Vance
10-30-2008, 03:54 PM
We worked on the Predator yesterday installing the new, one piece crank seal. I let the goo dry over night.
It looked like a beautiful day to fly, clear, cool and no wind.
I hurried through my tasks and was down at the airport by 10:00 and in the air by 10:20.
Winds were at 040 degrees??? at 4kts. I was going to fly the pattern three times and come in for fuel and look for leaks.
I was going to fly to San Louis Obispo for lunck if everything checked out.
The airport was busy, landing and departing on 30. With my vertical card compass I could see that was an almost direct cross, slightly from the rear. I asked for a wind check as I taxied to 30 and it came back 030 degrees at 4kts which is a direct crosswind.
Take off went well and she leapt off the ground and climbed at 900 feet per minute with her nearly empty tanks and the cool air. I started backing off at 700 feet and went right past 800 feet still climbing at over 500 feet per minute at 2,000 rpm.
The turn to crosswind seemed a little odd and she had trouble knowing which way to point her nose. She started to descend at 1,800 rpm and I went right past 800 feet to 700 feet and caught her with 2,500 rpm.
I thought to myself, “This will be instructive.”
I rolled back the power abeam the numbers and turned base a little soon. I overshot the runway and had to come back for final. That landing was uneventful.
The wind sock at the approach end of the runway was flaccid. There were no rotor management challenges and she spooled right back up and leapt into the air again. I hit the big lift again at the end of the runway and she was even more vague about which way to point her nose. The windsock beneath me was a direct cross and out straight. I asked for a wind check and it was 12kts variable.
Each windsock I could see was headed in a different direction. The approach end of 30 was flaccid. My ground speed on down wind was 22 miles per hour at 50 miles per hour indicated airspeed. I turned cross wind and picked up a lot of ground speed. She stepped down about 10 feet twice on short final but the landing was uneventful.
She leapt off the ground again but this time I didn’t overshoot my target altitude. I lost about 50 feet turning crosswind and the turn was vague. On downwind we were at 18 mile per hour ground speed at 55 miles per hour indicated airspeed. My heading was wandering around and it took constant power changes to maintain my target altitude.
I called for a full stop landing and I was number two behind the Aero Commander on a right downwind abeam the tower for 30. I reported the Aero Commander in sight at my 9 O’clock high. I was cleared to land number two behind the Aero Commander. I know this pilot and he is proud of his prowess and confident in his aircraft. He came in high, stepped down around 20 feet twice and went around. The tower told him that winds were favoring runway 2.
I took two large steps down and decided to go around. The Aero Commander was making a teardrop??? Entrance to 2 when the tower said “142 Mike Golf, the winds are rapidly changing, they are now favoring 20. I watched the Aero Commander make a very untidy landing beneath me and the tower asked me my intentions. “Experimental 142 Mike Golf, I will make a left 360 and decide” I replied.
I found a big tail wind on heading 020 and had trouble maintaining my altitude. At 2,000 rpm I continued to climb. I asked to land on 20 and made a very vague base to final. I was cleared to land. As I stepped down over the hangers on short final I wondered how I would explain the rollover on the forum. As I crossed 12 showing 55 miles per hour indicated air speed and 500 feet per minute decent suddenly the indicated airspeed dropped to just above 20 miles per hour and I began a very rapid decent. I added power and pointed the nose at the ground and just as it was time to flare I saw 50 miles per hour indicated airspeed. My ground speed was 65 miles per hour and as we drew near earth, the ground seemed to accelerate. I was about to add more power to go around when I touched down. The tower told me to make a 180 degree turn and turn right at Alpha. I thanked them for their patience and asked for time to let my rotor spool down.
I visited Curtis in the tower and he said he had never seen the winds do that. He watched the wind socks change and that is why he gave me so many gratuitous wind checks. I asked him for the proper phraseology for I have no idea what I am going to do now and he felt that my left 360 plus “give me a minute to think about that,” was fine. He gave me a final wind check, 150 degrees at 18kts, gusts to 29kts.
