kimberlyanne546
Final Approach
Okay, as hard as I tried for this story to have a happy ending . . . well . . . it simply didn't.
Went flying today with my instructor for more check ride prep, including flying to an aiport where I will most likely be asked to perform short field landings during my checkride. Flight was so-so but that is for another thread.
So we get back to the flight school, de-brief, and I am all set to take the plane out again - to finish up my 1.2 hours of solo time. My plan was to fly around the pattern and work on my short and soft field landings. My instructor had another student, and when he arrived, they started talking and I went outside to my plane.
Even though I did a full pre-flight only a few hours before, we had flown the plane for 1.2 and I wanted to give it another check. The first thing that I normally do during my pre-flight, after removing the tie downs, lowering the flaps, and taking out the control lock - is climb up on top of both wings, with a dip stick, and check fuel levels.
So I get up on top of the left wing and it has plenty of gas - about 8 gallons (tank only holds 13). Assuming the other tank has roughly the same, this will be well over 2 hours of fuel and I am just staying in the pattern.
I climb down from the left wing, and climb up to the right wing. I uncap the tank, stick in my dip stick, go to pull it out and - bam! It slips through my fingers and falls deep into the tank!
What to do?
I rush back inside before my CFI has the chance to depart with his other student. The maintenance crew (3 techs) don't work weekends and the receptionist is not a pilot. I told him what happened and he said that he had my plane at 4pm with another student. I volunteered to get the keys to the hangar and go hunting for "a giant set of tweezers". He threw me the key and said "knock yourself out".
In the hangar, most of the tool boxes were locked up but I did find one with many drawers. In there was a gigantic pair of bent tipped needle nosed pliers with a blue rubber handle. I also found a giant long metal stick which I later discovered had something to do with a brake line (?).
I keep a tiny LED mag lite in my flight bag so I decided to simply climb up the wing with all tools and "feel around". I could not see ANYTHING except a 3-inch circle with my flashlight. Not good. I tried putting my eyeballs in there, shining the light in every direction, but the opening was soooo small I could not see a thing. Then I started poking around in all directions with the tools, but realized because of the angles they would not even go all the way in and so were semi-useless.
I went back under the plane to brainstorm. It was then I noticed the plane was parked on a slight hill, and the tanks were also sloping downhill, towards the flaps. My guess was the plexiglass tube slid all the way to the back.
I decided to ask my CFI for a ladder so I could spend more time on top of the wing fishing. I was having trouble with my second foot on the strut (no second foot hold) and felt like I might fall off. Didn't want to add injury to my stupid-ness.
He finds this giant ladder and instead of my idea (I could use the tow bar and turn my plane the other way and let gravity roll the tube into sight), he suggests I "shake" the tank so that perhaps I can grab it.
Imagine all those people sitting at the two-niner diner, outdoors on the patio, watching me go back and forth in between my plane and the hangar wondering what the heck. Then I get this HUGE ladder, climb up, bend over, and start rocking the wing with my upper body. Must have been like a hilarious comedy. Well, as I did this I could not figure out why the plane seemed farther and farther away.
I had never replaced the tie downs and it was rolling down the hill away from me! Only slightly but still, another chance for me to fall down. So I climb down, tie the plane down, climb back up and try a long wire my CFI gave me. This doesn't work either and now he is leaving with his other student.
The receptionist finally comes back and calls / pages BOTH maintenance guys. Neither answer so I go back out to the plane to juggle flashlight, wire, long stick, and pliers. Another man comes out just as I'm turning the plane around to try the gravity trick and says "Joe called, no big deal, just fly the plane, he'll get it out tomorrow, he sees this all the time." I didn't know what to say. I called my CFI and said I did NOT want to fly the plane - and he agreed.
So:
Yay for me making a go / no-go decision against the maintenance tech's advice
Boo for me making an idiot's mistake that forced my instructor and his next student to fly in the Piper instead of the 152. The receptionist told me she would not charge the other student more money since the 152 was out of commission, so that was nice.
I will of course call tomorrow to make sure my little plane gets out of surgery OK. No idea how those guys fish those things out, I never once did hear it or see it or feel it with my tools.
