So yesterday James (my Aircraft Mechanic friend) and I finished off the Twin Comanche's annual. There were surprisingly few snags, and the one big snag I was expecting turned out to be not so big after all, which is always a pleasant surprise.
The left auxiliary fuel tank was leaking, and I suspected it to be the rubber fuel bladder itself that maybe dried out and cracked, so we started by opening up the top wing panel to inspect the rubber bladder. After inspection however the evidence seemed to point to a leak somewhere from the center of the plane, under the cabin floor, which is where the fuel selectors (to select which fuel tanks to feed from), and the gascolator system is located. A gascolator is a device that extracts water from the fuel system to prevent it from getting into the engine, which could cause an engine failure. It sounds pretty fancy, but in keeping with most aviation technology its actually quite simple. Water is heavier then fuel, so if you mix the two together you'll find the water at the bottom. The gascolator is simply a small bowl at a low point in the fuel system. The fuel line comes in near the top of the bowl, and then leaves near the top. The bowl stays full of fuel, and any water that gets into the system flows through the bowl and then sinks to the bottom, where it can be manually drained.
I didn't fly the Comanche much during the winter, and at some point water accumulated in one of the fuel lines going into the gascolator, and froze, which split it open, and caused the leak. Replacing a fuel line is much easier and cheaper then replacing a rubber fuel bladder, so I was happy.
Another thing was that the landing gear bungies were due to be changed (every 3 yrs or 500 hrs), so we had to change those. These are just bungy cords, about 3/4" in diameter that are rigged to assist the landing gear in coming down and staying down and locked, especially in the event that the pilot has to manually extend the landing gear if he has landing gear problems. Once again a fine example of aviation technology. You can just imagine the engineers discussing that one when designing the airplane:
Lead Engineer: Okay guys, we need to come up with a way to make it easier for the landing gear to come down.
Engineer #2: Rubber bands. Hundreds of them stretched around linkage in the wing to pull the gear down. Simple and effective.
Lead Engineer: Perfect, I'll head down to Business Depot and grab a bag.
So we changed the bungies, completed a bunch of gear swings to make sure it all worked properly, and that was that. Despite all the simple technology in airplanes, it still amazes me how many moving parts, mechanizms, and systems there are in an airplane. While I don't necessarily consider turning wrenches a great way to spend a weekend, its pretty cool to open up and dig into the guts of my airplane every once in a while. Its fascinating to think about how much stuff is going on mechanically when I'm in the cockpit pressing buttons and throwing switches as we're hurtling through the sky. Its really quite impressive how reliable these machines are, taking that into account.
I didn't get a chance to take it on a test flight today since the weather was no good, hopefully tomorrow I can take it for a lap and check everything out ok before I head out over the Ontario wilderness. I finally got the call from my employers, and I'm to head up on Thursday, weather permitting. Stay tuned.
I've also been purchasing some small toys under the guise of "survival gear". I bought a magnesium firestarter, a small handheld compass, a stainless steel waterbottle (for everyday use but the steel also means I can use it to boil water in a survival situation), and this styling mosquito jacket. The jacket is basically a pull over jacket made out of mesh material to prevent insects from getting near my skin and biting. It has a hood/mask that completely encloses my face with a little zipper at the neck to flip it off if I don't want my face enclosed. Its stylin.
So I'm pretty well ready to go, just waiting until the appointed time.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
A New Adventure
So I finally got my first pilot job! I won't tell you where it is, or what the company name is, because with all the people loosing their jobs over things posted on the internet, I don't want to take any chance, so my employer shall remain anyonomous.
Most of the people who really need to know already do anyways, and I request that those people not post it publicly on the blog, or the comments shall will be removed.
Now that we have laid the ground rules, that shouldn't really interfer with me posting my experiences. So lets start with what I will tell you: I will be a bush pilot in Northern Ontario, flying single engine wheeled airplanes, so I'm pretty pumped. I'm not entirely sure what to expect yet, other than lots of flying (good), lots of cold weather, although summer is beginning soon it shouldn't be too bad, at least not for a while, and half decent pay - nothing fantastic but surprisingly more then I was expecting. I will actually have very few expenses while living up there, and no place to spend money, so I'm counting on being able to save a good chunk of change.
