first solo - confession

You're obviously still alive. Is the plane still useable? If so what's the issue? :)
 
Oh fine - I'll tell the story anyway.

The right tank gas cap was (probably) dangling by a chain during my first solo (though there are no marks from it). The pictures of the event came out like glamour shots - beautiful - but I can't look at them and not think "I can't believe I didn't check the gas cap after fueling up." No one else found out - I found it during preflight the next morning.
 
a few months back AOPA sent out their magazine and on the FRONT COVER was a plane flying with the fuel cap dangling by the chain. so, not only did they fly with the cap banging around, but they edited the pics and magazine and no one caught it. so, your deal aint all that bad.
 
eman1200 said:
a few months back AOPA sent out their magazine and on the FRONT COVER was a plane flying with the fuel cap dangling by the chain. so, not only did they fly with the cap banging around, but they edited the pics and magazine and no one caught it. so, your deal aint all that bad.
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Oh man, that's really good.
 
AndyMac said:
Oh fine - I'll tell the story anyway.

The right tank gas cap was (probably) dangling by a chain during my first solo (though there are no marks from it). The pictures of the event came out like glamour shots - beautiful - but I can't look at them and not think "I can't believe I didn't check the gas cap after fueling up." No one else found out - I found it during preflight the next morning.
Click to expand...
As someone who got lost, cut off someone in the pattern, and landed at an airport which wasn't on my endorsement on my first solo cross country, I'll say "ho hum." :fingerwag:
 
Ha, when I was first a student in the 1970s, all of us students (maybe 20) were going to fly to a little grass field (which I think is now Kent State Airport) for a picnic. Students were paired with an instructor, or someone who has passed their private. One of the instructors paired me with a nice lady, who asked if she could fly. I said that she could, and we all made it the ten minute flight. At the other end her instructor asked how she did on her practical the previous week, and she responded that it was cancelled due to weather. And I hadn't yet soloed. Assumptions. I rode home in the back of a 172. Don't know how she logged it ... "Solo +1"?
 
midlifeflyer said:
As someone who got lost, cut off someone in the pattern, and landed at an airport which wasn't on my endorsement on my first solo cross country, I'll say "ho hum." :fingerwag:
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HA!!! Fantastic.

So far, I've taken off with the fuel tank open, pulled the mixture in the pattern (instead of carb heat), leaned for cruise on a solo xc with the carb heat out (then closed it, starving the engine), and ditched flight following without approval. Let us hope I'm done learning like that :)
 
Kenny Phillips said:
Ha, when I was first a student in the 1970s, all of us students (maybe 20) were going to fly to a little grass field (which I think is now Kent State Airport) for a picnic. Students were paired with an instructor, or someone who has passed their private. One of the instructors paired me with a nice lady, who asked if she could fly. I said that she could, and we all made it the ten minute flight. At the other end her instructor asked how she did on her practical the previous week, and she responded that it was cancelled due to weather. And I hadn't yet soloed. Assumptions. I rode home in the back of a 172. Don't know how she logged it ... "Solo +1"?
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That is a great story!
 
eman1200 said:
a few months back AOPA sent out their magazine and on the FRONT COVER was a plane flying with the fuel cap dangling by the chain. so, not only did they fly with the cap banging around, but they edited the pics and magazine and no one caught it. so, your deal aint all that bad.
Click to expand...
Hah! Last year Kitplanes magazine published an article I wrote about a new propeller. I took lots of photos for the article. During the process, I swapped props several times, and on one occasion I safety wired two of the prop bolts backwards. Caught it almost immediately and fixed it before finishing, but guess which picture made it into print?
 
Leaving Crossville airport a few years ago after a three day fly-in a lot of planes were leaving at the same time. Had to wait in line to get fuel and then get in the plane and get ready to go and wait in line to get out. A bit busy to say the least.

It was a beautiful morning and the flight down the valley towards Gainesville was butter smooth until about 15 miles out from my fuel stop. I seen the forecast cloud layer and descended to get under it. Suddenly it got real bumpy in a hurry! I reached to tighten my seat belts and ... they were laying on the seat ...
 
My father in law was flying a F9F-2, Panther. Bad wx, approach after approach, out of gas, what ever, if it quits I’ll just eject.

Breaks out, lands, whew, runs out of fuel taxiing in. Hmmm, little to close for comfort. Well, jump out, safe the seat (which you armed before you got in, safed after you got out, can’t reach the safety pins while strapped in) only to find he had forgotten to arm it in the first place. D’oh!

Tools
 
Tools said:
My father in law was flying a F9F-2, Panther. Bad wx, approach after approach, out of gas, what ever, if it quits I’ll just eject.

Breaks out, lands, whew, runs out of fuel taxiing in. Hmmm, little to close for comfort. Well, jump out, safe the seat (which you armed before you got in, safed after you got out, can’t reach the safety pins while strapped in) only to find he had forgotten to arm it in the first place. D’oh!

Tools
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The cold stomach sinking realization of my own mortality would have taken days or weeks to shake off in that situation. WHOA.


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AndyMac said:
Oh fine - I'll tell the story anyway.

The right tank gas cap was (probably) dangling by a chain during my first solo (though there are no marks from it). The pictures of the event came out like glamour shots - beautiful - but I can't look at them and not think "I can't believe I didn't check the gas cap after fueling up." No one else found out - I found it during preflight the next morning.
Click to expand...

Uh, how much gas was in the tank? As much as you expected?
 
luvflyin said:
Uh, how much gas was in the tank? As much as you expected?
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It was a 20min first solo. I did notice fuel dribbling out the vent slowly throughout the flight but I had topped off the tank before we left. When it was still doing it 3 takeoffs later I briefly wondered what was going on. I later realized the right take was under a slightly higher pressure than the left - since they’re connected in the 150, it was just pushing fuel from right to left throughout.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
@AndyMac get back to us when you make a big mistake. Just remember that you don’t have to perfect, just good so that you recognize mistakes before they create a chain reaction that leads to uncorrectable problem.

@midlifeflyer and @Kenny Phillips those are great stories. As a certificated pilots, I’m sure those never really happened, lol.
 
NoBShere said:
@AndyMac get back to us when you make a big mistake. Just remember that you don’t have to perfect, just good so that you recognize mistakes before they create a chain reaction that leads to uncorrectable problem.

@midlifeflyer and @Kenny Phillips those are great stories. As a certificated pilots, I’m sure those never really happened, lol.
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:) It's hard to land ant an airport you are not endorsed for when you don't need an endorsement.
 
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