Ferry Flight to Los Angeles - Emergency Ending

[@Wpilot673]

Thanks for sharing this experience for others to learn from. Keep up the good work.

[@thecardinalpilot7570]

Will do! I've got GREAT content coming!

[@orgunsen724]

Excellent Video/Post! Thanks for keeping us posted. Thanks for giving us a real world experience in "Layman's Terms"!

[@thecardinalpilot7570]

Thanks for viewing!

[@fineartz99]

Impressive story. Well edited and punctuated for emphasis and clarity!

[@TheBappy56]

Awesome video as always! I love watching videos like yours and MrAviation's especially when something unexpected happens because I get to learn from your guys' experience and apply it to my training. Keep 'em coming!!!

[@thecardinalpilot7570]

Thanks! Keep watching! Lots of more fun stuff coming!

[@ReveDePiloteACBB]

Tanks for sharing! Why did not you declare an emergency?

[@DutchPilotGirl]

Ha, nice channel! Nice to watch your videos!

[@thecardinalpilot7570]

Thank you!

[@2skilletdrummer6]

Good work!

[@christopherolsen113]

Great trip and great learning experience!

[@thecardinalpilot7570]

I agree 100%

[@ScottWoodland]

Cherokee 180 -- vacuum pump, yup been there, done that. Thank goodness ours was VFR over the California Central Valley on a beautiful fall night. I could see the home 'drome from where we were. but that whine, that might explain some noises before the pump let loose. Thanks for sharing, always enjoy your videos.

[@thecardinalpilot7570]

Thank you!

[@peelreg]

I recall an IFR instructor saying the most important gauge in the cockpit is the OAT. I found myself looking at it every time I saw precip or cloud.

[@thecardinalpilot7570]

We were all over that gauge trust me!

[@19211926]

Just curious if you checked to see if the pitot heat was working after landing? You can also cycle the pitot heat switch and you will see the amp gauge jump a little if it's working. Good job getting the plane down safely. Flying is always a learning experience.

[@thecardinalpilot7570]

Well we landed in 70° attire not knowing that we would need to land here. The wind was right down the runway about 35knots and about 38 degrees. So I didn't want to jump out and touch it, but I did cycle it mutable times before entering the clouds and no movement on the generated gauges. But I've heard that's very common. Heck my cardinal doesn't jump and it's an alternator. But I checked it before we took off from Tulsa and it worked. So who knows. I've never heard of that happening.

[@JSFGuy]

Good post!

[@OwenDeLong]

Sigh... Having had multiple vacuum pumps in IMC, one with (unforecast) icing conditions, I have to say that while you tell a good story, you have some lessons you should learn from this... "I don't have an emergency" -- Yeah, you did, IMHO. You should never hesitate to declare an emergency if there's even a question. ICING in an aircraft that isn't certified for FIKI is _DEFINITELY_ an emergency. If icing wasn't in the forecast, you also owe it to your fellow pilots to put in an urgent PIREP. If icing was in the forecast, then you had no business being there. So let's recap... You had an unknown problem (which turned out to be an impending vacuum pump failure), in IMC, with icing... What has to happen before you think you have a declarable emergency? An unknown problem in IMC alone is enough that I wouldn't hesitate to declare. An impending vacuum pump failure in IMC -- yep, I'd declare that too. ICE in a P28A with nothing more sophisticated than pitot heat for ice protection... Uh, yeah, that's an immediate declare. There seems to be a misconception among a lot of pilots that declaring an emergency is a big deal to be avoided unless absolutely necessary. Quite the opposite is true. Declaring an emergency is the way you tell ATC that you have unusual circumstances that may require some additional help from them. The worst consequence you can ever face for declaring an emergency is that the FAA can ask you to make a written report describing the event. The consequences for not declaring can be much worse. You were lucky this time. You should have declared early, gotten vectors to a lower MVA along with reports of minimum safe altitude in your area and along your heading, and descended to VMC as soon as practical. Oh, and your analysis of what froze over was wrong. If it was the static port, the ASI wouldn't have dropped to zero, it would have gone up and down with changes in altitude. If it was the pitot drain (also on the same fin on a PA28), you might have seen a noticeable drop, but it wouldn't go to zero. If the ASI goes to zero, you've got a plugged pitot inlet. The pitot heat on P28As is notoriously inadequate and it is not unusual for light icing to take out the ASI unless it's in tip-top factory performance shape.

