Cruiser Aircraft Open House

A review of the ADS air traffic control (ATC) recording revealed that at 1642 the pilot called ATC for a departure clearance while holding short of runway 15. At 1643 ATC instructed the pilot to line up and wait on runway 15. At 1644 ATC cleared the airplane for takeoff. At 1646 the pilot stated to ATC "we're having vapor lock, we need to come back and land." There were no further communications from the pilot.  ~ National Transportation Safety Board Aviation Accident Preliminary Report

 It was a PiperSport. One of Sally's older sisters. Same configuration, same engine, and while the final conclusion isn't yet available, the early indicators point to a fuel malfunction. Using MOGAS instead of 100LL may have been a contributing factor. I have learned that refineries change the "blend" of gas from summer to winter to make it easier to start cold engines. In the spring, the blend changes back, but if you are still using winter blend on a hot spring day it could cause some of the liquid fuel to turn into a vapor. To solve that problem, the engineers have added a vapor return line (on new models) that relieves the vapor pressure. Sally has that line installed but it is still unclear if her older sister did. Florida doesn't use winter blended fuels, so my risk is low.  On Friday I had the FBO add 10 gallons of AVGAS just in case. (10 gals of 100LL for $52.10. 10 gals of Mogas for $28.80.)

The Open House was scheduled from 10:00 to 2:00EDT. Saturday morning Kathy and I stopped at Chic-Fil-A for a quick breakfast and then headed out to the airport. My normal route was blocked by construction as the county worked with the railroad to improve a number of deteriorating crossings. Fortunately, traffic was still light and we arrived at the hangar by 9:30. I pushed the heavy doors open and got the cockpit ready as Kathy worked on preflighting the engine including the required "burp"(20 pulls).

The weather forecast was perfect for the 100nm trip. I planned to cross the peninsula at 3500' and get there in just under an hour. NOTAMs said one of the runways at X26 was closed due to construction, and an airport (KMLB) just north had a TFR for an airshow. We took off on RWY5 into light northerly winds and smooth air. Tampa ATC was busy, very busy, but we checked in and got Flight Following. When we were handed over to Miami Center we learned what "busy" really means. It seemed that everyone in Florida wanted to take advantage of this beautiful spring weather. It was an easy flight over and we really enjoyed seeing the Atlantic Ocean as we made our turn to land. Parachutes were busy in the area so we had some extra traffic that required attention.


Izzy had some inventory out on the ramp in front of the Cruiser Aircraft hangar, so it took us a bit of searching to find a parking spot. There were many different types of planes other than LSA, and we ended up parking next to a Cirrus. (Sally looked pretty good there.)

Part of the fun of going to an event like this is to meet, in person, those folks that you have only corresponded with online. Another is meeting some "celebrities".

LAKELAND, Fla., Sun 'n Fun, April 13, 2010 — Piper Aircraft President and CEO Kevin J. Gould handed over the keys to the very first PiperSport, light-sport aircraft to three veteran pilots here today.

"The PiperSport is an amazing entry-level aircraft that will bring new customers to Piper," Gould said. "It fits perfectly into our overall mission of delivering the very best airplanes. It will lead the way for customers to step up into more sophisticated and higher performance aircraft within our line over time." 

The three co-owners -- all from Miami, Fla. -- are Charlie Carlon (ATP/CFI/CFII), 62, a 20,000+ hour, former Delta Airlines Pilot who works for Airbus North America teaching pilots how to fly the Airbus via simulation; Brian Garhammer (ATP/CFI/CFII), 52, a 16,000+ hour, former ATA pilot, who also works for Airbus North America teaching pilots how to fly the Airbus via simulation; and Dr. Mike Morduant, 62, a veterinarian and a pilot for 42 years.

We met Charlie and Mike who are still flying PiperSport #1. Pretty cool. Charlie and I may have been in the same Navy training squadron (VT27) at the same time! We also had a chance to talk with Steve, a fellow member of the SCFlier Forum and chatted briefly with Lukas, Josh, and Izzy our hosts. While we ate a great barbeque lunch we chatted with some local folks, non-pilots, that were aviation enthusiasts that just wanted to enjoy a beautiful Saturday afternoon with some airplanes. Finally, we talked with Kirk about what I might be able to do to upgrade my legacy Dynon system for ADSB-out. There are some new possibilities to consider.

The winds were picking up, it was time to go.

Video Notes: Open House