It was a cold December morning as my roommate Tony and I drove toward the jump center. The Cessna 180 I had a job flying to feed my skydiving addiction was just touching down on the frost-covered grass. It was the jump center manager, returning from flying the days first load. “Ive got it all warmed up for you,” he said. 288
With You Til 3000 Feet
It was a cold December morning as my roommate Tony and I drove toward the jump center. The Cessna 180 I had a job flying to feed my skydiving addiction was just touching down on the frost-covered grass. It was the jump center manager, returning from flying the days first load. "Ive got it all warmed up for you," he said. After a quick preflight, I climbed into the battered plane and ran the pre-start checklist. My roommate crawled in the back, along with two other shivering jumpers. Soon, we were taxiing to the end of the field; I performed a run-up on the go. We bounced down the grass and lifted off well before the end of the 1800-foot strip.
Key Takeaways:
- A pilot experienced an engine failure at altitude in a Cessna 180 after applying carb heat, which he later discovered was due to a broken carb heat cable.
- After initial confusion with his skydiving passengers, the pilot successfully restarted the engine at 3000 feet by priming it to induce a backfire.
- The incident was ultimately caused by a lack of communication, as the jump center manager had re-routed the carb heat control to the cowl flap knob but failed to inform the pilot.
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