My Most Memorable Flights

Sweat was beginning to run down John's forehead. Fuel usage calculations began to pierce his mind. There appeared to be enough fuel to reach Sand Point, but there would only be a very small reserve. The airplane had been in the air for more than four hours now and because of the strong headwind was burning the last of the reserve fuel. Theoretically the fuel remaining in the right tank would last just under an hour. Sand point was still 45 minutes away. Tension was mounting with perhaps less than 50 minutes of fuel in the right tank and nothing in the left. Sand Point was called on the radio. There was no answer. After a few minutes the radio was tried again. Still there was no answer. Mountains were on both sides of the airplane, and it was possible they were blocking transmission. An emergency landing was impossible without crashing into the water or worse into the mountains on both sides. An agonizing half hour later, the lake Sand Point was located on appeared at the head end of the canyon John was flying down. The radio was tried one more time. Sand Point Unicom answered. It was not the answer John had hoped for! It had snowed more than 12 inches during the last few hours and the runway was completely covered. The airport maintenance crew had broken down their snowplow and a landing was completely out of the question! Bad luck was still holding. Fear was beginning to grip John in earnest. The airplane was already "Fuel Critical" and there was no place to land! What was the nearest alternate airport? Could the fuel hold out until reaching another airport? Felts Field in Spokane was too far and the airplane would definitely run out of fuel before reaching there. With very nervous fingers, the emergency button was pushed on the GPS and a list of airports was scrolled through to find the closest one. Coeur d'Alene was closest and was 30 miles away. At the current speed, the GPS indicated it would take another 5 minutes to get there. My God! Could he make it there without running out of fuel? The airplane had been flying on the last 30 minutes of reserve fuel for nearly 25 minutes now. This was going to be close! There was no assurance the engine would keep running with the fuel so low. Sweat was beginning to run and the knot in the pit of John's stomach just became much bigger. Power was cut even more as Coeur d' Alene Unicom was called on the radio. Coeur d' Alene advised the airport was being plowed and was still closed to traffic. John advised he was "Fuel Critical" and needed to land immediately. Coeur d' Alene Unicom said, "We have one runway plowed and we can open this for you. You will have to wait until we plow out the fuel area before we can fuel your airplane". John said, "That sounds good to me. Just get me on the ground!" Boy was the sweat rolling! How could he be sweating when it was so cold in the airplane? The engine must have been running on the very last fumes in the tank by now. Nervousness had turned to fear and fear to near panic. The airport was getting closer. "Oh baby! Don’t let me down now!" John could not see the runway in the distance. "Was the distance too far?" A call was made on the radio announcing to any other aircraft in the area that a straight in landing to the west was about to be made in a fuel critical airplane. John's hands were shaking so badly the control column could hardly be held. Airspeed was reduced to 100 MPH and the decent to the airstrip was begun even though the airport could not yet be seen. The flaps were lowered to 5 degrees. The wheels were purposely left up for fear too much drag would be created using too much fuel. Running out just short of touch down would be disastrous. As the airport came into full view, a little silent prayer was made that there was enough fuel left in the tank to make it to the threshold. The seconds seemed like hours. The next few moments reaching the airport seemed like an eternity. If the engine could only keep running for just a few more minutes…. The threshold finally arrived and the wheels were lowered just before touchdown. The airplane settled to the icy pavement with a slight thud, AND THE ENGINE WAS STILL RUNNING! What a relief! The last drop of fuel must have been used coming in. The engine was shut down and the airplane sat next to the fueling area while the deep snow was being plowed. Then the airplane was pulled to the fuel pump by hand. The remaining fuel in the tanks was almost un-measurable! The remainder of the trip home would have to wait until another day. John had had enough for one day.