On The Edge

The plane has been back for a few weeks now and I have been doing more flying than blogging.  I have also had some down time as I addressed some minor issues and some routine maintenance.  Along the way I finally gave my Dad a ride in the Baron.  I should have written a post but I forgot to take any pictures.  Luckily CC got one because without a picture, it didn't happen.

I went out today for more radar practice.  Have not had to fire it up much lately.  The last trips have all had excellent weather.  Today there was a line of significant storms North of Jacksonville.  I chose to work from 6500 which meant I could not see as far.  As discussed in older posts, radar is all about geometry.

At 6500 the horizon is about 105 miles away.  I was trying to paint weather that was 70-100 miles out.  The issue is that at 6500 feet, you typically tilt up about 4 degrees to miss the ground.  This works well for weather in the 10-40 mile range as this keeps the bottom of the beam off the ground and the energy in the region of the rain.

Out past 50 miles, most of the beam is above the storm  I was able to paint the weather but I really should have focused on lower scan angles.  this would have had a band of ground clutter up close but better long range resolution.

One other area I am still learning to deal with is cities.  They paint like strong storms.  Take a look at Savannah as I was turning towards home.  Its the storm at 85 miles left of the nose.

I also played with the vertical profile mode today.  Normally the unit scans left to right.  In vertical mode, you pick a direction and it scans up and down.  You will always see the ground but you also see a slice of a storm.  I did it twice, once pointed at a storm and the second time at a clear area.  I should have zoomed in to make it a bit clearer though.  Note the scale, you are looking up over 180,000 feet.  Storms typically live in the 0-60,000 range and that's what we see below.

Overall it was good practice and I learned a bit more and knocked some rust off old skills.  I am still more comfortable in the 10-40 mile range but with more practice I hope to get better out to 90 miles.  Past that the Geometry and Physics are stacked against you.

She's Back

 After 49 days of upgrade, the plane is back home.  It was delayed due to COVID and some parts that came defective and had to be re-ordered.  

Pick up went well with only one small issue to address before departing. After filling the tanks I took off on runway 17 and then turned to 140 for an almost straight line home.  I landed runway 14 and was soon back in the hangar.  Shout out to my friend for the 5 hour detour to drop me off.

Performance is not changed.  The plane zipped along at 191 knots on 25 gph.  What changed is that I have 3 massive overhead vents up front.  Plenty of airflow.

The controller hides behind the throttle quadrant and looked like it would be a problem but in cruise there is plenty of access and even with everything forward its easy to adjust as the needed controls are on the outside.  It is like an automotive system in that you set a temperature and either choose auto fan or set it it as desired.  There are 10 speeds so you can really tweak it.

There are a few new vents on the side of the plane but the biggest difference is a slight bump on the front left of the left engine.  The compressor hides under their.  Before and after pictures below.

The plane also lost 25 pounds.  The old system that had 1/4 the cooling weighed a lot more.  I now have 1625 pounds useful load which is pretty good for a De Iced 58 with AC.  Full fuel, CC and onboard and we still have 350 pounds for luggage.  If we want to carry another couple, I can drop the gas to 5 hours and have 510 pounds for that theoretical couple and our luggage.  More than enough for our needs.

There are a few cosmetic projects and other tweaks I want to make but will be focusing on training, 7 weeks of rust is not good.  The flight home was perfect with easy weather but need to sharpen my skills again.  

A little help from my friend

On Tuesday I dropped the plan off for an upgrade.  When I was looking for the plane I wanted new engines, props and avionics.  Good paint and interior were also important and I wanted Air-conditioning.  Well the plane had everything but the last.  It actually had an old electric system but after fiddling with it it did not work well and my research told me it would never handle Florida in the summer.

Since a good part of my flying is lower level in the summer, I opted to do an upgrade.  I am having the current factory system installed that should keep me nice and cool even in the Southern heat.

So why did I wait?  When I looked at booking a slot for an install, the soonest was late September.  Some of the best flying weather in right about then so I decided to book January/February as they were not as busy and could hopefully get me done faster. I figured it was a good time to take the plane down as I had other projects to finish.

I had scheduled to start Monday January 10 months ago.  Looking at the weather on Sunday, it looked pretty crummy.  We would have low ceilings the first 100 miles and really strong winds.  I had waited over 6 months so what's an extra day.  I wrote them and said, I'll come Tuesday.  Tuesday was much better.  Still had some headwinds but it was clear and smooth.

