Three in the Green?

“Out of altitude and common sense at the same time” is Ree’s nod to my (sometimes ridiculous) obsession with aviation. I’ve loved planes since I was a kid and now flying and teaching others to fly is not only a love, but a career. Kudos to Ree for not getting too fed up with my aviation mistress or the fact that I bring home peanuts for paychecks.

I hesitate to include this adventure on the blog because so many (Chris!) may be nervous flyers in light aircraft. Please understand that General Aviation is safe and, like many things in life, you just can’t predict or prevent this sort of adventure…

Last Thursday, I was practicing approaches into Ogden with another pilot (who incidentally is a student of mine, working on his commercial license). All was going relatively well until, toward the end of the approach, I tried to put the landing gear down. I keep my hand on the gear handle after putting the gear down, until I verify three green lights representing three wheels down and safely locked in place. This time, however, there were only 2 green lights and one big, red “Gear Unsafe” light illuminated. Hmmm. I broke off the approach, pulled up and advised Ogden tower we had a possible gear problem. I wasn’t too concerned at this point because in the past, I’ve had gear hang a bit and just cycling the gear up and back down again usually solves the issue. We told the tower we would fly away from the airport to troubleshoot. Unfortunately, after cycling the gear, and then going through various maneuvers and emergency gear extension procedures, the nose gear light still remained stubbornly dark. The mains were down and locked, but the status of the nose gear was unknown. This was getting serious.

We requested and were granted a low approach down the runway back at Ogden, asking the friendly controllers to take a look at our nose gear as we flew by. Officially, ATC parlance is, “Your gear appears to be down,” when it looks to be so. This is the good news we received. However, their news was a minor victory since there is no way to tell if the gear was limply hanging in the breeze or whether it was fully extended with the downlocks in place.

With the limp gear a possibility, I decided to fly back down to Salt Lake International where the runways are long, and the fire trucks are ever-ready. We flew back to Salt Lake and did another flyby, this time on their tower. I wanted to give them a good look, so I wasn’t shy in my proximity to the tower cab. I got so close, I could’ve seen the whites of the controllers’ eyes if I had been looking. Again, I received the official “Your gear appears to be down.”

Nothing left to do but burn fuel and make the landing now. All attempts to get a solid confirmation of the gear status had been exhausted. We told the tower we would circle downtown Salt Lake to burn fuel before attempting a landing. I wanted to be lighter and also reduce the fuel quantity in the small chance we had a fire on landing.

Then the wing fell off. Just kidding. I wanted to see if you were still paying attention.

After a nervous hour of circling, it was time. They say you make your best landings in an emergency, and I can attest to the truthfulness of that statement. On final approach and a few hundred feet above the ground, I shut the engine down and turned everything else off as well. We glided back down to earth and the main wheels gently squeaked on the concrete. I held the yoke in my lap to hold the nose wheel off the ground as long as possible. In a moment, we’d either be skidding on the propeller if the nose gear folded up, or I’d get a gentle thump as the gear held in place. And… the gear held up! As we silently coasted off the runway, we saw the green fire trucks and the majority of the airport operations vehicles start to head back to their respective homes. No firefighting today, thank you!

Turns out it was a broken switch. The switch turns on the green light, and turns off the unsafe light when the gear is fully extended. I figured as much when we were flying, but there was no way to know for sure until we were on the ground. The nose wheel was down and locked the entire time. Heaven smiled on us and we avoided calling the insurance company for an $80K claim.

I was proud of our performance. We were both calm, methodical and thorough. We train and practice for these emergencies all the time. Safety is number one in aviation. Train like you fly, fly like you train. Doesn’t hurt to have some extra blessings from above, though…

Sunday Fun

Living as close as we do to my parents has provided us with a unique opportunity. Oftentimes, they'll stop by when on a walk, just to say hi, or drop off a borrowed movie. Mostly I think they couldn't care less if Teag and I are around, they just want to see the grandkids. Yesterday was one such day. I had pulled out my camera to show my mom some pics, and decided to snap a few with my dad and the girls. The following need no explanation:
This is what grandpa's are for right? Tickle torture? Just don't forget the luvs afterwards. Such fun to watch 16 month old Dany jump right into the thick of things. Hopefully my kids will remember days like this; full of fun and unscheduled memories.

