocked off for sure. I was at a point to where I felt as comfortable flying the Mooney as driving a car. I feel like some of the rust went away during my last 2 flights, or I wouldn't have able to get the plane down. My Mooney is a very nice, well maintained plane. The sad part is, the mechanic at the shop told me on the last go around that they were trying to avoid "putting that $300" seal on that my engine called for (I guess new tolerances or something) and it put my life at risk.

Now I am finally out of financial hot water and I can do what I love again. I think IFR is a good starting point. I get to learn a whole new set of procedures from scratch. I am going into a flight school environment where the instructors might not have a lot of time, but they have a syllabus and they drill down on procedures, then occasionally, I can supplement my lessons with that super pilot I was talking about.

[carusoam]

Are you going to use your own plane for the IR training?

Usually best to use your own plane... or you get to learn many details regarding power settings and configurations all over again when you switch...

Best regards,

-a-

[robert7467]

Just now, carusoam said:

Are you going to use your own plane for the IR training?

Best regards,

-a-

Yes, I only have about 5 hrs in a from 2004, 2 hours in a Merlin and 2.5 in a Bonanza. Also I updated my profile.

[Skates97]

4 hours ago, robert7467 said:

Thank you guys for all of the advice. I thought this might have turned into a bashing post, but I still wanted to throw it out there in case anyone else could learn from my experiences. On the first experience, all it took was 1 event to start a whole chain of events. The remaining events were beyond my control and I think I handled them well. However I learned a lot from those in idecidents such as such as planning for an engine failure at every phase of takeoff while I am still on the ground. I also learned not to fully trust instructors, no matter how good they look on paper. I see many high time pilots get complacent not doing a pre flight, not doing a post flight, not dipping or sumping their tanks or even getting a weather briefing. They just jump in the plane and go as if they were driving a car. Stay safe! I hope someone can get something off of this post. You never know when the little piece of information, that you learned somewhere, can save your life!

I hope that is not how my post came across, that was not the way it was intended. Always know when you are PIC, then you are PIC and nobody should be touching any of the controls. The only exception I can think of is if you have a CFI in the right seat and you are doing something that is unsafe and placing the flight in imminent danger. One thing my PPL CFI did which I am grateful for is allow me to make the mistakes and then go over them later, those were the lessons I probably learned the most from. From what you described, the CFI adjusting the throttle to get the "perfect Glideslope" doesn't fall into that category. If he wanted to see something different he could have said so.

A CFI trying to provide a distraction verbally I think is fair game, and they like to do that just to see how you handle different distractions. Always know that you can tell the CFI to be quiet any time you feel the need if they are being a distraction. A simple "Not now" or "Hold on" works. Another thing you can do is during the pre-flight briefing let them know that at any point if you hold up your hand it means they have to stop talking. I go over that with anyone that is flying with me for the first time (or hasn't in awhile) during the pre-flight briefing. If there is a radio call I want to hear it is easier to hold up a hand for them to shut up than tell them to and miss more of the transmission. If they won't be quiet, reach up and turn off the intercom so you can't hear them, they will get the message. 

[RLCarter]

54 minutes ago, Skates97 said:

 Another thing you can do is during the pre-flight briefing let them know that at any point if you hold up your hand it means they have to stop talking. I go over that with anyone that is flying with me for the first time (or hasn't in awhile) during the pre-flight briefing. If there is a radio call I want to hear it is easier to hold up a hand for them to shut up than tell them to and miss more of the transmission. If they won't be quiet, reach up and turn off the intercom so you can't hear them, they will get the message. 

I do the same. I also tell them anytime they hear ANYONE on the radio to stop talking. I have been known to reach over or around and unplug their mic if they are a real chatterbox 

[Guest]

In my experience fellow pilots make the worst passengers, constant talking when you’re busy is a real annoyance.  I’ll have to try unplugging them in future.

Clarence

[ArtVandelay]

Most modern audio panels can isolate the pilot with a push of a button.

[Vance Harral]

As a CFI, it drives me nuts to hear about other CFIs trying to change an established pilot's habits in flight, regarding things like exactly when to turn crosswind, when to pull carb heat, when to put the gear down, etc.  It's one thing if the pilot is doing something genuinely unsafe.  But there are many safe ways to fly the pattern, and a CFI worth his salt should be capable of adjusting to minor variations in technique.  The pros and cons of these multiple safe techniques can be discussed on the ground.

Same goes for adjusting power settings on the approach.  It'd be one thing if you were a student pilot learning to land for the first time.  But for established pilots, the CFI's job is to coach refinements in technique, not perform them.

Sorry you had a bad experience, hope you'll go on to better times.

[carusoam]

I’m the guy in the right seat...   it Is so hard to be quiet.... 

Multi-tasking for right seaters... listen before/while speaking... 

 

Robert, is this your Merlin?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeromarine_Merlin

Got to get those Mooney legs stretched!

Best regards,

-a-

[robert7467]

8 hours ago, carusoam said:

I’m the guy in the right seat...   it Is so hard to be quiet.... 

Multi-tasking for right seaters... listen before/while speaking... 

 

Robert, is this your Merlin?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeromarine_Merlin

Got to get those Mooney legs stretched!

Best regards,

-a-

No, I never had a Merlin but I have around 2 hrs in one. It was twin turbo prop.

[Yetti]

Av gas should not gum up in that time.   More likely contamination.   What did your tank and colator sump look like?.   Taking off and getting level is a known water/engine issue in a Mooney.

[robert7467]

40 minutes ago, Yetti said:

Av gas should not gum up in that time.   More likely contamination.   What did your tank and colator sump look like?.   Taking off and getting level is a known water/engine issue in a Mooney.

Tanks were fine when I sumped them, I then went back the next morning just in case I got contaminated fuel and everything checked out okay. I guess I will know more when he pulls that carb off. I am going to go out there to pull the cowling and get everything ready for him today.