----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]---- ----- Original Message ----- From: Charles R Updike <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, November 18, 2001 8:32 PM Subject: FAA Inspection
Hi, I thought you would like to read this report.
Inspector Carl N Frank
Flight Standards District Office
Oklahoma City, OK
Dear Mr Frank:
Here is the letter you asked me to send you about my
flight back in December.
First of all, I would like to thank that very nice, older
fellow you had with you yesterday, you know, the one
who took my student pilot's license and told me I
wouldn't need it any more. I guess that means that he is
giving me my full fledged pilot's license. After all that
happened yesterday, I have earned it. You should watch
that fellow though. After I told him about the flight, he
seemed quite nervous and his hands were shaking. He
said he had never heard anything like it before. Anyhow,
here is what happened.
The weather has been so bad here in Ardmore since I
soloed last week that I had not been able to go flying.
But yesterday I wasn't about to let low ceilings and
visibility, and a little freezing drizzle stop me from
flying up to Oklahoma City and back. I was pretty proud
of having soloed in only 6 hours, so I invited John
Winters, my next door neighbor, to go with me. We
planned to fly up to Oklahoma City Will Rogers airport,
which, as you know, is less than 100 miles from
Ardmore. There is this excellent restaurant on Meridian
just north of I-40 that serves absolutely wonderful char
broiled steaks and the greatest mixed drinks.
Well, on the way to the airport the road was icy and our
car slid in the ditch. I can see why they say that the
most
dangerous part of a trip is the drive to the airport. My
neighbor was a little concerned about the weather, but
when I reminded him once again about those steaks and
the booze that we would soon be enjoying, he seemed
much happier.
When we arrived at the airport there were still a few
snow showers around but the freezing drizzle had almost
stopped. I checked the weather and was assured that it
was solid IFR all the way. I was delighted the weather
was so good. When I talked to the man who runs the
airport, I found out that the airplane I had been flying
was covered with ice. You can imagine my
disappointment. Just then a friendly young line boy
suggested that I take one of the airplanes that was in the
hanger. I told him to pull one out. I saw immediately
that it was very much like the Cessna 150 I have been
flying. I think he called it a 337. He told me it was also
made by Cessna. I noticed right away that it had two
tails, but I didn't say anything because, well, I was in a
hurry. Oh yes, it had a spare engine too.
I unlocked the door and we climbed in. I began looking
for the place to put the key. Now I don't want to get
anyone in trouble, but it shouldn't be necessary to get
out
the airplane manual and follow the checklist just to fly
an airplane. That's ridiculous. I never saw so many dials
and needles and knobs and handles and switches. As we
both know, they have simplified this a lot in the 150. I
forgot to mention that I did file a flight plan with the
guy
in the tower. He said I would need to because of the
weather. When I told him I was flying a pressurized
Skymaster (that's what is said on the control wheel) he
said it was all right to go up Victor-163 all the way. I
don't know why he called it a victor, I guess that's just
his pet name for an interstate highway. And besides, it is
I-35 Not 163. But those fellows try to do a good job.
They told me a lot of other stuff too, but you know how
much red tape there is when you deal with the
government.
The takeoff was one of my best, and as I carefully left
the pattern just the way the book says it should be done,
I noticed that the skymaster doesn't climb as good as the
150. The tower told me to contact Fort Worth Center. I
dialed in the frequency that he gave me but it seemed
kind of silly to call them since I wasn't going to Fort
Worth. Just then there must have been some kind of
emergency because a lot of airline pilots began yelling
stuff at the same time and made such a racket that I
turned my radio off. You'd think that those professionals
would be better trained. I-35 was right under me, and
since from that I knew that I was on course, I went right
on up into the clouds. After all, it was snowing so hard
by now that it was a waste of time to look outside, you
could only see about a quarter of a mile. Going into the
clouds was a bad thing to do, I realized, since my
neighbor undoubtedly wanted to see the scenery,
especially the snow cover on the Arbuckle Mountains
ahead of us. But everyone has to be disappointed some
time, and we pilots have to make the best of it, don't we.