REJECTED!!!

As several of you know, I submitted my first query letter for my book a few weeks ago. Well, today I received my first rejection letter. It's a stage all authors go through, so I'm told. Everyone has heard how even J.K. Rowling's first manuscript was thrown into several slush piles before Harry Potter made it to print. But there's always that tiny little hope inside you that your books is just that good. No rejection for me!

Alas, reality is a cold, cruel mistress. I will say that the letter was very nicely worded, not unnecessarily harsh. But the underlying message of "We don't want you," is still a bitter pill. But will I let it get me down, you ask? Not me! I have five more queries I plan to send out this week. Here's hoping at least one will yield some interest, and eventually, some representation.

Fingers crossed! (And maybe a few extra prayers too.)

Camping With the Extended Bayleaves

This past weekend we drove to exotic Mantua to enjoy a weekend of camping with Teag's family. Though the forecast looked bleak, we channeled our pioneer ancestors and toughed it out with the help of extra layers and an almost continuously burning fire.

Maisie became especially attached to Teag's sister Tiffany's chihuahua and held her whenever she had the opportunity. I've never seen Maisie sit in one place so quietly for so long, it was incredible. All the kids explored the surrounding area, climbed in hollowed out trees, and played all sorts of games. And other than being body-checked while playing kick ball, Maisie had a great time playing with the cousins.

On Saturday, our brother-in-law Kris pulled out his 4-wheelers, and I decided to try one out. I've never been on a 4-wheeler before, and despite my reservations, I had a great time! Teag and I drove all around the dirt roads and up the mountain, which looked especially beautiful covered in blooming goldenrod. I think I've got the bug now, though I don't have the $$$.

After riding, we set up a net in an open field and had a great time playing volleyball, with most the adults and cousins joining in. I love to play, but my skills are severely lacking. Teag helped us win one of our two games with his awesome overhanded serve.

Dany loved being able to explore an entirely new place with very little restriction. She got very dirty, but she had a lot of fun, as you can see from her giant grin in just about every picture we took. I especially love this picture where Teag is tossing her up in the air, but she's grinning at me with a piece of licorice in one hand. She played hard, but naps were especially difficult to arrange with so many distractions around. Saturday afternoon we laid her down in the tent, and after unpacking everyone's bags to explore their contents, she promptly fell asleep in the door of the tent.

We had a really nice weekend overall, and were grateful for the chance to get away for a few days, and build some memories with our kids.

My kids crack me up

The last few days our kids have been saying things that continuously make us laugh. Before a Memorial Day party at my parents house, Maisie was asking who all would be attending and Teag gave her the usual rundown of cousins. She thought for a moment and then asked, "Whobody else?" Whobody; it's our new favorite word. Oh, that and "Holy Sakes!" That's also courtesy of Maisie.

Then, a day or two later, Maisie was trying to pull her shirt over her head in order to put her pajamas on. The neck of this particular shirt is rather small, and she was struggling to get it off. She heard Teag coming down the stairs and called out "A little help here!"

And then there's little Dany, who can't say many words at all. But unlike other children who say NO to everything, Dany is much more agreeable.

"Do you want milk?"
"Yeah!"
"Do you want me to spank your bum?"
"Yeah!"
"Do you want to be adopted by gypsies?"

You get the idea. She's quite enthusiastic about it too, which makes it all the funnier.

Maisie's Preschool Graduation

Maisie graduated from her first year of preschool on May 22nd. She was very excited, and wore her favorite pink dress her grandma gave her. The program was really cute, with all the kids singing songs with great enthusiasm. Each kid was given their very own diploma, and got to stand on a platform to receive it.

Maisie had a great teacher this year, Ms. Linda, and had a lot of fun learning about animals, shapes, colors, numbers, family, and a bunch of other cool things.

She's very sad it's over for the summer (as is Mom). Can't wait for next year!

Joining the ranks...

Well I decided to join the ranks of all those bloggers out there, and start up one of our own. I say 'I' because I doubt Teag will ever post here. But the older we get, the more friends and family that have moved out of state, and become harder to keep in touch with. So this is in part to stay close with them, and in part to keep a record of the happenings in the Bayly family. This is going to be a big year for us... I can just feel it.