Trials and Triumphs

As March drew to a close, the Eagle's condition inspection was complete and she was airborne again, it was time to turn my attention to the Wolf Pitts.  One diversion first, help a fellow Eagle pilot with a fuel flow issue he'd been having.  Checked the whole system but found no issues other than the wobble pump couldn't be opened to look at the filter.  Someone had put some Lock-Tite type adhesive on the threads and it was very difficult to open.  So we removed it for him to send out for rebuild, hopefully the state of the filter will tell us more.

So back in February I had a fuel line fail, which was a signal to me to replace my hoses, 15 years is long enough on one set.  Two other needed projects included removing the right magneto for it's 500 hour inspection (about 500 hours late..) and removing my wobble pump for overhaul.  It gets very difficult to operate when the temperature rises above 85 degrees.

Down to the hangar I go with wrench in hand!  First off, get the fluids out of the system, fuel and oil.  Lift the tail, open the fuel drain and start emptying into 5 gallon cans.  Then I open the oil quick drain valve to empty the case.  Eventually, I see oil all over my drip pan.  Huh, everything from the drain valve is going into my oil can, whats up?  Big streak of oil down the firewall... uh oh...

As the season ended in 2011, I noticed more and more oil on the belly.  I spent a couple weekends chasing down possibilities when I found that a number of my hose clamps were loose.  Triumphantly, I tightened them all thinking I found the oil leak.  Nope, if found an oil leak.  Turns out my prop governor is leaking where it mates to the adapter plate.

A quick assessment revealed the only way to properly remove the governor is to pull the engine off the airplane. Crap.

I haven't even started my annual condition inspection yet and I'm looking at $2,500+/- in new parts, inspections and repairs.  Gotta love airplane ownership!!

Don't get me wrong, I love the Wolf Pitts and wouldn't trade it for any other airplane out there.  And I knew that I was facing issues like this before I ever got in her to fly home.  15  years and 1000 hard aerobatic hours are tough on an airframe.  But as he current caretaker, I'm glad to put in the time.

But I need to end this post on a high note...  Last Saturday was Arlington Airport Appreciation Day.  Since KAWO does so much for the Arlington Fly In and has to be the greatest general aviation airport on the planet, I felt that I had to take part.  I hopped up with the Eagle and flew a few Young Eagle rides.

My favorites were two 16 year old twins that had never been in an airplane before.  Not even a big aluminum mailing tube.  They showed up at 8am to help set up and planned on leaving after helping tear everything down.  When we had to wait for a rain burst to pass through, they offered to help wipe down the Eagle.  Very polite and considerate boys.

The flights were great, both did a fantastic job flying the airplane, both showed some real enthusiasm and wonder at the experience.  That is the reason I like to fly Young Eagles.  Unfortunately, kids like these are far and few between.  I hope it made a big enough impression that we'll see them around the airport again.

Ended the day with watching a local B-26 Invader pilot beat up the pattern at Renton when I got back.  The sound of the radials is pure heaven....

Last weekend was a busy flying weekend... finally!

Friday I had a meeting up at Paine Field in Everett for a Aviation Day planning.  It was a beautiful day other than the choppy turbulence.  Got a little lost taxiing on the airport with all the 787's and 747's parked all over the place awaiting engines.  Sorry, no pics of that this time, I'll get some at the next meeting.

The flight home was very serene with some great cloud formations over the Cascades and Olympics.

Saturday morning I had a Manager's meeting for the Arlington Fly In.  Another beautiful flight with a few low clouds in the valleys.  But this flight, both ways, was quite smooth.

That afternoon I flew one more time.  This was an aerobatic flight, no pictures, can't have loose items  floating around the cockpit.  This flight was with another pilot from Germany, he flies competition over there and was in Seattle to take delivery of a 737 for the airline he works for.  We had fun as he flew the Eagle, an airplane he's not that familiar with.  We put +6 and -4 on the G-meter in a few flubbed maneuvers.

Talking with him re-enforced how lucky we are to live and fly in the US.  Costs and regulations in Germany are quickly making flying the realm of only those of means.  $12/gallon gas.... flight plan requirements... landing fees... licensing requirements and costs....  We certainly are privileged, but must never give up the fight to keep it that way!