The flight was 458 nm and programmed at 2:40 with the winds.  That worked out to 170 knots ground speed even though the plane was chugging along at 190+.  Fuel burn was 77 gallons vs. a prediction of 76.5, close enough for me, I landed with half tanks.

My arrival was smooth and the shop marshalled me into position and right after shut down I was pushed into the heated hangar.  Mine was the only plane currently in for modification.  There was another they had finished Monday that was headed out later that day.  They usually have several in at once so fingers crossed, it will go faster than the 4-5 week estimate.

I had made it to Selmer TN pretty easily but now I needed to get home.  I took it to this shop because they were the ones that created the system and are the experts.  The only downside is they are 70 miles from Memphis, have no car rentals and are basically in the middle of nowhere.  On the plus side they are the experts and were friendly.

Luckily a friend gave me a lift.  He had departed a bit after me so as I wrapped up checking in the plane, I saw him approaching the airport on Flightaware.  It was pretty cool to head out and watch the arrival.  After a quick stop we were soon heading home.  Of course the headwinds we fought on the way up had subsided and we only got a bit of a tailwind.  His Bonanza it turbo normalized and it scooted along close to 190 knots at 11,000 sipping gas compared to the Baron.  Basically 60% of the fuel burn for the same speed.

The trip back was straightforward with a minor detour for a military operations area that was now active and getting sequenced behind a jet on the way into home base.   I'll be planeless for a few weeks now so I guess that gives me an excuse to clean and organize the hangar a bit.

150 hours

One reason I never wanted a twin engine plane before was that I always felt that you needed have a certain level of activity to make the plane safer.  Yes you get a lot more capability but when something goes wrong, the redundancy only helps if you know what to do and you do it correctly.

I used to fly 80-100 hours a year and I never felt that was enough to stay sharp.  As of today I have flown 163.7 hours total and 150.1 in the Baron this year.    I have a few more days left and expect to hit around 170 total.

I had been flying 160-200 hours a year in the Bonanza so I expect to stay in this range with the Baron.  In the new year I have some new missions planned for the plane now that I am through my initial training and familiarization.

Today I went for a flight to enjoy the holiday and to reach the 150 hour milestone.  I was alone and light on gas, only half tanks.  This made for a quick takeoff and climbing through 1000' I backed the power back to about 45% total.  The plane still climbed nicely at 300-400 fpm and I was soon at 4500' heading across the state sipping fuel.  Ok 19 gph but sipping for a twin.

It was a clear and smooth day and I went far enough to see the other coast.  Yes there is water on both sides.  The flight out was a bit slow with 20 knot headwinds but I had a nice push home.  It was such a nice day I swung out towards the beach before heading in to land.

Winds were down 23 and I set up for a short field landing to make the turn off at 1500'.  Vref was calculated at 81 but it was a bit gusty so I was flying 83-85.  These are close to Bonanza speeds and with the headwind I easily could have stopped in 1000' but let let it roll until the turn off.  

Dirty Hands

When I got the Baron, I knew there would be a steep learning curve.  One area where I was naïve was the engine cowls.  On the Bonanza, you just popped a latch on either side and the whole thing opened up.  An oil change required popping 2 latches.  Ten 1/4 turn fasteners and one screw.  After that everything was easy to get at.

The Baron is requires a lot more.  Yesterday I had an appointment to check the bottom engine mounts on the left side.  I had no idea what I was getting myself into.  I have been progressively learning the cowls.  I had learned what needs to come off to change the oil, then how to pop the top off.  This work needed everything off.

The Baron cowl has a door on each side which each have 10 half turn fasteners.  These just let you look in.  The sequence to de-cowl starts here.  The next step is removing the root fairings with their 16 screws each.  You have some choices after that but basically you need to pull the side panels, 11 more screws each.

The next step is the scoop.  6 screws to remove the top panel, 4 on the sides then 3 bolts to release the scoop.  Don't forget to remove the alternate induction duct (2 clamps) and loosen the main induction clamp.  You can then take out the 40 or so remaining fasteners on the top portion.  The 2 that get me are the ones inside where you need a magnetic tip to keep from dropping the screw.  Out is not too bad, its much worse going in.