I start at the beginning of April, so once I get up there I'll have lots more to write about. I'm on a pretty big high right now, because this is my first full time, professional job that has "pilot" in the job title. The last year up until this point has been pretty discouraging due to my unsuccess at finding work as a pilot, now it seems to have all paid off, so I feel pretty good. It feels like my "career" is finally beginning. I'm glad I held out for the bush pilot job, and didn't go the instructor route, which some people almost convinced me of doing. The instructor route is the easier way to go, and it works for some people, but its widely recognized that the experience gained flying in the bush is far superior to the safe, highly controlled, simulated environment of flight training. A training flight can always be cancelled if the weather isn't perfect, or any other factor isn't quite right, it can always be done later or in better conditions. Instructors also don't get much actual flying time. They get to log it because they are still PIC, but its mostly just sitting there watching someone else fly. I have heard of some companies only counting half of the time logged as instructor for that reason. Its not true flying experience. Bush flying has a little bit more of a "must be done" importance to it if supplies or people have to get somewhere. That combined with the fact that bush flying is most often over hostile terrain (trees, lakes, mountains) means the bush turns out better pilots, with better judgement then instructing does. That said instructing is a great route if you like teaching and don't want to move north, but its not for me, so I'm excited for the opportunity to go the bush route.
As for this next month, I'm just hanging out in London, enjoying time with friends before I go away, and getting ready. I bought some good hiking boots a couple days ago, and I think I may buy a sweet hunting knife, just because I can, and it would be cool. Hey, you never know when I may have to fend off a pack of vicious polar bears. Ya I know polar bears don't travel in packs. Arctic wolves then.
The town I'm going to, in my view, truly is "northern" simply by the fact that it is not connected to the road system. You either have to take a train there or fly. The plan is that I'm gonna pack the Twin Comanche full of my stuff and fly up there. My accomodations are furnished, so I don't need any big furnature.
So that's the news, and that's the plan. More to come once I get up there. I'm sure the first couple weeks will be a bit of culture shock, despite the fact that I'm still in Canada, and a bit of a learning curve, but I'm looking forward to experiencing a different way of living, getting some awesome flying in, and having a source of cool stories that I can tell later in life.
Most of the people who really need to know already do anyways, and I request that those people not post it publicly on the blog, or the comments shall will be removed.
Now that we have laid the ground rules, that shouldn't really interfer with me posting my experiences. So lets start with what I will tell you: I will be a bush pilot in Northern Ontario, flying single engine wheeled airplanes, so I'm pretty pumped. I'm not entirely sure what to expect yet, other than lots of flying (good), lots of cold weather, although summer is beginning soon it shouldn't be too bad, at least not for a while, and half decent pay - nothing fantastic but surprisingly more then I was expecting. I will actually have very few expenses while living up there, and no place to spend money, so I'm counting on being able to save a good chunk of change.
I start at the beginning of April, so once I get up there I'll have lots more to write about. I'm on a pretty big high right now, because this is my first full time, professional job that has "pilot" in the job title. The last year up until this point has been pretty discouraging due to my unsuccess at finding work as a pilot, now it seems to have all paid off, so I feel pretty good. It feels like my "career" is finally beginning. I'm glad I held out for the bush pilot job, and didn't go the instructor route, which some people almost convinced me of doing. The instructor route is the easier way to go, and it works for some people, but its widely recognized that the experience gained flying in the bush is far superior to the safe, highly controlled, simulated environment of flight training. A training flight can always be cancelled if the weather isn't perfect, or any other factor isn't quite right, it can always be done later or in better conditions. Instructors also don't get much actual flying time. They get to log it because they are still PIC, but its mostly just sitting there watching someone else fly. I have heard of some companies only counting half of the time logged as instructor for that reason. Its not true flying experience. Bush flying has a little bit more of a "must be done" importance to it if supplies or people have to get somewhere. That combined with the fact that bush flying is most often over hostile terrain (trees, lakes, mountains) means the bush turns out better pilots, with better judgement then instructing does. That said instructing is a great route if you like teaching and don't want to move north, but its not for me, so I'm excited for the opportunity to go the bush route.
As for this next month, I'm just hanging out in London, enjoying time with friends before I go away, and getting ready. I bought some good hiking boots a couple days ago, and I think I may buy a sweet hunting knife, just because I can, and it would be cool. Hey, you never know when I may have to fend off a pack of vicious polar bears. Ya I know polar bears don't travel in packs. Arctic wolves then.
The town I'm going to, in my view, truly is "northern" simply by the fact that it is not connected to the road system. You either have to take a train there or fly. The plan is that I'm gonna pack the Twin Comanche full of my stuff and fly up there. My accomodations are furnished, so I don't need any big furnature.
So that's the news, and that's the plan. More to come once I get up there. I'm sure the first couple weeks will be a bit of culture shock, despite the fact that I'm still in Canada, and a bit of a learning curve, but I'm looking forward to experiencing a different way of living, getting some awesome flying in, and having a source of cool stories that I can tell later in life.
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