Nearly Complete!

Yesterday afternoon (I took a day off to take care of a dental appointment and some other personal business in the morning) I spent 5 hours in the maintenance hangar putting N24286 back together again. Every inspection plate (new and freshly painted to match) was replaced, the wing root strips (freshly painted) were put back in using stainless steel screws, and I took the time to hook up the handheld antenna a bit better (locknuts and washers). The antenna is solid and the top nut area is protected from moisture with a coating of RTV sealent.

The rudder assembly cover gave me some problems (it's not clear which way is up), but it's back on.

All accessible pulleys and cables were lubricated with LPS-2.

I put the fuel gauge assembly back on (the cap repainted, a new length of duraluminum 1/8" gauge wire, and a re-varnished cork bobber).

I put the floorboards back in with new screws (after one final clean up of the exposed fabric). The carpet cut out fit perfectly and lays nicely without moving. The carpet runs up and overlaps the seat fabric, helping seal out anything from sliding under the seat and back towards the tail.

The Sporty's Handheld radio was given a new strip of velcro and so was the mounting plate. It's straight and secure.

I finished painting the few spots I missed in the engine compartment. I checked the fit and look of the nosebowl -- it looks good. I found the right size screws to replace the rusty ones that were in there.

John tried to put the induction tubes back on but the hose collars were too short. New ones are on order.

I was going to put the anti-chafing seal on but we dedcided to remove the Venturi and clean it and see if we can get the bank indicator working. We'll see.

The skull-cap spinner looks good -- all corrosion removed and it looks nice and shiny. Not mirror-smooth since I'm not that patient.

I found replacement nails to use as door hinges. I may try the thin steel wire I tried as a fuel gauge replacement.

So far so good -- pictures to come once the windshield is in and the induction hoses installed.

Good News!

Full inspection of the airplane revealed no other issues -- some afternoon or this Saturday morning I can put all the covers back on, put in the new stainless screws, and snap on the refinished cowling!

The propeller looks great in matte black with white tips and a single 1" stripe. The spinner has been polished and is in fairly good shape -- though I'll look for a replacement.

The interior is looking very nice, the engine looks almost new, the new induction tubes will go on tomorrow (the old ones were dried out and probably leaking), and all the control pulleys have been lubed.

Progress!

I spent most of today painting, painting, and painting!

The engine is finished and is looking very good. The firewall is nearly finished but will require a long-handled brush to finish.

Cylinders and engine block painted Lycoming Gray

All inspection covers, wing root covers, cowling, and interior tubes have been repainted and look very good.

Interior tubes painted flat black

Rear view of engine

The cowling was in terrible shape before, it's not perfect, but it's better now.
The aileron hinge bolt was replaced (was bent), all control pulleys lubed with A/C lubricant.
The propeller was refinished in flat black with white tips in accordance with Sensenich guidance and AC 20-37E.
The windscreen should be formed early this week. Hopefully we can install it, get all the old screws replaced, and get the bird signed off and flying by next weekend!

Still Working...

We drove out to Lancaster County this weekend and spent Saturday at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire. It was well worth the trip -- we had a good time, the weather was perfect, and the shows and site were top notch.
We returned home Sunday morning and after lunch and some Steeler game I set to work on the cowling and induction tubes. The tubes were sanded and refurbished inside and outside and are now sprayed with gloss black high heat paint -- they look great!
I continued working on the upper and lower cowling. Sand, sand sand, remove dust, spray with filler primer. Repeat. It's a tedious process but I think I'll sand out the few remaining pits and flaws and wrap up the priming. Hopefully it will warm up again and I can spray the primed and prepped peices with Appliance Biscuit White and see how it looks.
I still have to complete the stripping of the cowling nose and side pieces. I'll try to get that done tomorrow night.

This afternoon after work I'll head straight to the airport and concentrate on repainting the engine. I'll use Lycoming gray on most and gloss black high heat spray on the cylinders. It should look much, much better!

