by N3322G » Mon Jun 02, 2014 10:48 pm
FYI. The Twin came out of annual once in Chicago in the early 80s. All tested well on a flight.
The next flight into IMC was memorable as BOTH alternators failed - one lost a belt and the other lost a bearing. So, in the soup with a compass. We did time and distance to the nearest VFR - thank goodness there was some as our destination only had an ADF approach and ours was dead w/o electrical power. Found ourselves within 5 miles of where we thought we should be.
We had shut everything down to conserve what little battery remained. That gave us enough to get the gear down w/o emergency procedure and land safely. Center sent the lineman out to greet us. We were very happy to call them.
Just some things you might want to consider.
As a result of that experience, we actually practice flying under the hood with the battery powered aids we have today and when we re-did the panel, we designed it so the KX155 can be a backup to the 530W, the yoke 496 is another backup, the iPad is a help and we carry paper for the departure, fuel stops and arrival points.
Pat
Patricia Jayne (Pat) Keefer ICS 08899
PA-39 #10 Texas