March Madness

No posts for the month of March doesn't mean there wasn't any aviation!  This is the time of year where the annual Condition Inspection is done on the Eagle and the Wolf Pitts.  We had a new A&P on the Eagle this year and he found some good issues that needed to be addressed. I also did my flight review in the Cessna and got my medical done.  

From a cracked fuselage tube at the gear attach point, to loose trim tabs on the tail, there were a number of small jobs that needed to be addressed that caused the annual to take longer than normal.  Or perhaps, with 3000 hours on this fine bird, this is the new normal.

On the first test flight, as I lifted off of the runway, the right slave strut started vibrating pretty severely, didn't feel anything in the stick but visually I could see it moving a couple inches.  Quickly told the tower I'm staying in the pattern.

"Are you declaring an emergency?"

Never had anyone asked me that before.  I looked at the vibrating strut, but as I slowed down at 1000 feet it ceased to move.  "No, not at this time."  After landing, I did an inspection of the strut and attach points and didn't find any missing or broken parts.  Decided to give it another try.  Again at rotation, it started to vibrate.  But this time I quickly reduced power and speed and the vibration ceased around 100 mph.  Brought the plane up to cruise speed and headed out to the practice area.

Did some simulated take offs... no vibration.  Did some aerobatics... no vibration.  What the...?  Anomaly?

Returned to Renton and sent out an email to my partners about the experience.  Rochelle flew the airplane on Easter, I called her after her scheduled flight only to find out that it did vibrate on her again, and this time didn't stop until somewhere on final approach.  Plane was grounded.

This is where the Internet can be your friend... and foe.  A couple quick posts to the Eagle Google Group and on the Biplaneforum.com garnered a lot of free advice.  Most of which was irrelevant and some outright wrong.  But one tidbit of info from a Starduster pilot rang a bell.  Rubber washers!  A quick look at the Eagle revealed that ours were falling apart, age had gotten the better of them.

Detach both slave struts and use the old washer to make two new sets.  Installed and test flown.  No vibration!  Double Eagle is good to go!

This weekend will begin my first full Condition Inspection on the Wolf Pitts, that will probably also take all month long.  The right magneto needs to be inspected, all the hoses replaced, wobble pump overhauled and the engine monitor needs repair and a software upgrade.

WIIFM. Whazzat?

What's In It For Me.

In the todays society, WIIFM seems to be the the new norm.  If I don't get a benefit, why should I go the extra mile?


Thankfully, that poor attitude is not very prevalent in the aviation circles.  A few people had the ability to make my life difficult yesterday in trying to solve my fuel leak, but they all took the opposite route.  From Chuck at Spencer Aircraft coming in on his day off to make sure I got the parts I needed, to Brad up at Arlington taking the time to show me how to assemble the fittings on the hose, to Jim at Aircore Aviation  who provided some tools, assistance and a T-hangar to work in.  These three guys made it so I could get my baby home quickly.

Thank you!

Here are a couple shots from the flight home.  That's downtown Seattle on the other side of the flying wires. (It's not easy taking pictures flying a Pitts...)

Looking towards my hometown of Issaquah and the Cascade foothills.

And the Wolf Pitts safely back in her hangar.

February challenges continue!

It looks like my aviation challenges for February aren't over yet...

Today I had a Arlington Fly In managers meeting up at Arlington (KAWO). The weather was passable, so I decided to fly up in the Wolf Pitts.

The flight up was fairly non-eventful. A few low clouds and some rain to dodge around, but nothing out of the ordinary for Winter in the Pacific Northwest.

However, attempting to leave KAWO is where it got interesting. After stopping in to say good-bye to a FBO that is closing, I strapped into the Wolf Pitts for the long taxi to 16.

About halfway I started smelling avgas pretty strong, upon looking down I saw it streaming down the belly through the lexan floor. Crap! Ok, that's the exhaust right there by the leaking fuel, a backfire could ruin my whole day... I pointed the airplane at an open area of pavement, kept some forward momentum, unstrapped the belts, opened the canopy and shut off the engine coasting to a stop.

