Nice story Jeff, Goes to say don't linger on the runway and always look for traffic, even while on the ground. They may not have a radio or might be tuned in wrong. Once I was doing engine out practice and while on short final a Lear taxied out onto the runway for take off. Good thing I could make the go around call. He answered back with "sorry" yet still beat me to the end of the runway. Steve Phillabaum
-----Original Message----- From: Jeff York <jeffyor...@yahoo.com> To: KRnet <kr...@mylist.net> Sent: Tue, Dec 20, 2011 9:26 am Subject: Re: KR> flying stories ? lying stories, This may not be a flying a KR story but, I had a KR in my plans and dreams at he time. It was nearly 20 years ago when I was taking flying lessons that this nteresting flying event took place. I learned to fly in northern Indiana. The mall community airport I flew out of rarely if ever plowed the snow on the unways in the winter. On this very chilli morning I arrived at the airport to ind that the Cessna 152 I flew had the radios removed for service. So, I walked ack into the FBO with my head low because I figured there would be no flying or me today. I was greeted by a flight instructor and I informed her that there ere no radios in the 152 so I guess I couldn't fly. She quickly responded by aying no Jeff, you can fly without the radios because you will not be flying nto any controlled airspace and the regs do not require you to have them, so ou don't need them. So, I thought, ok. I am going flying. o, I jumped in the 152 fired her up and took off for a morning of building solo ime. hat morning the temps outside were about 10 below zero. The runways had several nches of packed snow and my trainer always told me to be very cautious with the se of brakes when on ice and snow. o, being a young and dumb student, I took off knowing that local traffic would e light as I had often found myself to be the only one dumb enough to fly in ome of the weather conditions I flew in. Always VFR but sometimes right on the dge of barely being VFR or being extremely cold or windy. In other words, I igured it would be another day when I would be the only one flying. ff I went with a heading northwest to our practice area. So, I got settled in o enjoy the views of all the deep snow and the thrill of being in the air. But, s a dumb student pilot, I paid little attention to how far I had flown and uddenly found myself far outside my student area and I could see the Chicago kyline. Well, it was time to turn around and I had to radios to contact Chicago o I better get out of the area. o, here I am at about 4500 feet way outside my flying area and with no radios hen I decided , Hey ! I probably should start lowering my altitude in reparation for getting back toward my airports pattern altitude. o, I put in some carb heat, pull back on the throttle and suddenly the motor tarts shaking and the whole plane shakes so bad I can barely make out the anel. I check mixture, carb heat and throttle thinking maybe I have some carb ce but nothing seems to make the plane stop shaking. Well, full throttle seemed o get everything back in order so I continued on and decided the best way to et down was to do a series of dives then shallow them out until I got back down o pattern altitude by the time I made it back to my airport. I try a couple ore times to pull back on the throttle and I get the same bad results. hen the thoughts came into my head. What if I got back to my airport and there ould be an airplane on the runway and I had an engine out and no radios to warn nyone ? What if anyone was out practicing and they might be back taxiing and I urn final and the engine quits ? ell, I get back to the airport, I am at pattern altitude when what do you know? here's the local flying clubs Piper 180 smack in the middle of the runway just itting still. 3000 feet of runway and I have about 1500 of ice covered runway o land and get stopped. Lets hope I dont loose the engine, lets hope I dont ver shoot my target landing point, lets hope they dont decided to turn around nd back taxi the active runway. ell, I held the power in long enough, its time to pull the power and hope for he best. Well, I put in carb heat. The plane starts shaking and then the motor uits. I remember my training which says, fly the plane. I dont have enough ltitude to really do a lot of checking and time to do much to attempt to estart the engine so I concentrate on flying and landing and keeping my eye on he piper 180 hoping it doesnt attempt to do a 180 back taxi and hoping I dont ver shoot and hoping I dont have to use much of my brakes on the icy snow overed runway. Here it goes God, be my co-pilot, since I have no radio, please llow me to land without that other plane turning around. come down, flare, cant see the Piper now so I can only hope it didnt start to ack taxi. I nail my target landing spot right on, avoid the temptation to slam n the brakes and hope that all the flaps and drag slow me down as I very lightly begin to apply the brakes. I get stopped, 10, 20 30 feet or more to pare. The Piper 180 is sitting there never aware of what was happening behind hem. I open the door, fall to the ground, knees shaking from all the adrenalin nd I kiss the snow and thank God for letting me make it even though I was to tupid to know better. couple of days later I return to the airport to get back in the saddle. When I rrive I am told the engine was taken down for repairs. I believe they said they ad found that it had some burnt valves. They really wouldnt tell me much. oon there after I joined a flying club and completed my lessons in a Cessna 72. With most of my time landing on ice. I still managed to only have 41.3 ours of total time when the examiner signed off my check ride. Merry Christmas KR friends Jeff York eorgetown Scott County FAA airport of the year 010 Kr Gathering Peoples Choice and Best Interior 011 Air Fest Best Experimental, Best Instrument Panel ______________________________________ earch the KRnet Archives at http://www.maddyhome.com/krsrch/index.jsp o UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@mylist.net lease see other KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html
