Well we got off, however a few minutes into the flight, I noticed a change in the gauges, not to mention the control of the plane...
I glanced over to David who said; "I've noticed a problem as well". We feathered the left engine immediately.
The next thing David did was radio ahead. We decided to land at the closest airport available, which was MA72, a privately owned airport out on Tuckernuck Island...
David let me take the controls, calling it "good practice", all I remember was a feeling of terror mixed with elation...
A woman named Ann got these shots as we came down...
Admittedly, it was a wobbly landing...
But I got the bird down okay. Taxiing was challenging with only one engine. Poor DeeDee, she was laughing manically as she got out, then she vomited on the ground...that had been a particularly bad flight for her.
Tuckernuck Island is characterized as a place where "time stands still". The fact we came down yesterday turned out to be a lucky accident as Ann and Walter were the only two people on the island!
Everyone else had left for the winter. Few of the places here even have electricity, and the only phone is an old crank one that puts you in touch with Muskeget Coast Guard station...but that was used only for emergencies.
Fortunately Walt and Ann had this plane, and were gracious to give us rides (me back to my plane at KMVY, and David back to the mainland so he could get what he needed to repair his engine (he told me the problem was a blocked valve, but I'm no airplane mechanic, so I have no idea what he's talking about).
Ann and Walt refer to this as their "John Deere with Wings", it's a restored Fairchild 24 R.
David opted for the back seat, while Ann let me handle the takeoff. She thought I had done a great job with landing on one engine, so she had me handle this plane. The plane took a gentle touch when taxiing, and not much power was required to take off (though it was all I could do to keep the runway heading).
I thought for sure we were way off the runway heading, but as this shot by Gabby showed, we weren't
After we were airborne I throttled up to full. I was a bit afraid of the landing, but it turned out to be easier than I thought it would be (an airport worker got this shot)...
The plane had quite a bit of bounce to it though...
I prepped up the Lake soon after we got down. David and Ann are headed to the mainland. I'm going over to pick up Russell and DeeDee. Hopefully Walt (a retired doctor) has gotten her calmed down by now...
.
lol