Right of Way

[Slick Goodlin]

My last few lightplane landings had been kind of ugly (still functional but I wasn’t happy) so yesterday I decided I was going to get in a half dozen circuits or so. Much to my surprise as I turned crosswind on the first one and looked back towards the field I spotted a glider turning base and I had to quickly try and remember Emergency>balloon>glider>slung load>me, or something like that. In any case, he ended up stopping on the runway and after a couple overshoots to try and get my intentions across I ended up landing long, over the glider, so I could help push it to the apron. The funny part was it turned out to be a motor glider but the starter battery had died so the pilot was stuck landing out.

Nice to see people flying small airplanes though.

[Colonel]

Lots of flying going on here! Yesterday, Tower vectored Eric and I ahead
of a Cessna on the ILS. I think we were at least twice their speed, which
was fun. I like 180 mph formation approaches!

Be careful about landing on a runway with another aircraft on it. If the
runway is very very long, and you are very good friends with the pilot of
the aircraft on the runway, that's cool, but I have seen pilots get into shit
for precisely what you describe. An instructor got fired, in fact.

The question asked of them is, "Why couldn't you have diverted to a nearby
airport and waited for the runway to be cleared?"

I would land on the runway if I could talk to the pilot of the aircraft on the
runway and confirm that we were flying in formation . Then, when I got
the letter from Enforcement, I would have an answer.



I'm glad everything worked out ok, and that everyone is flying. For the
sake of the machinery and the very perishable pilot skills, we need to
keep flying!

[Slick Goodlin]

The thought crossed my mind, but in the end I decided someone had to help the guy. I fully understand the reasons for it but yeesh, gliders are heavy.

[Colonel]

I guess if the airport is deserted, the glider is going to continue to block the runway ... unless you land to help.

I like it!

There will be mechanical failures and pilot skill / decision making accidents
this summer which are directly attributable to the #FakeVirus panic of 2020
and the completely unnecessary shutdown. Until after the elections in November.

The Pakistan flight crew that just killed 91 people in a 320. You think that their
skills were improved by the #FakeVirus shutdown? These guys bounced gear-up
off the runway at 210 knots. I am not making this up. That was their idea of a
four-bar landing. Really.

[Colonel]

If your airplane has been sitting for a long time ....

Before you go flying:

1) unless you had a battery tender on it, buy a new battery
because yours is sulphated.

2) look very carefully for bird's nests in the cowls, tail, etc.

3) exhaust valves do not like to sit. They stick if you run 100LL. Consider
tossing one or two cans of AvBlend in, to help this. Note that AvBlend
must be added right before start, to avoid flashing off the ether. It will
not help THIS flight, which is used to circulate the solvent and should
be an hour's duration. It will be noticeable on the NEXT flight. Note
that AvBlend works best on fresh oil, for obvious reasons, so consider
changing the oil esp if it's dark. Old oil is acidic which promotes
internal corrosion. It needs to be changed, even if you don't fly it.

4) drain your fuel sumps carefully. Make sure all the water is out
and nothing is growing in it. If mogas has been sitting in your airplane
for 6 months, drain it all out. It doesn't tolerate inactivity like 100LL.

5) Make sure you have equipment to pump up your tires. They are bias
ply so you can evaluate the pressure by the bulge at the bottom. A tire
pressure gauge is better, of course.

6) fly on a day which is not challenging. You're rusty, ok? Pick a
day with reasonable vis, cloud deck, wind and traffic. Don't try
to solve a difficult problem after not flying for six months.