Plane Crazy

On August 15th Georgia & I went to Mojave "Spaceport" to see what their monthly "Plane Crazy" day was all about. Essentially, it is a chance for airplane owners to show off their toys, meet with fellow aviation enthusiasts, network a bit, and help raise funds for the Mojave museum of Transportation. This month they were featuring some air race contenders, like the hot little number at left, "NEMESIS" built by John Sharp. It looks like it is already going 200 just parked on the ramp! Also, XCOR had a couple of their Rocket powered aircraft out, (see the picture below) and a cute little Cassutt based Formula one class named "Wasabi" (After the green Japanese ultra-hot horseradish sauce) With the Reno races coming up soon, it will be interesting to see how these do.

Also on display were a F-86 "Saber", and a MiG-15. I can remember a time when if either of these got this close to each other there would be shots fired. I kept thinking they should have parked them nose to nose, sort of a reminder of when things were a bit more serious.

As for life at Tehachapi, We have one big job in the hangar, and two students to finish off now. The trip to Israel has been pushed back till June 2010, but the price is fixed, and it is quite reasonable too! Special "early bird" rated if you reserve before November.

New Pilot

"On Wednesday the 5th day of August 2009, Dr. Jon Anthony Smith, did, alone and unassisted take off and land from Tehachapi Municipal Airport (KTSP), thus completing his first SOLO flight." or so the SOLO certificate reads. Dr. Smith is now officially among us in the ranks of aviators. Another pilot now, and the fun begins as we start the next phase of training.
Also on the 5th, I had to put on my DAR hat and issue a "Special Flight Permit". A lot of people do not know that a DAR can issue these, even on weekends! So it was a busy day. including a flight to San Diego, all in all 4 1/2 hours flying.
On Monday the 10th I will be answering my phone "Mountain Hawk Aviation", something that has not been heard for the past three years. it is time to bring the bird back to life.

The F-4 "Phantom" was built in many varieties, and had many names (other than "Phantom II). While stationed at Nellis AFB Nevada, I was attached to the 64th TFTS "Aggressors", who flew T-38 Talons in the role of the MiG-21. We were the "bad guys". The Aggressor pilots coined the tag "Big Ugly", and that has been my favorite ever since. After all, a reality check will tell us all that it was not a real "pretty" airplane. It was an airborne weapon, it was made to kill and it looked the part.
Having been a past F-4 Crew Chief, I was pretty much on top of the anatomy of this beast, and like most mechanics that crewed them, we had a few names of our own to call it. To be honest, there were times I cursed it's ancestry all the way back to the Pterodactyl. It was not "maintenance friendly".
During a training class, the instructor (a civilian who was a Mc Donald /Douglas Tech Rep) said "the F-4 was designed with A mechanic in mind". We later determined the mechanic the designer had in mind was the one who got his daughter pregnant the night before. Let face it, any airplane that put the battery in the rear cockpit, down by the rudder pedal, under the console really makes me wonder what, or even if they were thinking. A lot of man hours went into each mission.
But the old girl did good. She served in Viet Nam, killing MiGs, dropping bombs (the bomb load was about the same as the WWII B-17) and causing a lot of grief among the NVN. The Israelis used to great effect, without it the 1973 "Yom Kippur" war would have been a lost cause. It was all we had defending NATO in the 70s.
Some time ago, I had a bit of nostalgia while at Mojave "spaceport". (KMHV). BE Systems there has a contract converting them to "QF-4" drones, to be used for "target practice". While this is a most ignoble end for such a warrior, they do test fly them. Watching one of these beast taxi out, listening once more to the familiar howl of the J-79 engines, the "frying air" sound of the afterburners lighting up, and then seeing that veteran of who knows what service leap into the sky for which it was made brought a bit of mist to my eyes. The joy of seeing it take off was saddened by knowing it's eventual fate.
So despite the busted knuckles and skinned fingers, Ice cold launches in the dead of German winter, and trying to replace parts in parts of the plane that were never meant for a mechanic to touch, She deserves better. Next time you think of it, lift a glass to "big ugly", and thank the men who crewed and flew them. We are still free thanks in no small part to them all.

My first blog

Being one of the more "senior" type pilots, and not having the computer skills of an eleven year old, I find this a new adventure. I want to dedicate this blog to sharing flying adventures, flight safety ideas, and that sort of thing. Pictures, videos and "war stories" are all welcome.
Please add your thoughts and inputs. We are all at some point of the "learning curve" in this, and we all need to learn from each other, especially me.
The following topics are "fair game": Aviation, flying stories, destinations of noteworthiness, airport coffee shops, hunting, fishing, survival tips, fly-inns, your favorite airplane, aircraft maintenance tips, FAA issues, aircraft for sale, aviation websites, things that work and things that don't.
I will be starting this off with a short report of a maintenance issue regarding a Piper Lance,
PA32R-300. This one is about a "sneaky" hydraulic leak in a really odd location. It seems the pilots kept having to use the alternate extension a lot, but the gear always seemed to retract OK. After adding fluid too many times, but finding no evidence of leakage anywhere, it was starting to get to me. The belly, and the bay in which the "power pack" sits were clean and dry. Then one of the owners noticed that carpet was wet, just under the seat. It looked loke spilled coffee, but one sniff said 5606.
There are two lines that run along the left inside wall, and sure enough, each had a pinhole leak, caused by corrosion under a "coroseal" wrapping that was done at the factory. All the fluid was being soaked up by the insulsation behind the sidewall upholstery (what a mess! I had to clean it up and replace a lot of soundproofing), thus, untill the insulation became to saturated it could hold o more, there was no evidence if leakage! All you PA32R owners out there might want to have your A&P look this area over next annual. As I said, the corrosion was UNDER the coroseal wrapping, right next to where the lines pass through the cabin frame under the pilot's side window.