I picked up a Cessna 172N, N733QJ, and ferried it from St Louis to Newport News. It was a great trip and adventure, but nothing can compare to the experience of starting the aircraft. We've likely all experienced difficult starts, but this was something I never could of imagined. It would only move the prop about a quarter of a circle and the grinding was incredible. Put spoons and forks in your garbage disposal, turn it on and off randomly, and you will get about 1/2 of the experience.
The funny thing was the sellers had already heard this start cycle so their expressions were much less surprised than mine. My favorite part was the instructions to pump the throttle as I start - which has nothing to do with missing teeth on the starter gear. As an aside, I actually put my finger through some of the plastic on the tail while doing the walk around. All I did was squeeze the elevator cap and my finger went right through.
Once started, the engine ran pretty well and the airframe was surprisingly straight (i.e., didn't need much trim and flew where you pointed it). But that's just the engine. Other things of note...
- I had to use the right seat comm jacks (left were cut off)
- Transponder began to randomly roll its code about 2/3 through the flight
- Only one radio worked and even that radio was about 2/3 reliable. For a moment I thought I would be landing on a Center frequency because the radio dials stopped changing frequencies. That control would occasionally come back, but I had zero confidence.
- Only one of the two VORs worked. Thank God for EFBs.
- Everything was marked with tape.
- You couldn't see out the back window.
- Many things reminded me of the incredible tightness (cheap) of aviators - I have seen nothing like it. It no longer surprises me but does bothers me...and it just never ends.
Regardless, the African Queen (or Yellow Tip - another name for her) made it without issue. In the end, she treated me very well.
The African Queen in all her glory. (She spent much of her time flying missions in Africa)
I departed from KSUS (25 miles west of St Louis) and the pic above shows Elite Aviation,
who did all the maintenance, also and sent me on my way.
This is the FBO at Morehead-Rowan County Airport. Great building but about half the distance of the entire ranp from the pumps. Cool FBOs are in the same category as why I love airports. Two women talking shop were there to welcome me/say hello.
This is Morehead from above. Nice thing about this airfield is you can land/takeoff right over a cliff. I did both since the winds were negligible. It reminds me about another favorite thing of general aviation. You can land in dozens of places as long as you have the service you need. I picked Morehead simply because it was there and convenient.
In the end, I realized I like ferrying airplanes form point A to point B. It seems a natural calling. Flying IS Great!
- mm -
No comments:
Post a Comment