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Preliminaries of Leaving
What a week it has been! The
Super King Air 200 began a Phase 2 inspection at Corporate
Jets in Scottsdale two weeks ago, on Monday, September 17.
I thought for sure that starting date would provide enough
time to complete the inspection and to install the HF radio
antenna and system with time to spare. Wrong! Due to unexpected
delays and snags - one of which we can blame on the tragic
events of September 11! - we missed our hoped-for departure
time of 7:00 a.m.
The past week has seen me spending
lots of time at Corporate Jets (CJ), trying to help move the
service and radio work along at a good pace. Mike Moyer and
his maintenance team at CJ really went all out to get this
project out on time. To Mike, Gene, Dean, Dan, Syd, Don, Mel,
Roger, and lots of other good men and women at CJ…Thanks!
More than a few evenings saw us working well after dark trying
to solve the snags that cropped up. Getting the FAA's approval
for the HF package took longer than expected, and was frustrating
for our system designer, Mark Winter, and all of us. Everyone
was well-intentioned, but nonetheless the project went at
an agonizingly slow pace. Just when one drawing was amended
to satisfy one requirement, another requirement would require
a new change.
But enough of that! The system
finally received all approvals and we were able to contact
San Francisco Arinc (Aeronautical Radio) and Rockwell flight
test at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, from Scottsdale.
Pam and I were able to finally
conduct our first post-inspection and post-HF installation
flight test at about 1:30 p.m. today. I had filled a round-robin
IFR flight plan from Scottsdale (KSDL) to Scottsdale, via
Prescott and Flagstaff, 16,000 feet. Off we go after a much
longer-than-normal ground delay caused by requiring IFR operations
within "Enhanced Class B" airspace due to the state of national
tension. Departing to the northwest on the Banyo 3 procedure,
we were going through about 4,000 feet when we ran the After
Takeoff Checklist. One of the items I have included on this
checklist for many years - are you listening, Raytheon? -
is a challenge of "Outside Check" that prompts a visual inspection
of the engine nacelles and wings to look for anything out
of the ordinary. Sure enough, we then observed that the left
engine's upper forward cowling's rear edge was lifting into
the airstream about one-half inch. Pam immediately slowed
down and activated the Engine Ice Vane switches as I requested
a return to KSDL from ATC. The combination of slower speed
and ice vane extension reduced the ram air pressure that was
trying to blow the cowling off.
We were cleared for a visual
approach, and merely made a wide right base entry back to
Runway 21, from which we had lifted off a few minutes earlier.
I had called CJ's Unicom and asked them to tell the maintenance
department of our return, and Dean was waiting on the ramp
as we shut down. He found a pesky rear latch that could actually
indicate that it was firmly in the closed position and yet
he could force it open with a few sharp hits with the palm
of his hand. A little adjusting with screwdriver and wrench,
and soon Dean had it fixed. ATC had held our IFR clearance,
so we were soon airborne again on our round-robin flight.
But what in blue blazes is this?!
The landing gear handle's red lights did not extinguish, indicating
that at least one of the three gear legs is not fully retracted.
A visual check of the main gear shows nothing wrong, and generator
voltage is fine. (Sometimes the gear does not quite swing
aggressively enough to fully retract if bus voltage is too
low, such as when both generators are off.) We slow down and
extend the gear; all goes well. Now we try retracting again
and this time the red lights extinguish as they should.
But not for long. Whenever we
hit a good jolt of turbulence and pull some positive Gs, the
red lights blink on. Also, I observe that the "Prop Sync On"
annunciator also illuminates whenever the red lights do. Since
that particular annunciator is triggered by the combination
of the sync switch on and the right main gear not fully up,
I know that the right gear is not up tight enough. However,
I don't know if the left and nose gear are involved or not.
We complete our test flight,
try the HF out in the air, and find that all systems except
the gear are working as they should.
Back at CJ, with Pat and Ashley
now there also, waiting to get this show on the road, the
airplane is quickly placed on jacks in the hangar and, sure
enough, it is found that the uplock switches are not being
hit firmly enough. The gear is working fine, but the switches
need to be slightly repositioned. An hour later, the work
is done, and we are wheeled out to be fueled and to finish
the loading.
I call my friend Tom Johnson,
who works for Cannon Insurance in the office we share, and
give him an update on our ETD. He and Matthew Cannon, our
webmaster, come by and help us load and take some pictures
as we say goodbye. We flipped a coin a few days ago, and Pam
was selected to fly left seat on the first leg. So she goes
to the cockpit, Pat and Ashley load, and I close the cabin
door. We are on our way!
It is hard to realize that we
really are beginning this once-in-a-lifetime adventure that
we have been planning for over a year. I think we are all
a bit numb, and that it will take a few days for the significance
to sink in.
The terrorist attack on America
has caused us to rethink our plans more than once. Although
we all feel a pull to stay home and avoid the potential perils
of the big bad world, we also feel that the fanatical elements
want just that…to disrupt our lives as much as possible. So,
screw 'em! We cannot be ruled by fear, and we have decided
to continue nearly as we had planned. We modified our itinerary
slightly, substituting some days in France and Italy for our
planned stays in Jordan and Egypt. (Sorry, Jordanian and Egyptian
tourist businesses. Guess the Muslim fanatics didn't worry
about the negative impact on your businesses, eh?) And we
decided to have Matthew Cannon hold our dispatches and not
publish them until we have passed through the hotter spots.
Finally, we have agreed among the four of us that any single
person has veto power on our continuation of the trip, at
any time. So we take it day by day. If things don't feel comfortable,
we may pull the plug and return, or modify our itinerary even
more. If we return from Europe, we will do so via Ireland,
Iceland, Greenland…honoring Pat Gallagher's heritage and exposing
Pat and Ashley to the unique beauties of Iceland and the north
Atlantic routing.
The love and support and our
family and friends has been shown so abundantly as we prepare
to leave. Paula and Dalton Cole with Bob and Patty Meyer hosted
a wonderful bon voyage party Sunday night. It was so very
well done and we were so blessed to have so many of our dear
friends there…some coming from long distances to attend. We
are going to truly miss these faces in the next ninety days!
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