After a few years of frustrations with local FBOs and trying to rent airplanes for trips, I decided to dip a toe into ownership and find a small flying club or partnership. It didn’t take long to find an owner who wasn’t flying his Cessna 206 much any more and was looking for partners. On paper, it seemed an ideal arrangement. But I needed to know more about the airplane and the owner.
So I met him at the airplane, along with another potential partner. The three of us talked about what a partnership would look like and, of course, the airplane. Eventually, the owner suggested we all three go for a quick hop to demonstrate the airplane.
Although all three of us were pilots, I was the only one with three landings in the preceding 90 days, so I got the left seat. We taxied out, did a run-up and took off. Immediately, we had a problem: engine oil on the windshield!
There was too much runway behind us and no clear area to set down, so I reduced power and settled on 500-600 feet agl as our pattern altitude. We staggered around the pattern at reduced power and eventually turned final.
Here I was, in an unfamiliar airplane with a problem, although at a familiar airport. The biggest challenge was I couldn’t see. The engine oil on the windshield was clean but the slipstream was rippling it into waves, refracting the light. I had no clear vision of the runway. So, I popped open the window on my side and leaned my head outside a bit to get a clearer view of the runway. That helped, but not enough.
Still, I managed to get the airplane over the runway at a speed and altitude conducive to landing. Thanks to my obstructed vision out the front, I had difficulty gauging my height above the runway and…dropped it in from about 20 feet. No worries, we were on the ground and could use the airplane again.
The post-flight inspection revealed the IO-520’s oil cap and dipstick assembly hadn’t been properly secured. The engine still had a few quarts in it, so no damage was done, except to my shorts. The cowling, firewall and windshield were well-lubricated, though, and unlikely to corrode in the near future.
I don’t remember who did what during the preflight “inspection.” But since I was the pilot in command, it absolutely was my responsibility to verify the airplane was ready for flight. I suspect the third pilot checked the dipstick but didn’t secure it, presuming I would. That didn’t work out well.
I learned lots of lessons, not least of which was to not trust anyone to do the preflight inspection except myself. I shouldn’t have trusted the other two pilots. Since then, I always verify the oil level and dipstick security myself.
