Pulled up short
I wanted to resurrect this little thread with a musing on what I did today - which I feel was significant - but in doing so I've had to re-read the last few posts.......I'd forgotten they were there and of course, it's taken the wind out of my sails a bit. Life moves on, you pick up the pieces, time starts its magical healing process and I'm quite enjoying life. And then re-visiting the time these posts were made has sobered me up a bit.
And yet, here I am, I've had a few minutes to reflect and I have to proceed. After the rain and squalls of the last week or so I was glad that the weather smiled on my booking in the Luscombe for today. I was alone at the field, and having done the walk-round, wheeled her out into the sun for start-up. Well that was the plan, but a flat battery decided otherwise. So I let the sun warm things up a bit, made a couple of pleading phone calls, then tried again. This time the battery just about swung the prop and she burst into life! But she wouldn't hold it below 1200 rpm. 14-1500, yes, but when I took it back to twelve she just died. And the battery, being dynamo-driven, didn't have the juice to do it again. Another pleading phone call, and it was suggested I try to swing the prop on my own.
Okay, I've swung props but never on my own. Here was a dilemma. People swing props on there own, climb in and fly. But it sounds scary! I'm a pianist! I don't want to be chewed up molto presto! On the other hand, I could just turn the aircraft around, line up and push her back into the hangar, and just hope it's going to be flyable again the next time I'm available to fly.
I grabbed the biggest pair of chocks I could find and set them firmly against the wheels, with the ropes arranged for easy pull-away. I estimated that a certain amount of my earlier priming would have been sucked through/evaporated and guessed another prime might be in order. I set the throttle open a 1/4 inch, mags on both and master on. With butterflies in my stomach I took the blade in the way I'd been taught at the Tiger Club and gave her a swing.
To my amazement, she fired into sustained life straight away. And to my relief, she didn't climb the chocks and chew me into little pieces, nor did she tear off into the side of the hangar. She just sat exactly where she'd been, only much more noisily. I climbed into the cockpit and found that she'd settled into 1200 rpm all of her own accord! I sat, relieved and triumphant for a few minutes, to let her warm up, before reducing the throttle somewhat and gingerly removing the chocks, one-by-one. Thereafter, I continued the checks, and went flying.
I felt I'd got to real grass-roots aviation. I've still got only a very few hours but I'm building experience and having a complete ball with it. So up it goes on this thread, with your good folks' indulgence, as I enjoy all these milestones.
God bless sweetheart, thank you for making it happen.