Tasks To Do

My to do list for the Chief during this year's annual inspection:

• Open boot cowling and clean inside
• Remove floorboards and clean
• Vacuum interior
• Remove glue and old carpet residue from floorboards
• Cut floor covering to fit over floorboards (temporary installation – not fastened to airplane)
• Remove and replace all inspection covers and paint
• Remove cowling (5 pieces), strip old paint, reform, prime, fill, sand, repaint
• Remove and replace windscreen
• Refinish interior (pilot and co-pilot yokes, panel, structural tubing) in flat black
• Remove and inspect prop
• Replace prop retaining bolts
• Refinish wing root panels (sand, prime, paint)
• Reconnect wing root-mounted handheld radio antenna
• Replace all screws with stainless steel screws
• Compression test (70-71 over 80 for each cylinder)
• Clean engine compartment
• Wire brush corrosion on engine
• Repaint engine with Lycoming grey engine enamel
• Remove doors and replace door hinge pins
• Refinish aluminum windscreen retention strips
• Replace wood windshield retention strips
• Remove corrosion from gas cap retention fingers, replace wire, refinish cork with several coats of varnish
• Fix left aileron hinge and replace pivot bolt
• Re-run handheld radio battery and antenna wires
• Replace Velcro mounting for handheld radio

1940 Chief Maintenance

N24286 Ready for inspection

Underneath the floorboards. all clean and grime free!

Ugly Cylinders and fins -- All wire-brushed and ready for Lycoming Grey paint.

Nose piece on the Garage floor ready for stripping

Lower cowling -- looks like it was in a hail storm

First Annual

I pulled all the inspection covers, the cowling, and everything else I could off the Chief the last few days. This afternoon John called and said his hangar was open for my airplane (John is the local A&P on the field at Waynesburg).

Once we got it all set up he decided to do compression check first to see how this old engine was holding up.

I watched as each of four cylinders read 70 or 71 out of 80.

Not bad for a 70-year-old engine rebuilt in 1979!

Fall Fly In

This Saturday I flew the Chief about 90 miles southwest to a Pilots of America fly in at the Windwood Fly In Resort near Davis, WV, in the Canaan Valley.

I was only there a couple of hours but a gorgeous location on a perfect day.

I couldn't take off until after 0915 as The Greene County Airport near Waynesburg was fogged in. I arrived at the airport at 8 AM, and tinkered and prepared the airplane and walked the taxiways until the fog lifted. ON the eastern edge of the airport property some folks were setting up for an event. They were well off the aviating parts so they were no problem.

I propped the Chief, checked everything, pulled up my stakes and chcoks, loaded up, and hopped in. The motor was putt-puttting smoothly and all was well. I taxied to the end of Runway 27. The valley to the north was still filled with fog but straight ahead and left all was clear. I added power and soon was climbing smoothly in the cool, still air.

There was not a single cloud in the sky and the fog was patchy along a few rivers and streams. It was an absolutely perfect morning and I was glad I had the time and this opportunity to fly on such a day. I continued climbing to 3500' and leveled off, letting the engine cool after the long climb. The ridges to the east slowly grew in the windscreen as I flew east at 75-80 MPH. Winds aloft were light and variable, so my groundspeed matched my airspeed closely.

I called Morgantown Tower and let him know I was overflying the field. The frequency was quiet as Morgantown was covered in fog, while immediately west and south it was clear and fog-free.Some valleys ahead were still filled with fog, and I kept a tight watch on time and fuel used so I could turn back if I ended up over widespread fog.

The ridges were higher east, so I climbed to 4,00 feet -- high above where this little airplane is meant to fly. The engine ran strong and all sounded well despite the thinner air, and I pushed on eastward. Ahead I could see windmills along the ridge on a heading of 155 or so -- right where I expected to see them. 

I was flying pure pilotage -- following waypoints on the ground -- so once I spotted the Windmills  I turned right up the valley and experienced some rotor turbulence off the mills and ridge -- wow!

There's one more smaller ridge before WV62, though, and after a few minutes of terrain associating figured it out and skimmed over the last ridge. In front of me lay the valley and the ski resort on the west face of the next ridge. I couldn't make out the airport so flew south until I was nearly on top of it.

I entered a left downwind and tried landing on runway 24 but wasn't happy with the airspeed once I cleared the trees so I flew about 20' off the ground and then climbed and went around for a landing on runway 6.

The result was the worst landing of the year with a bit of bounce quickly dampened with lots of up elevator.

Folks were at the tie down area so I met some and more came down to meet us. Everyone had questions about the old bird and seemed impressed by the Art Deco panel. It was nice to meet everyone and get a ride in Tim's Miata up to the lodge. We talked on the deck for a while and enjoyed the sunshine.

