I arrived at the airport and completed the preflight inspection while I still had daylight.  I was told ahead of time the taxi light was out but otherwise the plane was in good shape…except for the right tank fuel gauge.  The needle wouldn’t move (no matter how hard I banged on the panel) though the tank was full.  This didn’t concern me – we had hours more fuel than required to complete the flight.  Consider this another validating case for “ignorance is bliss”…what I didn’t know but should have is that the plane was not legal to fly with that gauge inoperative.  Fortunately CFI Mike is much smarter about such things so while he went to schedule us in the remaining T-41 I began my 2nd preflight inspection of the night.

Master switch – on.  Right fuel gauge…full.  Left fuel gauge…3/8.

Dragging the ladder over from the first aircraft I quickly verify the left tank is full, as it should be.

At least it was a short preflight.

Back in the club, Mike tells me that we’re actually legal to fly in that plane and we can continue on with the flight if I’d like.  A fuel gauge only needs to read empty when the tank is empty and he believes the gauge will still read linearly as the fuel is used.  I’m not sure about that – the float could be stuck at 3/8 and not move at all no matter how much fuel we use.

As much as I was itching to get up and fly I decided against it.  Flying at night, over the water, with a wonky fuel gauge…nah.  Instead we reviewed my flight plan and did some ground school.  On the bright side I was home in time to watch Celebrity Apprentice.

And that is how my pre-deployment flying ends. 

I thought I’d be able to knock everything out before I leave in 3 weeks but I didn’t get it done.  I’m too behind on my studying, let alone my flying, and if by some chance I was able to pass all my tests I still wouldn’t be confident that I knew everything I should know (like required equipment for a flight).

It’s a bummer but it feels like the right thing to do.  I’ll mail my flying books to myself before I go, take my DVDs, and study.  It’s how I got into grad school – studying for the GRE while deployed – it should work for flying too.  Plus I’ve got so much yet to do that even though not flying is disappointing it gives me some breathing room and that’s a relief.  When I get home I’ll be off for a few weeks, nothing on my plate but family time, so I should be able to knock things out in short order.

My wife was really disappointed I didn’t get to fly last night.  She wasn’t happy that I spent most of the afternoon working up my flight plan, and thought that if she’s going to be ignored at least it should be for a good reason.  She’s feeling a little neglected these days, and rightfully so.

But that’s a subject for another day…

For his efforts the controller, John Charlton, was awarded the National Air Traffic Controller Association’s Archie Award for Safety at their annual “Communicating for Safety” conference.  The broadcast includes excerpts from the controller-pilot communications.

Flight Controller Honored For Grace Under Pressure

As a bonus, while I was getting links for this post I discovered that the award ceremony was being broadcast live over the Internet.  Each region has a recipient and their stories are being told with audio from the events.  It’s really amazing the things the controllers encounter…so far I’ve heard a Cherokee nearly out of fuel, an Eclipse jet landing with the throttles stuck on full, a Bonanza that lost all oil pressure (and power) in solid IFR, and a hypoxic pilot in the creepiest exchange ever.  That pilot was clearly not all there at the time but the controller got him to descend, the pilots recovered and continued on to their destination.

I don’t need an emergency to appreciate air traffic controllers – I’m happy with the job our local controllers do every day.  They keep the big planes away from me and vice versa, and have given me heads up on traffic in the area numerous times.  They can just keep doing what they’re doing as far as I’m concerned.

Best quote from the awards ceremony: breaks are like sex…take advantage of them when you get the opportunity because you don’t get them back at the end.