Took my son who is interested in a career in aviation to the airport on Sunday after his rowing practice for a quick flight to BQ1 for a $100 BBQ lunch at the on-site airport there. I let him do the preflight with my guidance so he could learn a bit about the airplane. Everything looked good, and I had the plane topped off before we arrived, which gave us 1 lbs of extra useful load on a low density altitude day. Went to fire her up and ... nothing.
The flaps operated as usual, and the battery was showing a normal voltage level, so I don't think the starter is the issue, but rather the electrical connections. The plane started up great the last two flights, but three flights ago I did have a start that resulted in a quick noise and then nothing. Started just fine on the second attempt, which leads me to believe there's a loose wire somewhere. Unfortunately, my A&P is swamped and won't be able to get to it for 2-3 weeks (so three weeks) when the plane goes into annual. Asked the 150 boards if there are some troubleshooting things I can do until then and am waiting to hear back.
In the meantime, I decided to purchase new door windows for $300. Since they take 2-3 weeks to manufacturer (so three weeks), I figured it was probably wise to go ahead and make that investment now so they're ready for when the annual comes around, rather than the A&P telling me it needs new windows and having to wait an additional 2-3 weeks for them to arrive. The ones on the plane were identified in the pre-buy as being excessively glazed, and they are. Spotting traffic through them is enough of a challenge that I want them swapped out, but didn't feel that it needed to be done at pre-buy.
So for now, she's grounded again. Will follow-up with a post if I get a solution to the starter issue, but otherwise ... see you in probably three weeks.
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