About noon the wind started picking up so I decided to head back before it got too rough. Takeoff was not optimal but a 70 degree crosswind on the narrow runway made it interesting. I lifted off and headed towards the left to avoid the trees on the 24 end of the runway. It was a rough ride climbing northeast along the valley but soon I reached 4000' and had enough altitude to clear the ridge.

It was pretty bumpy coming back from local winds and thermals -- it;s always this way mid-afternoon and clear days. I tried to enjoy the view and even took a few pictures but most of my time was spent keeping wings level and airspeed and attitude.

In the distance I spotted the tiny plume from the Morgantown powerplant and headed that way.

Bounce, bounce, bounce across the ridges with the engine running a bit rich at near service ceiling (no mixture in the airplane and it's really not meant to fly more than 5k). I reached the final ridge and descended over Cheat Lake and called MGW tower to let them know I'd be just outside the Delta airspace. A drama ensued as a Seneca called in with intermittent engine power on the right side. He was cleared straight in for 18 but I never saw him. I listened as long as I could then switched to the Waynesburg airport frequency.

My landing in the grass next to runway 27 made up for the lousy landing at WV62. Oh well.

Windwood Resort is a beautiful venue and seems like the perfect place for a Fly In -- especially in fall! While the leaves haven't peaked it's still that time, and the view from above is priceless.

I heartily recommend more attend next year!. I'll be there!

September Morning

After a few weeks of little flight time, I was able to spend some quality time in the air this morning!

The forecast was spot-on: lots of local fog that lingered past 9 AM. I arrived at the airport at 7:30, cleaned and lubed control hinges, refilled the fuel tank, then taxied over to Strope Aircraft Maintenance where we torqued down the spark plugs to 27 Ft/lbs and replaced all the old inspection access plates with brand new ones.

Once the fog lifted I started up and head to the end of runway 27. A quick runup and soon the tail was up and I was lifting off the pavement. The airplane climbed well in the cool, smooth air and the new spark plugs helped wring full power out of the fuel.

It was an absolutely perfect September morning with clear, dry air dominating the region. I felt like I could point the nose in any direction and fly until the fuel ran low. Alas I had to be back home by 1130, so I turned northeast and flew towards the Pittsburgh Renaissance Faire grounds to do some fly overs before the gates opened.

I crossed the Monongahela just north of California, then turned east to follow I-70.  I stayed even with eastbound traffic at 2400 RPM and 80 MPH indicated airspeed. Winds were light from the south and only affected my track slightly. I spotted the Route 31 exit and throttled back to descend over the fair. I was low enough to see everyone outside waving and did a few passes before climbing northbound.

I entered the busy pattern at Rostraver and landed on the grass, taxied back, and took off from the pavement. Winds were light from the south but causing some bumps down very low. I followed the river, then a heading until in sight of the water tower just south of Greene County airport. I entered a left downwind, eased the power to 1500, trimemd for 60, and started a nice long turning slip for the grass south of runway 27. POwer to idle, slip it hard until past the last few trees, straighten it out, hold it off, off, float, then the gentlest of touchdowns on all three wheels.


It was a great but fast 1.5 hours in the air. I wiped off the trace of oil from the cowling, unplug the radio battery, close up shop, and head home.

Changing the Oil

It's been a very stressful, tiring week at work with days stretching to night. I wanted to fly some this week but the mornings have been foggy and the afternoons over 90F.


I thought last night would be the night to throw the prop and putt around the sky a bit. But by the time I got to the airport it was 6:40 PM, 88 F, and I was just plain tired. I didn't need the IMSAFE checklist to know when I shouldn't fly so on the ground I stayed.

But I'm already here so...

The hangar door slid open, the light streamed in, and the cowling came off. I refilled the fuel tank with 5 gallons of premium. After that, I only intended to clean the engine compartment but since I took the cowling off I should change the oil. Snip the safety wire, loosen the drain pug, watch the oil flow down into the plastic bin. Sure, I should have warmed the engine up to operating temps, but it was 95 F here today and the oil is flowing like water. Good enough.

Replace the plug, tighten, reapply safety wire (I'm getting better -- I did miles of .032 and .020 safety wiring from 1980 to 1983 in the Air Force, but it's been awhile). I poured in Aeroshell 80W (3.5 quarts and .25 quart of Camguard) and watched for leaks. All good (there is no filter in this airplane).

