Page 34 - Volume 16 Number 12

by David MillerMemorable MomentsOnce Every Decade or So...The saying goes something like this. “Flying is thousands of hours of boredom, interspersed with a few moments of sheer terror.” From my 5,000 hours of experience, this seems to be true and I do all I can to keep those “moments” few and far between. A review of my logbook indicates that about once every decade an event occurs that gets my immediate attention. Here are the highlights:1960sWorking on my multi-engine rating in an old Link-style non- motion trainer, I crash with a violent thud. The instructor says we are finished for the day. I wonder out loud why we can’t just reset the machine. “Because you just broke the damn thing,” he says.1970sClimbing out of Dallas on a hot summer afternoon in an old loaded Beech Queen Air, the right engine decides to eat itself. During the shutdown procedure, it refuses to feather and continues to windmill. With me working the radios in the right seat, we declare an emergency and glide back to Addison for a normal landing, albeit with a very oily cowling. The N number of the airplane was N10D or, as it was affectionately called around the airport, “one old dog.” For more, read “The Legend” in June 2009 T&T.1980sFlying my young family in a B-Model Baron into Ormond Beach, Florida, we narrowly miss a small Cessna training near the airport. As I recall, the other pilot was wearing a green shirt with a food stain on the collar. It was close.1990sDeparting San Jose’s runway 12R on a late spring afternoon in our Sabreliner Model 40, the right tire explodes exactly at V1. My longtime pilot, JC, was in the left seat that day. He rotated and away we went to Denver, with the crash trucks standing by for a fairly normal landing except for the whomp, whomp, whomp of the flat tire rotating on the wheel. Enroute, our three male passengers, who hate each other at the office, become hand-holding best friends prior to landing. For more, read “Best Friends” in August 2009 T&T.2000sRiding in the jump seat of a Falcon 50, I smell smoke right after takeoff and notice the aft cabin filling with a smelly haze and causing definite concern among the passengers. A carbon sealWith 5,000-plus hours in his logbook, David Miller has been flying for business and pleasure for more than 40 years. Having owned and flown a variety of aircraft types, from turboprops to midsize jets, Miller, along with his wife Patty, now own and fly a Citation CJ1+. You can contact David at davidmiller1@sbcglobal.net.malfunctioned in the right engine, allowing exhaust to enter the cabin. The crew declares an emergency and returns to base with no damage, other than some very anxious passengers. For several years, they refer to this flight as the “smoking flight.” And I found out years later that one of them excused himself in the FBO and deposited his lunch on the men’s room floor.These events don’t have much in common. Some, like the engine shut down, we can train for. Others like the near miss are just instinctive reactions to a “micro burst” of bad luck. What they have taught me is that challenging things can happen when you least expect it. And it is what you least expect that can be the most challenging.It’s the reason we look for suitable emergency landing sites when everything is running perfectly. It’s the reason we take that extra walk around, looking for a red cover that we just might have missed during preflight. And it’s the reason we don’t like to depart in low IFR weather in an airplane just out of major maintenance.My P-51 flying dad, who passed away last year at age 89, had a saying that I will never forget. He said, “That’s why they put tits on a bull... just in case.”Fly safely.ON FINAL32 • TWIN & TURBINE DECEMBER 2012