Windy's basketball discussion thread

#7,226
#7,226
VolNExile said:
Oh yeah, that was TOTALLY operator error!

Cessna 140’s had separate wing tanks that didn’t automatically switch over when one ran dry. So if you didn’t have the wit to understand what was happening, you could easily prat it in with a half fuel load available but unused.

I was a student pilot in my fiancé’s plane, and somehow I hadn't fully incorporated a scan of the fuel gauges into my preflight. When the engine quit about 50 feet AGL, I immediately tapped the tach dial. (Because that’s what you do, right?? Make that damn needle get back up there!!) We flew off an island airstrip, and I was over water by then. I had my seat belt snugged up, glasses off, and the door open, setting up for my best possible nose-up tail-dragger stall landing while preparing for a water landing and immediate flip upside down (preparatory to drowning), when I had this sudden image of once seeing my fiancé’s partner’s hairy arm turning a red handle on the panel. I did that, having no idea at the moment what that red handle was, and the engine roared back into life. It was the fuel tank selector handle. That 140 obviously wanted to live as much as I did. Maybe I’d been taught that, but I sure don’t remember it. All I know is that I will forever have a deep and abiding love for gravity-fed fuel tanks and high-winged aircraft in general.

The worst part is that it occurred on the meeting night of our flying club, and everyone heard it. They had the boat out by the time I got it together. How humiliating to have 60 or so witnesses! And I was reminded about it for years afterwards.

Motto: don’t take flying lessons from someone you’re romantically involved with. You may or may not retain stuff you’re taught, and you may or may not have been taught it in the first place.
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You are absolutely the most interesting person here.
 
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#7,229
#7,229
vollygirl said:
You are absolutely the most interesting person here.
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3nd0gs.jpg
 
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#7,233
#7,233
VolNExile said:
Since the engine started up again a few yards above the water (Lake Loudon, in fact), I just continued flying the pattern, landed back on the grass strip, and kissed the ground when I tied the plane back down. I was done flying for the day.
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How old when this happened?

C140.jpg
 
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#7,239
#7,239
Basketball is the quickest sport in which you can make a dramatic turnaround, but for the same reason, it’s the sport that can break your heart the fastest when your roster goes poop.
 
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