Chip Sylverne
Final Approach
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2006
- Messages
- 6,047
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Quit with the negative waves, man.
Talk about a learning experience.
Since a good friend was going to be celebrating his big 5-0 in styl at PMP, I figured I would kill two birds with one stone, fire up the Cherokee ans point it south from FDK. Saturday was CAVU from FDK to about an hour or so north of my first planned stop at KHRJ. Cool. Have a gorgeous view down the Shenandoah valley. start to enter the scud. Tops were reported at 8K, but the freeze level was about the same, so I figured I would just get on the guages for a little actual. After being in it for an hour or so, got vectors for the RNAV GPS 5 into HRJ, broke out 1000 agl for a nice easy arrival into HRJ.
Fuel up and check weather for the next leg to OMN. Radar looks good, showing some green and a touch of yellow associated with a front behind me, so I figure I'll be out of IMC about an hour south.
I could have not been more wrong.
I take off into the scud, get vectored around a bit before I head on course. About an hour and fifteen minutes into IMC I figure I better call 122.0 and get a weather update. Ask to leave the freq. Nothing. Nada. Then I realize it' been a while since I've received any calls. Switch to com 2. Same result. Now it's starting to get darker, and raining hard enough so I'm getting water in the cockpit. Oh well. I'm nordo for now. Squalk 7600 and fly the clearance.
The the ASI starts it's little dance. Down to about 70 mph, then back up to 110, then slowly down to 80, then up to 90. Then down to 60, then back up. Look up at the OAT and it reads about 10C above freeze. Can't be pitot ice, unless the oat guage is farged. Turn on pitot heat anyway. Look at the ammeter to make sure there's current draw. No change in the asi fluctuations. ****. Nail the little dot to the horizon, set the power and fly attitude. Keep an eye on the gs readout on the GPS to check far any big excursions. Getting darker, raining harder. Getting bounced a bit. There was no convective sigmet, but this was supposed to be light rain. Ride it out. SSI was reporting clear, so keep heading that direction and you'll break out. Try center again. Nope.
This goes on for roughly three hours until about 40 Miles north of SSI the weather lets up a bit and the coms come back. Check in. Break out about 15 mins later and good vfr to OMN. Breath deep and unpucker. Get a visual into OMN to land. Turn base to final ASI drops like a rock. ****, the classic base to final spin! Get some airspeed fast, but wait, the stall warning never came on. Land hot and float a loooong way down the runway. I musta come in at 90 kts. Taxi to the pumps to fuel up. Take a look a the pitot tube to see if there's any thing amiss. Nope, so I get my clearance and taxi for take off. Line up, push the throttle in, gaining speed. approaching what feels like rotation speed, no asi needle. Abort and taxi to the FBO. Being Saturday at 5pm, no A/I.
Monday, RAM Aviation found a bug had crawled into the pitot system line and croaked. With all the water, it swelled enough to partially block the line.
Since a good friend was going to be celebrating his big 5-0 in styl at PMP, I figured I would kill two birds with one stone, fire up the Cherokee ans point it south from FDK. Saturday was CAVU from FDK to about an hour or so north of my first planned stop at KHRJ. Cool. Have a gorgeous view down the Shenandoah valley. start to enter the scud. Tops were reported at 8K, but the freeze level was about the same, so I figured I would just get on the guages for a little actual. After being in it for an hour or so, got vectors for the RNAV GPS 5 into HRJ, broke out 1000 agl for a nice easy arrival into HRJ.
Fuel up and check weather for the next leg to OMN. Radar looks good, showing some green and a touch of yellow associated with a front behind me, so I figure I'll be out of IMC about an hour south.
I could have not been more wrong.
I take off into the scud, get vectored around a bit before I head on course. About an hour and fifteen minutes into IMC I figure I better call 122.0 and get a weather update. Ask to leave the freq. Nothing. Nada. Then I realize it' been a while since I've received any calls. Switch to com 2. Same result. Now it's starting to get darker, and raining hard enough so I'm getting water in the cockpit. Oh well. I'm nordo for now. Squalk 7600 and fly the clearance.
The the ASI starts it's little dance. Down to about 70 mph, then back up to 110, then slowly down to 80, then up to 90. Then down to 60, then back up. Look up at the OAT and it reads about 10C above freeze. Can't be pitot ice, unless the oat guage is farged. Turn on pitot heat anyway. Look at the ammeter to make sure there's current draw. No change in the asi fluctuations. ****. Nail the little dot to the horizon, set the power and fly attitude. Keep an eye on the gs readout on the GPS to check far any big excursions. Getting darker, raining harder. Getting bounced a bit. There was no convective sigmet, but this was supposed to be light rain. Ride it out. SSI was reporting clear, so keep heading that direction and you'll break out. Try center again. Nope.
This goes on for roughly three hours until about 40 Miles north of SSI the weather lets up a bit and the coms come back. Check in. Break out about 15 mins later and good vfr to OMN. Breath deep and unpucker. Get a visual into OMN to land. Turn base to final ASI drops like a rock. ****, the classic base to final spin! Get some airspeed fast, but wait, the stall warning never came on. Land hot and float a loooong way down the runway. I musta come in at 90 kts. Taxi to the pumps to fuel up. Take a look a the pitot tube to see if there's any thing amiss. Nope, so I get my clearance and taxi for take off. Line up, push the throttle in, gaining speed. approaching what feels like rotation speed, no asi needle. Abort and taxi to the FBO. Being Saturday at 5pm, no A/I.
Monday, RAM Aviation found a bug had crawled into the pitot system line and croaked. With all the water, it swelled enough to partially block the line.