[@thecardinalpilot7570]

Next time I think I will declare, I was very close to but then they let me descend. Wx was all un forecasted. But I did issue a PIREP once on the ground which I excluded into my video but unless you were looking for it I bet you missed it. But thank you for the constructive criticism.

[@williamdavids2620]

the vacuum pump going EEEEEEEEEEE had my dying

[@thecardinalpilot7570]

lol

[@Matmediaonline]

Well done on handling the situation calmly and as a team. That is a life saver!

[@thecardinalpilot7570]

Thank you!

[@peelreg]

I lost the vacuum pump on a long IFR approach. Did not know it until I broke out with a 45 degree bank on the plane. I added a vacuum gauge after that..

[@thecardinalpilot7570]

Yikes! My instructor made me do 40% of the instrument training without my suction gauges. Never knew why until I started using it in real life.

[@mcanalld]

Not sure it was a blocked static port if airspeed went to 0. I'd think blocked static would act as a vsi. I'd say blocked ram air. Or a combination of static, drain, and ram. Either way not a great thing to have happen in IMC. Smart move getting down and clear of clouds. Enjoy channel! Keep the videos coming.

[@thecardinalpilot7570]

Yeah I'm not sure which caused what, but it wasn't fun either way! Thanks for commenting!

[@mattk9731]

fucking great.

[@ManelvisSoares]

good all is ok

[@briaunarhodes3311]

Was this aircraft was not FIKI certified?

[@thecardinalpilot7570]

What's that?

[@craigboozer3551]

+The Cardinal Pilot FIKI - Flight Into Known Icing. The plane pictured does not appear to be protected by an anti-ice or de-ice system seeing as it's a 1965 PA28-180. I've flown a few of these and would never take one where there's the possibility of ice. I assume that this was flown as a part 91 operation, so you may want to review 14 CFR 91.527 for future flights. Also, I can understand your reluctance to declare an emergency, but in your request to center, it would have been a good idea to let the controller know that you're picking up ice on your aircraft. Don't make them guess when something is wrong by tone, let them know so that they can make the best decision to help you. Ice will get you before you know that you're in over your head; by then, declaring may be too late to get the help that you need.

[@thecardinalpilot7570]

+Craig Boozer I understand. I wasn't flight into known icing though. We were the only ice report within 500 miles.

[@tonytheflyer]

Pilots don't eat when stressed, they drink :-) But only after the last flight of the day of course ;-) Situation was well handled as far as I'm concerned. Very good video for others to learn from. Subbed!

[@thecardinalpilot7570]

Thank you very much for the support!

[@user-lq3gs7ps8m]

Never heard the bearings whine on a vc pump before, I'll remember that one. Good stuff

[@thecardinalpilot7570]

Some old guy told me that in my first 6 months of flying if they sit without use the oil drains out and when heated up the start to scream. Just goes to show knowledge is amazing and you never know when that knowledge will save your bacon!

[@licensedblockhead]

that 2 minute intro tho

[@thecardinalpilot7570]

Yee Haw I know it hahaha early editing days.

[@tomscott1163]

Should have landed and had it fixed, Don't take chance's you only have one life, and I'm sure that there are many types of Vacuum pumps but you only have one Life. Did you learn anything ? lol

[@thecardinalpilot7570]

I learned a vacuum pump drives the suction gauges which aren't required for flying VFR. So it didn't matter if it was about to fail or had already failed. No required and not needed.