Kimberly
Went flying today with my instructor for more check ride prep, including flying to an aiport where I will most likely be asked to perform short field landings during my checkride. Flight was so-so but that is for another thread.
So we get back to the flight school, de-brief, and I am all set to take the plane out again - to finish up my 1.2 hours of solo time. My plan was to fly around the pattern and work on my short and soft field landings. My instructor had another student, and when he arrived, they started talking and I went outside to my plane.
Even though I did a full pre-flight only a few hours before, we had flown the plane for 1.2 and I wanted to give it another check. The first thing that I normally do during my pre-flight, after removing the tie downs, lowering the flaps, and taking out the control lock - is climb up on top of both wings, with a dip stick, and check fuel levels.
So I get up on top of the left wing and it has plenty of gas - about 8 gallons (tank only holds 13). Assuming the other tank has roughly the same, this will be well over 2 hours of fuel and I am just staying in the pattern.
I climb down from the left wing, and climb up to the right wing. I uncap the tank, stick in my dip stick, go to pull it out and - bam! It slips through my fingers and falls deep into the tank!
What to do?
I rush back inside before my CFI has the chance to depart with his other student. The maintenance crew (3 techs) don't work weekends and the receptionist is not a pilot. I told him what happened and he said that he had my plane at 4pm with another student. I volunteered to get the keys to the hangar and go hunting for "a giant set of tweezers". He threw me the key and said "knock yourself out".
In the hangar, most of the tool boxes were locked up but I did find one with many drawers. In there was a gigantic pair of bent tipped needle nosed pliers with a blue rubber handle. I also found a giant long metal stick which I later discovered had something to do with a brake line (?).
I keep a tiny LED mag lite in my flight bag so I decided to simply climb up the wing with all tools and "feel around". I could not see ANYTHING except a 3-inch circle with my flashlight. Not good. I tried putting my eyeballs in there, shining the light in every direction, but the opening was soooo small I could not see a thing. Then I started poking around in all directions with the tools, but realized because of the angles they would not even go all the way in and so were semi-useless.
I went back under the plane to brainstorm. It was then I noticed the plane was parked on a slight hill, and the tanks were also sloping downhill, towards the flaps. My guess was the plexiglass tube slid all the way to the back.
I decided to ask my CFI for a ladder so I could spend more time on top of the wing fishing. I was having trouble with my second foot on the strut (no second foot hold) and felt like I might fall off. Didn't want to add injury to my stupid-ness.
He finds this giant ladder and instead of my idea (I could use the tow bar and turn my plane the other way and let gravity roll the tube into sight), he suggests I "shake" the tank so that perhaps I can grab it.
Imagine all those people sitting at the two-niner diner, outdoors on the patio, watching me go back and forth in between my plane and the hangar wondering what the heck. Then I get this HUGE ladder, climb up, bend over, and start rocking the wing with my upper body. Must have been like a hilarious comedy. Well, as I did this I could not figure out why the plane seemed farther and farther away.
I had never replaced the tie downs and it was rolling down the hill away from me! Only slightly but still, another chance for me to fall down. So I climb down, tie the plane down, climb back up and try a long wire my CFI gave me. This doesn't work either and now he is leaving with his other student.
The receptionist finally comes back and calls / pages BOTH maintenance guys. Neither answer so I go back out to the plane to juggle flashlight, wire, long stick, and pliers. Another man comes out just as I'm turning the plane around to try the gravity trick and says "Joe called, no big deal, just fly the plane, he'll get it out tomorrow, he sees this all the time." I didn't know what to say. I called my CFI and said I did NOT want to fly the plane - and he agreed.
So:
Yay for me making a go / no-go decision against the maintenance tech's advice
Boo for me making an idiot's mistake that forced my instructor and his next student to fly in the Piper instead of the 152. The receptionist told me she would not charge the other student more money since the 152 was out of commission, so that was nice.
I will of course call tomorrow to make sure my little plane gets out of surgery OK. No idea how those guys fish those things out, I never once did hear it or see it or feel it with my tools.
Kimberly