The crank seal is no longer leaking and now we get to track down some of the less prolific leaks.
Thank you, Vance
It looked like a beautiful day to fly, clear, cool and no wind.
I hurried through my tasks and was down at the airport by 10:00 and in the air by 10:20.
Winds were at 040 degrees??? at 4kts. I was going to fly the pattern three times and come in for fuel and look for leaks.
I was going to fly to San Louis Obispo for lunck if everything checked out.
The airport was busy, landing and departing on 30. With my vertical card compass I could see that was an almost direct cross, slightly from the rear. I asked for a wind check as I taxied to 30 and it came back 030 degrees at 4kts which is a direct crosswind.
Take off went well and she leapt off the ground and climbed at 900 feet per minute with her nearly empty tanks and the cool air. I started backing off at 700 feet and went right past 800 feet still climbing at over 500 feet per minute at 2,000 rpm.
The turn to crosswind seemed a little odd and she had trouble knowing which way to point her nose. She started to descend at 1,800 rpm and I went right past 800 feet to 700 feet and caught her with 2,500 rpm.
I thought to myself, “This will be instructive.”
I rolled back the power abeam the numbers and turned base a little soon. I overshot the runway and had to come back for final. That landing was uneventful.
The wind sock at the approach end of the runway was flaccid. There were no rotor management challenges and she spooled right back up and leapt into the air again. I hit the big lift again at the end of the runway and she was even more vague about which way to point her nose. The windsock beneath me was a direct cross and out straight. I asked for a wind check and it was 12kts variable.
Each windsock I could see was headed in a different direction. The approach end of 30 was flaccid. My ground speed on down wind was 22 miles per hour at 50 miles per hour indicated airspeed. I turned cross wind and picked up a lot of ground speed. She stepped down about 10 feet twice on short final but the landing was uneventful.
She leapt off the ground again but this time I didn’t overshoot my target altitude. I lost about 50 feet turning crosswind and the turn was vague. On downwind we were at 18 mile per hour ground speed at 55 miles per hour indicated airspeed. My heading was wandering around and it took constant power changes to maintain my target altitude.
I called for a full stop landing and I was number two behind the Aero Commander on a right downwind abeam the tower for 30. I reported the Aero Commander in sight at my 9 O’clock high. I was cleared to land number two behind the Aero Commander. I know this pilot and he is proud of his prowess and confident in his aircraft. He came in high, stepped down around 20 feet twice and went around. The tower told him that winds were favoring runway 2.
I took two large steps down and decided to go around. The Aero Commander was making a teardrop??? Entrance to 2 when the tower said “142 Mike Golf, the winds are rapidly changing, they are now favoring 20. I watched the Aero Commander make a very untidy landing beneath me and the tower asked me my intentions. “Experimental 142 Mike Golf, I will make a left 360 and decide” I replied.
I found a big tail wind on heading 020 and had trouble maintaining my altitude. At 2,000 rpm I continued to climb. I asked to land on 20 and made a very vague base to final. I was cleared to land. As I stepped down over the hangers on short final I wondered how I would explain the rollover on the forum. As I crossed 12 showing 55 miles per hour indicated air speed and 500 feet per minute decent suddenly the indicated airspeed dropped to just above 20 miles per hour and I began a very rapid decent. I added power and pointed the nose at the ground and just as it was time to flare I saw 50 miles per hour indicated airspeed. My ground speed was 65 miles per hour and as we drew near earth, the ground seemed to accelerate. I was about to add more power to go around when I touched down. The tower told me to make a 180 degree turn and turn right at Alpha. I thanked them for their patience and asked for time to let my rotor spool down.
I visited Curtis in the tower and he said he had never seen the winds do that. He watched the wind socks change and that is why he gave me so many gratuitous wind checks. I asked him for the proper phraseology for I have no idea what I am going to do now and he felt that my left 360 plus “give me a minute to think about that,” was fine. He gave me a final wind check, 150 degrees at 18kts, gusts to 29kts.
The crank seal is no longer leaking and now we get to track down some of the less prolific leaks.
Thank you, Vance