It was pretty much smooth flying, and with the ice and
snow that seemed to be forming all over the windshield,
there wasn't much to see. I will say that I handled the
controls quite easily for a pilot of only six hours. My
computer and pencils fell out of my shirt pocket once,
but sometimes these things happen I am told. I don't
expect you to believe this, but as one time my pocket
watch was standing straight up on its chain. That was
pretty funny, and I asked my neighbor to look, but he
just kept staring straight ahead with sort of a glassy
look
in his eyes. I figured that he was afraid of height, like
all
non-pilots are. By the way, something was wrong with
the altimeter. It kept winding and unwinding all the
time.
Finally I decided we had flown about long enough to be
in Oklahoma City. I had it all worked out on my E6B
computer. I am a whiz at that computer, but something
must have gone wrong with it, since when I came down
to look for the airport there wasn't anything there except
a lot of houses. Those weather people had sure been
wrong too. It was real marginal conditions, with a
ceiling of about 100 feet. You just can't trust anybody in
this business except yourself, right? Why, there was
even thunderstorms going on, with an occasional bolt of
lightening. I decided that my neighbor should see how
beautiful it was, and the way the lightening seemed to
turn that snow on the roof tops all yellow; and the roof
tops were so close that it looked like you could just
reach out and touch them. But guess he was asleep,
having gotten over his fear of height, and I didn't want
to
take him up. Anyway, just then I had an emergency, the
front engine ran out of gas. It really didn't worry me
since I had read the book, and knew right where the
other ignition switch was. I just fired up the spare
engine
on the back and we kept on going. This business of
having two engines one in front and one in back, is
really s safety factor. If one quits, the other is right
back
there ready to go. Maybe all airplanes should have two
engines. You might suggest this and get an award (we
could split the cash).
As pilot in command I take my responsibilities very
seriously. It was apparent that I would have to go down
lower and keep a sharp eye in such bad weather. I was
glad that my neighbor was asleep because it was pretty
dark under the cloud, and if it hadn't been for the
lightening flashes it would have been hard to read the
road signs through the ice on the windshield. The
landing lights were not very bright either, You would
think they would have melted the ice that covered them
but they didn't. Several cars ran off the road when we
passed, and you can sure see what they mean about
flying being a lot safer than driving.
To make a long story short, I finally spotted Tinker Air
Force base, and since we were already late for cocktails
and dinner, I decided to land there. It being an Air Force
base, I knew it had plenty of runway, and I could
already see a red colored light in the control tower so I
knew they were still celebrating Christmas and we were
welcome.
Somebody told me that you can always talk to these
military people on the international emergency
frequency, so I tried it, but you wouldn't believe the
language I heard. Those people ought to be straightened
out by somebody, and I would like to complain as a
taxpayer. Evidently they were expecting somebody to
come in and land, because they kept talking about
clearing the airspace for some damn stupid incompetent
SOB up in the clouds. I wanted to be helpful so I landed
on the taxiway to be out of the way in case that other
fellow needed the runway. A lot of people came running
out waving at us. It was pretty evident that they had
never seen a Skymaster land on a taxiway before. That
General with the nasty temper was real mad about
something. I tried to explain to him in a reasonable
manner that I didn't think the tower operator should be
swearing at that guy up there, but his face was so red
that I think he must have a drinking problem. Well,
that's about all. After you two FAA inspectors left, the
weather got really bad so I got one of the Air Force guys
to drive me to where I could rent a car to drive back
home. I never did get my steak and drinks. My neighbor
stayed there at the hospital there in Oklahoma City. He
can't write you a letter just yet because he's still not
awake. Poor fellow, he must have the flu, or something.
Let me know it you need anything else, and by the way,
send my new pilot's license airmail special delivery.
Very truly yours,
Thurman J. Mudbojne
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