Popping the top off, you are really just getting started.  10 screws release the chin and you carefully work it around the baffles.  I learned for the bottom cowl, you want a trash can underneath so that it doesn't fall.  Don't forget to unbolt the cowl flap.  The 10 or so screws are next and then 4 that are bolted in a hard to get place.  Once it drops down, there are 3 vent lines that connect to the bottom.  Unbolt the mount and you can now slide out the bottom.  All that and we haven't started any maintenance yet. 

My mechanic was busy so he handed me the tools I needed and answered questions as I went.  It took me about an hour to get it all done.  We did the mounts in about 45 minutes and then he said put it all together.  He was kind and told me the order to follow and to not tighten any screw until the top, bottom, chin and side panels were in place.  Then close the side doors and make sure everything was aligned.  At that point work from the top back and  tighten everything.

A miracle occurred and I slowly returned all the parts.  I then closed the doors, wiggled everything and everything was nicely aligned.  I was a bit smart and as I had taken off different bits, I had put all the fasteners in a separate container and labelled them so I knew I was putting the hardware back correctly. I double checked all my connections on the install and that my main induction and alternate induction were secure.  I also tested the cowl flap after re-installing, just to be sure.

The mechanic looked over my work and agreed it was all back together.  The flight home was uneventful which was good.

ATC Mischief

We had a lot of fun in Miami.  Yes we ate too much turkey but I also got to show my Dad the Baron and take a nature hike with the kids.  Heading North I figured I would get a new routing based on our trip down.  I was again surprised when I filed ARKES TRV V3 OMN and the computer said that's what I'll get.

When I called ground, he informed me that the computer had my expected route but he couldn't give that to me. the ARKES departure was no longer allowed.  I had to either file the Miami 8 or to SHANC.  He said I needed to refile, he couldn't do anything.  Usually the computer generates a new route if you file something it doesn't like or the controller will update it if they don't like it.  I was a bit taken aback, I have never been told that it is my problem to fix it or to re-file. 

Re-filing is not a big deal so I tried to take a shortcut. I filed HWO CRG. Usually the computer chuckles and says yeah right and puts in the correct route. Today it cleared me direct, maybe it was in a good mood after eating a bunch of turkey.  Ground called to tell me this and said no way... He also said I needed to file T208 after SHANC. Armed with a bit more knowledge and now familiar where they wanted me to go, I said give me a minute. I filed SHANC T208 SUUGR which the computer and ground liked and we were soon on our way.

Miami is getting interesting, for example to get our departure I needed to accept the Sheridan departure which is only found on one FAA website and as far as I can see not officially published.  Too many FAA secret handshakes if you ask me.  Also looking at it all again safe at home, the Miami8 is not very useful North bound as you are supposed to head over one of the VORs to the South (there is one over FLL but it then turns South). Also SHANC is not on the Miami8.

How are you supposed to know about the secret fix to file? I get it when you file your fantasy and the computer gives you reality. In this case the computer gave me what I filed but it is no longer usable?  The irony is that the final route is almost the same as the one I filed.  Just new fixes and names along the way.

A New Way

I have been flying to South Florida since at least the late 90s. You can file whatever route you like but for years it was a sure thing you would get OMN V3 MLB V437 BRIKL. basically down the coast to a Melbourne and then over the East edge of lake Okeechobee and then an intersection about 20 North of Miami.  This route kept you out of the Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale traffic as well as under the big iron inbound to MIA. 

A few years back they got cute and changed it to OMN V3 TRV V51 PHK V437 BRIKL. This had you continuing 20 more miles on the coast before you headed to the lake. The odd thing is the computer had this new idea but every time I flew it, passing MLB I would be cleared to PHK which basically meant that even with the new route, you were still flying the old one.  

I was a bit surprise when I filed and got this: FOXAM T208 DIMBY LLNCH T345 MARKT. We are now in the GPS world and Victor airways seem passé to the computer. T routes are all the rage and defined by GPS not VORs. I was still unsure what I would really get, he computer has told me to expect one route and come time to copy my clearance and I get something else.

It’s sort of sad to not end at BRIKL. Mary and William Brickell were early Miami settlers that set up shop 150 years ago (1871) on what is now SE 5th and Brickell. Originally a swank area for the rich and then in the 80s a place for condos no one wanted, it is once again a playground for the young and a rich with great views and wall to wall condos which are highly sought after.

Tuesday was chilly and windy. As we warmed the engines I called ground and they gave me the new route, go GPS. on departure we got the standard 100 heading and departure gave us 10,000 before we got to our initial 3000 level off. Regular readers will know that we bucked 40 knot headwinds on our last trip. Today we had up to 40 on the tail. Yes a tailwind really does exist.

