Flight To Oshkosh, Wisconsin, July 2011

Wednesday Aug. 3 (technically, Thursday Aug. 4)

Well, bummer - my flight is over.

We left Bowman, MT @ 4:20 p.m. and had the most gorgeous flight to Wiley Airport, Miles City, MT. All of us were raving about the beautiful scenery and the smooth air. We refueled at Wiley and continued to follow the Yellowstone River toward Laurel, MT - just outside the Billings Mode C veil. I was having the time of my life, thinking about Norm (today's his birthday,) and the beauty of western Montana.

(click any photo to view the full sized image)

I was flying straight and level when my engine coughed, and died. I immediately turned on my back-up electric fuel pump, (even though @ 5000' it shouldn't have been necessary) and pushed the starter button. It started up - but only @ 3000 rpms. Then it coughed again and died a second time. So I didn't bother trying to re-start it - I began looking for a place to land. I had my choice between sugar beets and wheat. The wheat looked better. I radio'd Wayne that my engine had died and I was going to land.

I felt pretty good about the quiet glide down, but then the wheat reached up and grabbed the wheels and so suddenly I never really knew what happened -the Talon had done a somersault, ass over teakettle as the saying goes, and I was hanging upside down from my harness.

I quickly undid the harness and crawled out, waving to let Wayne know I was o.k. . I wasn't hurt at all! Just stunned that I had botched what should have been a nice, easy dead stick landing. I thought I saw gas dripping, and wanted to get out of there in case there was an explosion or fire. A field full of wheat ready to be harvested is a tinderbox!

I walked across several fields to the closest farm house, but no one was home. My emergency whistle came in very handy to scare off the two farm dogs that came racing out. The next farm was over a mile away, and here someone was home. I called the field's owner, and the Fire Chief. I wanted someone knowledgeable to determine the fire danger.

We drove out to look at the plane, and I was glad to see that the dripping had stopped. The Fire Chief said he smelled a little gas, but couldn't find any leak. I asked him to get some help to turn the Talon back on its legs, since that would be safer, but he didn't think it was necessary. I took a few photos and spent the next hour on the phone with Norm, Wayne, and Bob.

I'm not even sure how badly the Talon is damaged - the pod is torn up and one wing strut is slightly bent, but I didn't really assess the extent of the damage. I just grabbed stuff that I didn't want to leave overnight.

Wayne had seen me go down and circled - he said he wasn't sure of how best to get to me. He took a picture, but he was high and you can't see the Talon. The field where I crashed is the one that is almost touching the river, right of the bridge and on the far side.

(click photo to view full sized image)

There was a private airstrip nearby, but when he flew low over it he saw that it hadn't been mowed and was too rough for him to land. So, knowing I was o.k., he turned and flew the 14 miles back to Hysham Airport, then called Bob - who had already landed at Laurel.

Meanwhile, I was trying to juggle talking to the Fire Chief, the field's owner (whom I assured that I'd pay for any wheat loss,) Norm, Wayne and Bob. The Fire Chief drove me to the town's bar and grill (the gas station was closed, and those are apparently the only two commercial establishments in Custer, MT - if I'm wrong, I apologize to the inhabitants.) Bob had told the airport manager at Laurel what had happened, and was given use of the airport courtesy car to come and find me. He met me at the bar and we drove to Hysham to get Wayne...who was also waiting at a bar. That's all that was open.

By now it was past 11:00 p.m. and there aren't any motels in Hysham or Custer. So we drove another 25 miles east to Forsythe, where we are spending the night. Tomorrow we'll drive back to the wheat field, assess the damage, make decisions on what to do, and then get Wayne and Bob on their way so they can finish their flight. I'm just so bummed that I won't be finishing it with them.

Norm was a rock - didn't freak out at all, as soon as I assured him I wasn't injured at all. What a wonderful guy!

The true puzzle is why the engine quit. It was running so smoothly, the EGTs and water temp numbers were right where they were supposed to be. Since it's on its back, we may not be able to determine exactly what happened - but I hope we can.

I'm just SO GLAD I didn't sell my Drifter, so I still have a plane to fly. Because it might be a while before I can afford to put the Talon back together.

I'll write more tomorrow evening about what we find out and what I'll be doing to get the Talon home.