Flight Training - August 2024 - 17

PREFLIGHT FLIGHT LESSON
BY MICHAEL HOFFMAN
STRUGGLING TO CLIMB
WAS IT DENSITY ALTITUDE OR SOMETHING ELSE?
WHAT HAPPENED
I was mid-turn and still climbing when the
engine experienced a hiccup and power loss.
but I was seeing a poor performance climb
of 400 to 500 feet per minute. Tower had
me turn to 330 degrees and handed me over
to Approach. As I checked in with them
things started to go from not ideal to bad.
I was mid-turn and still climbing when
the engine experienced a hiccup and power
loss. I knew the engine was no longer
trustworthy and I needed to get back on the
ground as soon as possible.
I turned back to the airport and conI
RECENTLY HAD MY FIRST EMERGENCY IN MY PIPER
Turbo Arrow, and it was a great learning experience
for me. I made some good choices but also some
incredibly poor choices.
The airplane just came out of maintenance, and
after a test flight I deemed everything to be working
correctly. I decided to take a trip to visit family and took
off from Pearson Field (VUO) in Vancouver, Washington,
planning to land at Joe Foss Field (FSD) in Sioux
Falls, South Dakota, with a stop at Billings Logan International
Airport (BIL) in Billings, Montana, for fuel.
The first leg of the trip was uneventful and the
airplane seemed to be working great. After lunch and
fueling for the last leg I started the engine and noticed
it was running rougher than it had when I took off, but
in my ignorance I chalked it up to being at a higher elevation.
VUO is at sea level, and Billings is at 3,662 feet.
During the runup the airplane seemed to be running
as expected. I was cleared for takeoff and started
the takeoff roll. With a 20-knot headwind I was able
to get up to 60 knots quickly; however, this is when I
noticed things weren't right. My airplane's rotation
speed is 70 to 75 knots depending on weight, and it
was struggling to get to rotation speed. In hindsight I
should have aborted the takeoff, but I tried to justify it
as an elevation issue even though my airplane is turbocharged.
I eventually got to VR
and got off the ground,
TURBOCHARGED
ENGINES
Turbochargers are
popular among
pilots who fly at high
density altitudes. A
normally aspirated
piston engine
produces maximum
power at sea level,
but as altitude
increases and air
density decreases,
the engine's power
output decreases.
An exhaust-driven
turbocharger solves
this problem by
compressing the
thin air, restoring its
density, before the
engine takes it in.
tacted Approach saying we needed to come
back to the airport. Approach cleared me
back to Billings and had me switch back to
the tower. They had declared an emergency
on my behalf and cleared me to land on
Runway 28L. They shut down the airport
for me and even rolled out the emergency
equipment. Luckily, I was able to get the
airplane on the ground safely. The engine
stayed alive the whole way to the ground
even while not performing at its best.
Once on the ground, I asked to go to an
area to troubleshoot the issue. They gave
me Taxiway J, and after some testing I
determined that the engine was not getting
enough fuel at full rich for takeoff. I should
see from 23 to 26 gph, but the airplane was
only getting 14 to 15 gph.
Part of the maintenance was upgrading
the airplane's Continental TSIO-360 FB
engine to a KB and bumping the horsepower
from 200 to 220. This required
replacing the entire fuel system. Turns out
the engine fuel pump, which had less than
six hours on it, partially failed and caused
the issue. Lucky for me I was able to get
back safely. I never should have taken off.
The signs were there that the airplane
wasn't performing, and I ignored them. I
won't make the same mistake again.
FLIGHT TRAINING AUGUST 2024
17
TOP LEFT: ALEX WILLIAMSON ABOVE: STEVE KARP
Flight Training - August 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - August 2024