I wiped down the entire engine and compartment, carefully checking for problems. I cleaned the inside of the cowling, put everything back on, wiped it down, and gave the wings and windshield and clean up.

A quick straightening up of the hangar and then close up and head home.

We don't always have to fly our airplanes -- sometimes it's good to just be around them.

Perfect Morning Flight

Last Saturday I flew for 1:15 in the smooth, cool, clear air, low and slow over the late-summer greens and browns of Southwestern Pennsylvania. Fog covered the rivers like tubes of cotton, but everywhere else the air was Rocky Mountain clear, dry, and cool.

It helps to fly before 9 AM -- usually the sky is empty, the air is smooth, and the birds and insects haven't climbed up to my cruising altitude of 500' above the trees. I flew over familiar ground, and planned on flying over the ridge when I checked the time and realized I had a 0900 appointment with my mechanic back at KWAY. So I  reduced power, dropped the nose, and pointed west.

I had to climb a bit to clear the water tower south of the field, entered base then final, and decided a fly-by would be more fun than landing. I waved to John, enjoyed the rare sensation of speed, and entered a zooming left turn to downwind.

The landing was smooth as warm butter on the hard, dry grass, and I wished I could go around anothe time, but maintenance was waiting and so a short taxi ended the day's fun.

Hazy, hot, and humid

Summer's officially arrived in Southwestern PA! After a nice long stretch of perfect summer weather (high in the low 80s, low humidity, down to 50 overnight), we've been launched into the sauna.

I flew a short aerial photography mission this morning -- by the time I launched (730 AM) it was 75 and visibility was maybe 5 miles. There was no wind and the skies were clear of traffic, though, so I flew direct to the property and took some nice shots.

It was no problem to find as I had reviewed the route and the location in Google Earth and Bing last night.A heading of 63 degrees took me right to it and the time to target was within 30 seconds.

The property is on the edge of a bluff that sweeps down to a more remote stretch of the Youghigheny. We've canoed this part a few times and always enjoy the solitude.

I flew a few orbits and snapped some pictures from different directions, then headed southwest to fly over the house and wake my daughter and son-in-law who were visiting this weekend.

I maintained a nice low altitude and 75 MPH at 2300 RPM and enjoyed the waking day. Soon I had Waynesburg spotted. I did a 180, entered the pattern, and touched down very gently on the grass. It was one of those flights that I wished wouldn't end, but it was quickly warming up and I needed to get home to say goodbye before Melissa and Tony left.

A quick wipe down, drive home, add 1.0 to the logbook and email the photos.

Long Week

This cold lingered nearly a week. That plus morning fog squashed my plans for commuting flights this week. The weather should improve this weekend so I should get some time aloft.

One Hour

I planned on flying to Greenville, PA and back today (annual check-up) but I felt a cold coming on last night.

I felt better this morning so I drove to the airport, pulled out the airplane, preflighted, started (one throw after 4 shots of prime and 6 cycles of the prop), and took off. Air was smooth, winds were calm at the surface but strong out of the Southeast 1000' AGL.

After 30 minutes of flying I was over Rostraver Airport (KFWQ) and decided to turn around -- I just didn't feel like flying much today.

I descended a bit and followed to Monongahela River a bit, then shot cross country towards Waynesburg. The airport was desolate so I overflew the field over 27 to check winds. Winds at 500' were now directly east so I did a 180 and landed gently on the grass along Runway 9.

The engine sounded fine and ran well with the normal tiny bit of oil dribbling beneath the cowling.

I put the airplane away and headed home where I'll rest a bit.

I must be pretty sick to cut a flight short.

At least I re-established confidence in the airplane's powerplant, though.

Recovery

Flew the Chief home from Fairmont this afternoon after work. Installed the cowling after giving everything a thorough close inspection. Had to wait for an old straight tail 182 to get pulled out and fueld up.

It was a bit warm and winds were light and variable from everywhere. I put 3.5 gallons of 100LL in, set up the airplane for start, and Chris the local A&P gave me a prop. She started on first throw.


I taxied to the end of 23 to give the engine a little more idle time before I applied full power. Runup seemed fine, though RPM bounced a bit -- too much lead.

Takeoff was good -- though climb was a bit anemic on this warm day. I turned right and followed the river as I climbed at 60. So far so good.

