Not Flying Today!
I really enjoyed my flights in HALC a couple of weeks ago, so I rebooked to fly again on Saturday January28th. One of the advantages of co-owning your own aircraft, is there are no pressures to fly a minimum number of hours, or any hurry to return to base for the next renter to fly it. I had the plane all day and planned to visit Breighton airfield, have a leisurly lunch, and fly home.
The weather on the day was good but cold. I went through the usual pre-flight checks in the hanger, sampling the fuel, checking the lights, stall warner and other equipment. I pulled the plane out and planned to get away without refueling, as I had around 100 litres in the tanks. The plan was to pick up some more fuel at Breighton, and maybe even land somewhere else, time permitting.
I strapped myself in to the left seat, turned on the master switch and primed the engine. But on turning the starter key the propeller revolved only a blade or two and then stopped. This was not good. I knew that this was not going to get better but that did not stop me trying again. Same result. The battery had enough power to move the prop but not enough "oomph" to start the engine.
I left the battery to recover and returned about half an hour later. I knew in my heart it wasn't going to start, but I tried again. The result was the same. We have no engineering on site at Barton anymore and I was left with no alternative but to push HALC back into the hanger and call it a day. I would not be flying today.
The weather on the day was good but cold. I went through the usual pre-flight checks in the hanger, sampling the fuel, checking the lights, stall warner and other equipment. I pulled the plane out and planned to get away without refueling, as I had around 100 litres in the tanks. The plan was to pick up some more fuel at Breighton, and maybe even land somewhere else, time permitting.
I strapped myself in to the left seat, turned on the master switch and primed the engine. But on turning the starter key the propeller revolved only a blade or two and then stopped. This was not good. I knew that this was not going to get better but that did not stop me trying again. Same result. The battery had enough power to move the prop but not enough "oomph" to start the engine.
I left the battery to recover and returned about half an hour later. I knew in my heart it wasn't going to start, but I tried again. The result was the same. We have no engineering on site at Barton anymore and I was left with no alternative but to push HALC back into the hanger and call it a day. I would not be flying today.
posted by David M at 6:09 PM
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