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Going Home Nordo

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • A pilot experienced a complete in-flight electrical system failure, losing radio, transponder, and navigation systems, during a cross-country return flight.
  • Facing a dead battery and rapidly diminishing daylight, the pilot hand-propped the aircraft and completed the 3.5-hour leg home safely using pilotage (visual navigation) after a brief initial assist from a battery-powered GPS.
  • The experience highlighted the importance of staying hydrated, pacing oneself under pressure, carrying current paper charts for navigation, and thorough flight planning.
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My little Cessna 140 had just gotten out of a four-month top-end overhaul and it was time to stretch its legs, with a 786-sm flight to Des Moines, Iowa, my hometown. It would replicate my late Dad’s flight in the opposite direction with a few more fuel stops.

After watching the weather for 10 days, I launched. Being conservative, I scheduled 2.5-hour legs with an overnight stop, dividing eight hours of flying into two days. Uneventfully, I arrived at my destination the following day.

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