Dealing with frustration is part of learning about flying. The old adage, “Time to spare? Go by air!” is always applicable when waiting out the weather or having a breakdown far from home. Planes are fast transportation, but only when airborne. One acquaintance had a half-day trip turn into a two-day adventure when an alternator failed in central Missouri, leaving them stranded, and the Saturday thunderstorms thwarted plans for both flyers and Whiteman AFB open-house goers. Always have a back-up plan in case Mother Nature gets cranky.
There was considerable coming and going at the local airport,
including a Cessna 206, a Tecnam P-Mentor, a Piper Warrior and a Beech
Debonair. Out of the local residency, Todd Proach flew his Bonanza A36, Jay
McClintock instructed in his Piper Tomahawk, Gerald Bauer took the Cessna
Skyhawk up, and Samantha Bruns commuted to Nevada in a Cessna 150. The
AirTractor agplanes stayed busy spraying crops from dawn to dusk.
Curious minds sometimes ask, “how does the heat affect airplanes?”
We do have the advantage of natural cooling with increased altitude, I tell
them, but that only works up high. Idling on the ground, the air-cooled engine
can overheat, and the occupants tend to suffer, especially in low-wing machines
bereft of shade. Performancewise, the thin hot air robs horsepower and the wings
don’t lift as well. It’s not unusual to see 5,000 feet of density altitude down
here at 1,000-foot elevation, which is what the airplane thinks it’s at.
Old Boeing can’t get a break. We saw a news headline last week
stating “Boeing airliner loses wheel on takeoff.” Come on, man, as our leader
would say. It was a 30-year old United Airlines 757 that lost one of the eight
maingear wheels, which can hardly be blamed on the manufacturer. It’s not the
first time United has been the victim of shoddy maintenance work. Other than
the threat to those in the path of the escaped tire and rim, it was kind of a
non-event.
And then there was a Space X Falcon 9 rocket that failed to boost
its payload into orbit, after the second-stage failed to restart. The official
company comment was “the vehicle suffered an RUD” which translates to “rapid
unscheduled disassembly.” Better than saying it blew up, I guess.
My elusive retirement keeps being put off by prospective student
pilots wanting me to take on one more learner. An elderly gentleman came up to
me on Wednesday, obstensibly wanting a flying lesson., He turned out to be Roy Webb of LaCygne, who
will turn 100 next April. Sharp as any 70-year-old, he. visited about his
travels in World War II to such garden spots as the island of Iwo Jima. I
offered to give him a trial lesson.
Last week's question was, who was "Lady Lindy?" As our friend
Therese Hurshman knew, it was long-distance flyer Amelia Earhart from the
1930s, so dubbed after Charles Lindbergh made his New York-Paris run. For next
time, we'd like to know what kind of weather can be found in the Stratosphere. You
can send your answers to [email protected].