I leveled off at 2500' and set power to 2400 RPM. I listened very carefully for any telltale sign of problems. I'll admit to being a bit paranoid now. I wasn't feeling so hot (allergies?) either, so set a direct heading of 10 degrees for KWAY.

The airplane performed fine -- 75-80 MPH at 2450 RPM at 2500' MSL.

I landed very gracefully in the grass on 27, placing the airplane within 10' of where I aimed while on downwind. I shoved the carb heat back in and taxied to the hangar.

It will take a couple more flights before my confidence in this powerplant is fully restored. I'm looking forward to the top overahul this winter, though, just to have confidence that everything's been checked and re-sealed.

Canoe trip post

Trip report -- and pictures -- here: http://susquehannabycanoe.blogspot.com/

Average Speed: 3 Knots

This weekend we'll do some low-tech travel. We're planning on paddling from Keating to Lock Haven on the West Branch of the Susquehanna in our Wenonah canoe.

Weather forecast looks ideal, water level is a bit over 4' at the Karthaus gauge, and I've checked and re-checked our packing list.

Trip report here

Lessons from an Antique

I finally reached 50 hours in the Chief and had some time to think about what I’ve learned so far. Here, in no particular order, is an incomplete list:

• Oil changes are easy and non-messy, now that I’ve figured out exactly where to put the catch bucket, and to cover the bucket with a paper towel just in case the oil-covered drain plug slips out of my fingers (don’t ask me how I learned that). I’ve also revived my long-dormant safety-wiring skills.
• Preflight in a seventy year-old, fabric covered airplane takes on a whole new meaning. First of all, no one else flies it – so if I don’t spot a problem, no one else will. Also, the mix of dissimilar materials means feeling and listening take on a whole new meaning – it’s important to thump the fabric and feel the underside and smell the engine compartment – you can’t always see trouble, but you might hear it or smell it or feel it.
• There’s a distinct odor of fabric, gas, oil, dirt, and old grass that will signal trouble if it changes.
• You learn to judge flying wire tension by sound – they’ll make a certain pitch twang when struck with an index finger. Any change in that tone spells trouble. Reach and try to move each tail wire mounting bracket – if it moves, also trouble – lose a wire brace, lose the elevator.
• Safety is enhanced by a regular sequence of actions. For example, when hand propping, I follow the exact same routine: Check fuel on, mags off, put gloves on, place chocks in front of both mains, secure tailwheel with stake and rope, check mags off, prime 4 times, walk to front, check airplane can’t move forward, cycle prop through 6 times, walk around strut, check fuel on mags on primer in throttle in ½”, walk to front, throw prop – if starts, walk around strut, sit inside while engine warms at 800-1000RPM, watch oil pressure and temp, once warm, reduce to idle (5-600 RPM), walk to back, loosen tail wheel restraint, walk front, hold onto strut while pulling long rope on chocks to remove from mains, climb aboard, RPM back to 900 or so…
• A regular pattern helps me stay on task, and when I notice that things are out of order, I stop and think – always a good thing when dealing with a swinging meat cleaver.
• A lightweight tailwheel airplane is really easy to maneuver back into the hangar once you figure out that a rope around the tailspring will let you pull the airplane exactly where you want it to go.
• GE Double Life 100w light bulbs and mechanics trouble lamp is the cheapest engine pre-heater going. Stack up U-Haul moving blankets on the engine cowling, stuff cut up foam mat in the openings, and the engine will be toasty but not hot the next morning when it’s time to fly.
• I’ve seen the red bottles and cans of Marvel Mystery Oil in auto sections for years, and always laughed at the idea that a product could have “mystery” in its name and still sell. But I’ve learned that MMO is just about the handiest product made on the planet – I’ve yet to be mauled by a single tiger or crushed by an elephant.
• A low-powered airplane will force you to understand the effects of density altitude on aerodynamic performance. In more modern trainers, you may see a slight difference in climb gradient and runway length, but hardly enough to really impress upon you the need to account for temperature, humidity, elevation, and winds. I’ve learned it’s no problem to takeoff in the morning with a full 12 gallon fuel tank, but may not work as well on a hot, still afternoon.
• You don’t need a checklist – just eyeballs. Start at the left and work right: That aileron flaps as expected, and elevator does the uppy-downy thing, door closed, seatbelt on, primer in, carb heat off, mags both, fuel on, oil press/temp green, trim takeoff, door closed, that aileron aileroning.