We also had mostly clear weather with just a few clouds offshore. The visibility was close to 100 miles looking down the coast but as we neared our destination there was some smoke off to the East.  As usual they made us come down earlier than I like but we still had 20 knots on the tail and with the new route, the controller let us go from MARKT direct FRDDY which is the initial to GPS 10R. 1R was in use so we expected a circle to land. As we turned final, we were at 2000, the plate had us maintain 1600 until the next fix but the controller gave us 1500 for traffic. This was a bit odd. as once you are on an approach you should follow the altitude guidance of the plate.  The controller can take you lower on vectors but then you are not on the approach.

I had the runway in sight so I asked if we could switch to the visual.  We were cleared for the visual which cleared up the altitude ambiguity and let us miss the other traffic. The wind was mostly down the runway at 15 so landing was easy and we had no issue turning off at our preferred taxiway at 1700 feet. We could have easily made the one at 1200 feet. I’ve been practicing. 

Headwinds (Nuff Said)

We had been very lucky on the weather. The week before, it had been rather soggy and next week was shaping up to be a soaker in the North East as well. We had enjoyed blue skies everyday with only a quick shower Tuesday night and Thursday night. The forecast was for an overcast layer on departure but Forecasts are just guesses and my gut told me we would have nice weather for the way home except for the wind.  

All week I had been watching the Jet Stream dipping South and it was going to be something to complain about.  Our expected clearance had a bit of a detour West, but actual clearance had us joining the airway in a direct manner. Our first destination was Blue Ridge airport. We had used Martinsville, VA as a fuel stop before when we were flying to Charlottesville.  Good runway, cheap gas and friendly people.  I also really like the airport identifier, its MTV, how cool is that.

Why stop, the plane holds enough gas to get home but the gas at Harrisburg was on the high side so I just bought enough to meet the minimum to wave fees and a bit more to have generous reserves, remember we had left New Jersey light due to the short runway.  Back to the route, the direct route took us very close to the Camp David prohibited area and the Washington DC special flight rules area.  The chance of letting us bust through was low so a gentle detour over Hagerstown VOR would make everyone happy.

Initially the winds on departure were a bit better than forecast. We had no headwind.  This did not last and soon we saw the number start to climb. I had filed for 6000 to try to stay below the worst of it. I would have gone lower, but the mountains made 6000 the minimum safe choice.  The views were great, and we made it down to our stop in 1:36 which was only 7 minutes longer than a no wind time.  During our descent we had a preview of things to come though with 30 knot winds.

MTV did not disappoint. The computer estimated we would take 98 gallons. One issue with the Baron is that the larger fuel orders take longer to pump. A few weeks back I suffered through a painfully slow pump at New Smyrna that pumped at about 6 gallons per minute. The MTV pump almost had the opposite problem, it seemed to pump close to 25 gallons per minute, it had quite a kick and I had to be careful to not use full speed as I neared topping each tank.

The departure from MTV was smooth and we were soon climbing into the worst of the headwinds. I had filed for 8000 to keep us out of a cloud deck and because the winds were basically the same at 6000. This was confirmed later in the flight as we heard reports from other nearby aircraft.

Charlotte had no love for us as well. I had filed the airway which you are supposed to use to stay out of their way and in their wisdom, they assigned us one a bit further East. I had hoped that the winds would be more cross and less head. You can hope all you want but through most of the Carolinas we had 30+ on the nose, I snapped this picture with 39 and I believe it peaked at 41.

This is when the extra speed of the Baron really shines. The Bonanza topped out at around 170 but in the Baron I can easily push it up to the mid 190s, I dialed in 192 which meant we were making at least 150 knots even with the headwinds.

We eventually worked South of the monster winds, and they diminished and became more of a crosswind and  from Savannah home we had less than 10 knots. We had mostly stayed above the clouds but on our last segment had fun darting in and out of the puffy buildups. Our arrival we easy with a straight in to 23 and a quick taxi back to the hangar. 

The direct no wind route without stops should have been 3:35, it took us 4:06 or 30 minutes and 20 gallons more than planned. We had had more favorable winds most of the trip and I had burned about 10 gallons less than planned so the net was 10 extra for the trip.  We had enjoyed  perfect weather for our sightseeing so the scales balance. Overall another successful adventure.