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 neglected 1970 B58 Baron, noting suspicious logbook entries regarding repeated landing gear tests, and proceeded with a flight despite initial concerns.
During the flight, the landing gear failed to extend, leading to a strenuous manual extension attempt, autopilot failure, and a sudden engine shutdown due to sludge.
After restarting the engine and successfully but slowly extending the gear, the author performed an emergency landing where the gear, unexpectedly, held up.
The incident underscored the value of thorough pre-flight checks and emergency training, while also highlighting the need for a co-pilot and more aggressive pre-flight testing of suspected issues.

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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.