When The Juice Drys Up

On the first occasion, I was on an IFR flight plan departing into an 800-foot ceiling on my way to a destination reporting clear skies. At some point, I would clear the fog layer covering the inversion and find those clear skies, I just didnt know exactly where the layer would burn off. On departure I passed through the 500-foot-thick layer and was soon in VMC on top. Tops were at roughly 6500 feet and I was cruising along at 8500 with nothing but blue skies above me and a flat layer of white tops 2000 feet below.

Mike Hart

Thursday, September 15, 2016 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

The author recounts multiple in-flight electrical failures, emphasizing the critical importance of learning from real-world system malfunctions and their unpredictable nature.
Experiences highlight the complex decision-making during an electrical failure, particularly when weighing the risks of precautionary landings through IMC versus continuing to a better-serviced destination.
Effective power management is crucial when operating on battery power alone, but pilots must understand the severe limitations of avionics and lights without an active charging system, especially for night or IFR operations.
Key takeaways include the importance of practicing load shedding, familiarizing oneself with circuit breakers, and recognizing that even prepared backup equipment may be limited without ground support.

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Sometimes the real world is unforgiving, especially when it comes to airborne system failures. None of us want to have these kinds of firsthand, real-world learning experiences, but it is helpful to read about them and try to learn something. When it comes to airborne electrical issues, I believe I may be the “chosen one” when it comes to experiencing issues and failures from which we all can learn.

Call it luck or fate, but I’ve have had three airborne electrical component failures in two different airplanes, each of which left me with nothing but battery power. One of these three events involved an overcharging situation. No sheet metal was bent, thankfully, and all such events ended as I wanted. Here is what I have learned.