NO. 942I.L.A.F.F.T.
“I LEARNED ABOUT FLYING FROM THAT”SLOW DOWN
A FLIGHT WHERE HASTE CAUSED A
SHOCKING SURPRISE AFTER LANDINGBy Kenneth Wilson18 | SEPTEMBER 2019 FLYINGMAG.COM
I
have never parked my airplane after
a more or less uneventful flight and
been so dismayed at the sight of my
wing when I shut down the engine.
The f light, approach and landing were
textbook, with no hint at all of the
excitement that could have greeted me
that night. No, the ailerons were fine,
the f laps were retracted completely,
the strobes intact and the leading edge
had very few bugs. Here is my story.
The Denver air at 7:30 a.m. in
February was crisp with single-digit
temperatures and not a breath of
wind. My buddy and I had departed
with a goal of reaching the balmy
weather of Orlando, Florida, in
a single day. The plan was for a
three-leg cross-country flight in a
low-wing four-seater.
With 28 to 33 knots of tailwind, we
were able to reach the mid-Panhandle
of Florida on the second leg, with justa few slight diversions for weather.
There was about an hour’s worth of
fuel left in the tanks when we landed
at 9:45 p.m., and of course the FBO
had closed for the night in the sleepy
town we chose to visit.
Parked to the side of the small
terminal were three fuel tanker
trucks. One carried 100LL and the
other two jet-A. We couldn’t see a
self-service island for fuel, so we
found the preverbal phone number to
call after hours on the FBO door—and
to our surprise, someone answered.
I asked, “Is there a self-service pump
on the field?” An unexpected “No”
was the reply, but an additional
unexpected offer followed. “I’d be
glad to come out if you need fuel
tonight,” the person said.
The night fueler came out to top off
the tanks but forgot the fuel truck’s
keys and had to go back home to ILLUSTRATIONBYBARRY^ ROSS^ (BARRYROSSART.COM)