A Cruel Summer…

Bust out the Bananarama because it’s been a cruel summer for me to be able to enjoy the skies. Ok…cruel may be a bit harsh but to think about it, I’ve only been able to get into the skies twice in the last two months.

Let’s recap…I flew some friends around the Bay back in Mid-may and that was an absolutely great flight (see “Bay Area Sunset Flights“). I’d also flown earlier that week to get my checkout in the Warrior. Then I went to Chicago for Father’s Day, and Pops and I tried to fly the Musketeer on my last day in Chicago, but the battery wouldn’t start (see “Libros y Niños“). So then I returned to Cali and took another friend on a Bay Tour flight and it, again, was magnificent. Then the following week, I tried to take another friend on her first ride only to discover an oil leak (as noted in “Drip…Drip…Drip“).

So after squawking that issue, I was told it was fixed and I had my aunt meet me at the airport on a Tuesday evening afterwork for a quick ride in the Bay Area skies. But to my dismay, the aircraft would not start. I tried about five times and then gave up. But I was eager to fly, and so the following evening, I set out afterwork and enjoyed a beautiful little flight over the Stanford Campus and then straight into San Carlos (SQL) for a couple of pattern landings. I returned to Palo Alto, having made three landings and only getting 0.6 on the hobbs meter…so that was a fun, cheap flight.

So last weekend, I set out to fly up to Petaluma (a cross-country of 53 nm from PAO)…but low and behold, the damn plane wouldn’t start AGAIN! Needless to say, I was annoyed. At this point, I didn’t know what the deal was with the plane. Was it me or was it the aircraft? But that’s not the jist of that story…I decided to drive up to Petaluma and on the way up there I ended up with getting a “flat tire” in the middle of San Francisco. I guess I just wasn’t suppose to go to Petaluma. But thank gawd for run flat tires..hence the quotation marks around “flat tire.”

A couple of days later, I headed back to the airport to check in with the A/P to better understand why the aircraft was not starting for me. I mean, I’d had a little trouble starting the plane before but I could get it to work eventually. But two times in the last three of getting nothing….not to mention…it appeared that other people were able to get it flying (from the looks of the logs). So Mike (the A/P) and I walked out to the plane and he watched me through several different types of starts…hot, cold, flooded, taking a couple of minutes to break, and try it all again. But still nothing!

So the aircraft was due for its 100-hour inspection, so he decided to ground it early, as he could see (and said)…”well, it’s not you…you’re doing everything right.” Wheew…that was good to hear.

Well I got a call from Mike on Friday and he eventually told me the reason for the latest troubles. Apparently, the fuel line on the primer was busted and during engine start and priming…the fuel wasn’t going into the cylinder but instead was squirting inside the cowling and down the exhaust line. Yeah…NOT GOOD! So thankfully, I didn’t fly. But geez….first oil and now gas….lord only knows what will come next.

Well I recognize that this just a point in time and I’m anxious to get back into the California skies and see this beautiful state from several thousand feet. And I already know where my next cross country will be…up to Petaluma and Sonoma Wine Country. Until next time…as my friend Glenn says…”keep the dirty side down.”