I Learned About Flying From That: Breaking In a New Airplane

Roy Clennan

Tuesday, February 17, 2015 at 09:17 PM ET

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To see more of Barry Ross' aviation art, go to
barryrossart.com.

Key Takeaways:

The author purchased a poorly maintained 1970 Baron, identifying suspicious logbook entries about the landing gear, which prompted a pre-flight review of emergency procedures.
On its first flight, the landing gear failed, followed by a jammed manual extension crank and an engine failure, presenting the pilot with multiple simultaneous emergencies.
Despite these challenges, the pilot successfully landed the aircraft safely, attributing the issue to a binding gear door and underscoring the critical role of emergency preparedness and simulator training.

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I was in the grocery store picking up some food for Super Bowl Sunday when I got the call. The offer I made on the 1970 B58 Baron had been accepted. A quick look online showed that there was one flight leaving that afternoon for Arkansas, and in three hours I was on my way.

The airplane was old and tired and had been ridden hard and put to bed wet. The logbooks were missing prior to 1980, and maintenance in the last five years was questionable. However, the engines were almost new and the aircraft served my purpose well. I live on St. Thomas, in the Virgin Islands, and was looking for an island hopper. I just wanted enough airplane to be able to feel safe and secure as I explored the Caribbean. My plan was to do a compression check and a thorough inspection of the airplane. If it looked good, I was going to fly it out to Colorado for an annual inspection.