Celebrating a milestone/change in focus in my career and personal aspirations, Justin scheduled a flight for Thursday evening (August 7, 2003). The plan was to depart from Stinson Municipal Airport to overfly
Hill Country State Natural Area in Bandera, TX, where I solo camped in May (you'll be reading a trip report on this within days). However, the aircraft we rented was running very hot -- almost red-lining its engine temperature -- so Justin advised me during the taxi/take-off roll that we might need to keep the flight near Stinson. No biggie. Justin then informed the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) of our change of plans to stay near in the airport in case the plane got worse or failed to cool off substantially. We headed to what's called the "South Practice Area," a patchworked expanse of farm fields with few obstructions (except for cows and hay) where many student and licensed pilots, seeking to practice manuevers, fly.
Despite the increased airflow of flight, which should have cooled the engine (radial engines, like the Cessna's, are air-cooled; they lack a radiator like your car or truck posesses), there was no improvement. As a result, Justin made a pilot judgment and advised the controller at Stinson that we were running excessively hot and needed to land. The controller gave him clearance to land on whichever runway he wanted to. Justin chose a normal landing pattern, versus a "straight in" approach for immediate landing. The controller's option basically meant, "If you think it's serious or you need to get down fast for any reason, you have clearance -- just let me know which runway you choose."
Justin landed the plane beautifully, floating it down to a smooth landing on Stinson's Runway 14. When we got out to tie down the aircraft, the engine was so hot you could SMELL it -- excessively hot oil, metal, fuel and super-heated air. Of course, it just happened to be the hottest day on record this season, and extremely humid, which made matters worse for pilot, passenger AND plane!
Justin's flown that particular aircraft many times before, and knew its predisposition to running a little hot, but seeing your engine heat almost on the red-line is disconcerting... in a car, and certainly in an aircraft. Interestingly enough, on our drive home we noted that even my car was running abnormally hot. However, in the car's case, the engine heat was still well within its acceptable range of tolerance.
We'll try one more recreational flight between now and Wednesday, when Justin returns to work, and I'll be riding along with Justin and his flight instructor on Sunday morning out of San Antonio International Airport for his IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) training. Sunday's lesson is a "progress check" for Justin, so I'll get to experience the full gamut of Justin's training up to this point.
Riding along with Justin and his instructor(s) on training flights always impresses me -- both by Justin's aptitude at mastering the concepts quickly and precisely, and the skill and experience a good Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) posesses and shares with his/her students. Amazing stuff to watch! If you think teachers on the ground have it rough, or driving instructors, just imagine teaching someone how to take-off, navigate and land an aircraft in varying conditions and occasionally under stress (busy airport or airspace, in-flight emergency training scenarios, and so forth.)
That's all for now! Stay tuned, and thanks for reading.