• Runup: Hold brakes but make sure there’s room to drift, RPM 1700, mags left, both, right, both, carb heat, oil good, idle – still running? Go.
• Old taildraggers were not designed for paved runways. The prop is out of the dirt as you taxi around, the grass helps bump the bird upward as it gains flying speed, the grass allows the tires to slide just enough to rescue a landing with drift, and a grass landing – properly done – can make a landing very “cushiony” according to my daughter. Landing on pavement is like root canal –necessary, but not sought-after.
• Flying 500-1000 feet above the ground, you see the ground in a whole new way, still a part of it, yet with a different perspective. Typical GA VFR flight happens several thousand feet above the ground (and should, in very congested areas). But out here where the living is “rural,” I see more gas wells, cows, and trees than houses, so I keep it low and slow, following a river here, a mountain valley there, or some ancient Indian path converted to a lightly travelled road.
• A good habit on final is to wiggle your feet and feel the rudder move. This ensures you have a foot on each rudder pedal.
• If you’re heels are on the floor, you can’t actuate the heel brakes. This is generally good.
• With this old bird, the instruments are more advice and commentary than rules. The altimeter says 2000, and “looks about right from here” is close enough – We’re not flying IFR, so don’t need a “sensitive” altimeter. The airspeed indicator simply what I can hear and feel – getting slow? Noise is reduced, controls get sloppy. Going faster? More noise, responsive controls. Really quiet but responsive controls? Time to land. Probably the only panel gauge that gets a regular look-see is the oil pressure gauge.
• In a Chief, you lead turns with your feet – contrary to all training. That’s the way it is, so get used to it – just use less when turning left – it already wants to go that way.
• You don’t need a plan, and you don’t need objectives. Most pilots and aircraft owners are mission-focused. This trait is usually linked to the income required to own and fly airplanes. That’s fine, but you don’t need a mission when it’s costing twenty bucks an hour to fly (“fixed costs” like hangar rent and taxes and the rest are annual dues to the club – they don’t count towards flying time). So go to the airport, open the hangar doors, do a leisurely preflight, pull the bird out, prop it, taxi, takeoff and then fly around. Resist the urge to lay out a training schedule – unless, of course, you really want to. But likely you’ll practice turns about a point, coordinated turns, chandelles, wingovers --maybe even a Lazy 8 or two all while you’re "just out flying."
• Mornings are the best times to fly – it’s usually still, cooler, and the sky isn’t too busy or bumpy. Even on days when the forecast warns of winds and rain, you can usually sneak out of a alf hour or so before the weather wakes up.
• Late evenings, just before sunset is second-best, though you usually have to share the air with other airplanes in the pattern. Out of the pattern, they’re no longer a factor, since they fly above you.
• Shut the fuel off after making the last taxi turn and you can see no one’s blocking your way to your hangar. Shut it off sooner, and you may have to do a hot restart within 100 feet of where you’d be shutting down.
• Never take a prop from a guy named Lefty.
• The smaller the field, the more welcome you’ll be.
• There is a time and place for a ground loop – during an emergency landing in a back yard. Keep this in mind.
• Most people simply don’t get your affinity for this old, lightweight, underpowered antique. It’s ok – if they did, prices would go up.
• As soon as you think you’ve figured out wheel landings, you’ll be proven wrong.
• As soon as you think you’ve figured out three point landings, you’ll be proven wrong.
• As soon as you think you’ve figured out landings, you’ll be proven wrong.
• Only one thing matters on landing – keep it straight. Well that, and don’t stall it in. And don’t hit the taxiway lights on the crossing taxiway. And don’t ground loop. And avoid the storm drain. Otherwise, it’s very simple.

There’s plenty more to learn, and that's half the fun.

Real Emergency (!)

I flew to work this morning. It was gorgeous clear, and cool. The weather was forecast to be nice all day. The winds picked up and varied, but that would be fine, as I planned to land on the grass back home at Waynesburg. Crosswind landings on pavement are not fun, as the slightest drift can quickly turn into a ground loop. While I've done plenty, I never look forward to a gusty crosswind landing on pavement.

The sun was shining bright and the preflight revealed the airplane was ready to fly. I tied the tail down, threw the prop, and listened to the Lycoming O-145 chug to life. I waited a few minutes as the engine warmed, untied and un-chocked and climbed aboard. Winds were favoring 23 so I taxied all the way back to the end and performed a quick runup. Everything fine and as expected.

