The First Lesson in the New Airplane? Overly Eventful

A ‘colossal screwup’ leaves our rookie reeling, and wondering if there’s more to come.

Wednesday, March 16, 2022 at 09:29 AM ET

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A quiet grass strip is a welcome destination…particularly when an urgent precautionary landing is in order. [Photo: Jason McDowell]

Key Takeaways:

The author's first training flight in his newly acquired 1953 Cessna 170 quickly escalated from routine maneuvers to an emergency situation.
A dangerously high cylinder head temperature was discovered mid-flight, prompting an immediate diversion to a nearby private airfield.
The cause of the overheating was a custom-made cowl plug, which lacked safety warning features, accidentally left in place after an earlier weather delay.
The incident left the author deeply shamed and concerned about potential damage to his engine, though they were able to fly the plane back to their home airport.

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Editor’s note: This is part one of a three-part series.

As a rule of thumb, you really don’t want your first lesson in your first airplane to be an eventful experience. Memorable, sure. But otherwise, you want a predictable, run-of-the-mill flight to welcome you into the ranks of airplane owners. That’s what I was hoping for back in August of last year, but as it would turn out, it’s not what I’d receive.