Flight Log: Hanover EDDV -- Biarritz LFBZ 23.11.2015/24.11.2015

Distance: 750 NM
scheduled Flying time: 6:05 hrs
Filed Route:
ATIS Hanover:
Clearance:
Take Off Time: 23.11. 08:30-9:10 Uhr (1st attempt) / 24.11. 06:55 Uhr (2nd attempt)
ATIS Biarritz:
Landing Time: 13:00h
Report 23.11.2015 - Marie:

This morning we picked up Martin very early (at 7.15) because we wanted to set off at 9. Shortly before we reached the airstrip Martin realised that he’d forgotten the most important thing, his iPad. I thought he was joking, but unfortunately he wasn’t. What were we to do now?

I remembered that our friend Karin had asked the day before whether you could see the take-off from the viewing terrace at the airport. I told her you couldn’t. Which is why she wanted to come GAT to say goodbye at 8:30. As she has a key to Martin’s flat, Martin quickly rang her. She had already set off, but turned round and fetched the iPad which Martin had recharged especially. So the flight plan was delayed slightly and then it was time to be off. Ready for take-off!

We all headed for home and halfway there I had a call from Derk, who was a pilot who was also there and always had his walkie-talkie on. He told me that he had heard on the radio that the two pilots had turned round... He wanted to know what was wrong. Had Thomas forgotten anything? At home I received the expected call, there was a problem with the Cessna, the control unit for the turbocharger wasn’t functioning as it should. It was now in the workshop at AeroWest. After 90 minutes he came home because it wasn’t possible to carry out the repairs so quickly. So there was no Biarritz today and tomorrow would tell whether the flight could continue.

Happy landings

23.11.2015 Hanover/Biarritz:
Thomas: After the flight plan was to altered to a 9.30 UTC take-off, we found ourselves on runway 27 on the right at 9.40. We had successfully completed the previous test run and check. At the beginning the autopilot was having problems and didn’t start working until the third time it was started. But that does happen sometimes.

When we were cleared for take-off, I gave it full throttle. Suddenly “manifold pressure” appeared in the form of a brief red warning light in the digital display because the acceptable bandwidth of between 15 and 39 inHg had been exceeded. After reducing the throttle, the red light disappeared once we had taken off.

Nevertheless, I thought it was unusual and realised I needed to keep a close eye on it during the flight. However, after switching on the autopilot at an altitude of 4,000 feet it became very clear that the engine was throbbing and that the autopilot wouldn’t be capable of maintaining a stable ascent. I switched off the autopilot and accelerated for the ascent. The red warning light reappeared and when I pulled back the throttle slightly the engine’s performance dropped significantly. There was obviously a problem with the turbocharger after all. A problem like that made crossing the Atlantic out of the question and it’s not a good sign for a smooth and safe flight. So we decided to turn round and go back to Hanover. From the radar station in Bremen we were given permission to return to Hanover Airport by following visual flight rules. During the descent, the engine functioned perfectly at low power and after a good landing we reported to the Aerowest hangar. Our problems initially had them scratching their heads. After performing a visual inspection and looking at the whole of the turbocharger system, a test run was carried out which proved that the turbocharger wasn’t working properly. Various hoses were removed and the control unit checked. Several test runs highlighted the problem and a solution was found. A hydraulic hose was leaking, making it impossible to build up the constant pressure required. But now it was already 4.30 p.m. and so we decided to have a second go next morning at 8 a.m.

Report 24.11.2015 - Marie

I’m just reporting what I know at the moment. I was picked up at 6.40 a.m. by Martin because the two pilots wanted to be off early after the plane had been checked thoroughly the day before until late in the evening. Engineer Busch from Aerowest gave the go-ahead because everything was now in working order. Martin had only cancelled the hotel room for the day before in Biarritz. (I enjoyed having Thomas with me for another night too…)

The plan was for them to fly to Biarritz, fill up the plane there and then continue straight away to Cascais so they could keep to the flight plan. I had heard that the wind would be different than the day before and that the flight to Biarritz would take longer. But I don’t know any more than that. Thomas does have a satellite phone, but by 3.40 p.m. he still hadn’t called.

24.11.2015 Hanover/Biarritz, Thomas:
On 24 November we took off on time at 9.02 a.m. from the northern runway in Hanover. It was our second attempt at flying to Biarritz. During our ascent, over the first 4,000 feet we had good visibility over Hanover and the surrounding area. Afterwards however, it clouded over and we only flew through clouds. Some 20 minutes after taking off, traces of ice started to form on the wings, so that we had to switch on the de-icer. But after flying an hour the weather improved again. We were able to see the Black Forest, the Vosges, white French landscape and snow-capped mountains.

During the rest of the flight we flew between two banks of cloud and had good visibility. However, we had to fly at an altitude of 11,000 ft. instead of the 10,000 ft. specified in the flight plan. This meant we had to try out the oxygen equipment – because flying at 11,000 ft. for long periods of time gives even pilots headaches. The oxygen equipment worked perfectly. After breathing in oxygen for an hour, we were able to switch off the equipment again.