I gradually added power, maintained a bit offfset from centerline, and was quickly airborne. Takeoffs on 23 at Fairmont can be a bit disconcerting as there's a nice tall road berm at the departure end. While there's plenty of room to get airborne and over the berm, a power loss anytime along the takeoff run would be interesting. I kept the speed up, popped up over the berm, and made a climbing a right turn over the river to head north back home.  I kept the climb at 60 MPH to 2500' since it was a bit bumpy down low and the landing options are limited over downtown Fairmont.

Now that I was past the river I looked for options -- there was a nice emergency field off the left side. Good -- those are rare in West Virginia; land of hills and valleys and trees. I reached for the throttle as I started to level off  --I  hadn't touched it yet when suddenly power went from 2500 RPM to 2000, and the engine sounded sick -- very sick -- as if it were running on bad gas.

In the retelling I can state that many thoughts raced through my mind, but only one dominated -- get back to the airport NOW!

I glanced at the oil pressure, looked at the field to the left, then decided to do a 180 to see how far it was back to the airport. The engine was still putting out power -- barely. The RPM needle was bouncing now between 1500-1800 RPM.

I had the handheld radio set to 122.800 and announced: "Chief Returning to Fairmont, Loss of power, clear the runway" (there was a C172 at the fuel pump that just started after I taxied out -- I never heard him make any calls so didn't know where he was).

I looked ahead -- I had plenty of altitude with the power available to make it back to the airport. If it died between here and there I'd make the river.

I didn't touch the throttle until I was 2 miles out. I was over 1200' AGL.

I reduced the throttle slightly and it dropped immediately to 800 RPM. I slipped aggressively (very aggressively -- this airplane will fly sideways with enough aileron and counter-rudder) and was still pretty high. I kept the slip in until I was about 5 feet above the pavement, 1/3rd the way down the runway, then wheeled it on the upwind side (When I departed there was a direct crosswind varying from 6-10 knots. I couldn't see the sock before I landed, but really didn't care).

I rolled on one wheel for about 400' (I was doing about 70 when I touched down), and kept the weight on the upwind wheel. When the lift decayed I kept the tail up. Eventually both mains were down and I held some brake. I wheelied a long way, but actually only used about 1000' of runway. the combination brake and wheel landing allowed me to brake fairly heavily. I pulled the throttle completely to idle -- the engine continued to run, but unevenly.

I'd like to claim I planned to wheel land and do all this great aviating. I didn't. I planted it on and reverted to habit, which fortunately was based on good training.

There was no possibility of go around and the end of runway 23 at Fairmont has a nice tall road berm about 50' above the runway. I had plenty of runway left once I touched down.

I taxied in, parked in front of the hangar, and ran it up -- lots of unburned fuel smell. I'll bet it threw a plug.

The FBO owner and a mechanic came out -- they'd heard me on the radio and said they'd called 911. Oh great. They called back -- everything's fine.

We pulled the cowling off. Sure enough, plug #1 on the left front cylinder was hanging out in space.

They'll repair it there and I'll bring it back home later this week.

Bottom line: Training took over. As soon as I heard the power change I had my field in sight, did a turn to lose altitude. When I knew I had residual power, made for the airport, kept it high, had an out if the airport wasn't made, and slipped aggressively and wheelied when it was the only option.

May Morning

Flew KWAY to Fairmont, WV (4G7) this morning. We had widespread frost but by the time I reached the airport the sun had warmed the hangar a bit. Ambient temperture was right around 40 so I didn't pre-heat the engine.

I topped off with 3 gallons of 100LL I had stored in a gas can, preflight, then pulled out into the brilliant sunshine.

Startup was normal, and soon temperatures and pressures were as expected.

7 minutes later I was pointing down the runway. The airplane climbed quite nicely in the cold, dense air. I pointed south and levelled off at 2500 feet.

It was surprisingly bumpy this cold, clear morning. From the way the steam wafted from the powerplants I could tell I had a steady headwind, with winds out of the southwest at 10-15 1000 feet above the surface.

It took 30 minutes from startup to shutdown. I had a nice, straight-in approach the runway 23 in Fairmont (first time I've landed in that direction in a couple of years) with a gentle touchdown.