After inspecting the area, I couldn't quite figure out what was wrong. With a non-vented fuel cap (for aerobatics) the Wolf Pitts tends to spit out fuel when the tank is full (like now) and the outside temp rises. So I tried firing it up again to see if that could be the case. Nope, lots of fuel. I shut her down again.

Left messages for a couple of A&P's I know at KAWO and started to pull the cowl off.

Jim from Aircore called me back and was more than willing to come over and tow my plane back to his shop.

After pulling the cowl, I was getting ready to fire it up and as I pressurized the fuel system Jim saw fuel leaking near the top of the firewall, from the fuel line connecting the pressure gauge to the fuel pump. We pulled the hose off, connecting it to a compressor resulted in revealing a lot of leaks.

 The rubber hose under the steel braiding had deteriorated completely.

First thing in the morning I'm headed to Spencer Aircraft to pick up a new hose and fittings. A friend of a friend is willing to help get the fittings on the hose, so I should be airborne by the afternoon again and bringing the Wolf Pitts home.



Gotta love aircraft ownership...

Time to spare? Go by air...

That saying is as old as aviation itself, and I got to experience it this last weekend.

Laurie and I wanted to take a weekend getaway to Pendleton, Oregon to check out some different hotels for the August aerobatic contest.  Leading up to Friday, the forecast was for CAVU all across the Pacific Northwest.

Come Friday morning though, there was a large area of low clouds stretching from Tri-Cities, to Walla Walla on down to Pendleton.  But it was supposed to burn off by 3pm.

Off we went from Renton (KRNT)!  We had moderate turbulence up through 8,000 on the way to 9,500.  But the scenery was fantastic!

Enroute, the weather at Pendleton (KPDT) didn't improve, so we stopped at Prosser (S40) for some lunch at the Red Barn. By  early afternoon, Hermiston (KHRI) had opened up so we hopped across the Oregon border to wait out the weather at Pendleton.  By 3pm there was no improvement, so I made the decision to rent a car and drive the remaining 30 miles to Pendleton.

We enjoyed our "mission" on checking out a couple hotels, a casino and a few restaurants.

Sunday morning the Hermiston weather was 1/4 mile visibility in freezing fog.  Uh oh.  We set off around 11am to drive to Hermiston to wait at the airport until the weather improved.

Cresting a hill about 10 miles from Hermiston, we were greeted by this fog bank!

Upon arriving at KHRI, this is what we found...  That's my lonely 172 on the ramp.

The freezing fog sure made some interesting formations on the antennae.

And left a nice layer of thin ice all over the airplane.

We returned the rental car and took possession of the airport courtesy car.  We went from a 2011 Ford Fusion (with heated seats) to an early 90's vintage Lincoln Mark VII, that couldn't get out of first gear, but had a PacBell car phone.  Well, at least we were saving $45/day in charges...

By 3pm the ice had melted off the Cessna, but visibility never got over 1.5 miles and a ceiling of 200 feet.  Camped out at the airport and watched the first half of the Superbowl on my iPad.  By halftime we figured our chances of departing weren't good so we checked into the Best Western next to the airport.

A friend of a friend had an empty hangar so I was able to put the Cessna inside Sunday night so it wouldn't be an ice cube the following morning.

Back to the airport in the morning when we had to leave the hotel at 11am.  It was still 1/4 mile and freezing fog.  By noon it was 3 miles and 200 feet. Slowly the visibility increased and the ceiling raised enough for us to launch about 2:30 and head southwest towards visible blue sky.  Once out from under the clouds, we were able to climb up to 8,500 for a smooth flight home.

That is until we let down into western Washington's gusty winds.  Landing back at Renton on runway 16, we had to deal with winds at 11 gusting to 22 from 080.  Nice challenge at the end of a long weekend...

More pictures to come once we figure out how to download off of Laurie's new camera.

Click here for the route down.
Click here for the route back.

More pictures from the weekend.

Before we left home on Friday, we spotted these beautiful birds by our home.

Here are some nice pictures from the flight down to Oregon.

Then the days of frost...

And the eventual flight home on Monday.