HeyEng
Well-Known Member
So I must rant for just a bit. Lately I have had nothing but problems with my Cherokee. I know there are going to be issues, but they always come up right before I want to take a trip. The last deal was while taxiing out to visit family for Thanksgiving in which I had a bum alternator. This was fixed and while I had the cowling off, I did a little bit more work. I flew it around the local area a number of times with no issies at all. I wanted to replace the battery with a cool maintenance free one, so I went out this afternoon to change it out before our scheduled trip out of town on Wednesday. So, I get it replaced and pull the plane out of the hanger to see if it will actually start. It started right up (way cool...maybe 1/2 a turn of the prop before she lit off) no problems. I was going to hit the pattern for a couple laps, but there were about 6 students in the pattern and there was chatter about icing and lowering ceilings, so I shut it down. As I was getting ready to hook up the tow bar to push it back in the hanger, I noticed a liquid dripping from the cowling. Since it sits in a hanger, I knew it wasn't water and a quick sniff check let me know it was indeed fuel. I thought maybe it was the sump drain, but it was bone dry and I could see it coming from the cowling. So, I opened it up and noticed it was leaking from the fuel line from the engine pump to the fire wall. Drats!!! I thought maybe it was just a loose b-nut, so I tried to tighten it up and well, you know the story. It's a no go...AHHHH!!! And to add insult to injury, I am unable to cross reference the number on the current hose to a good part number (except for Piper's # in the parts catalog) so I am going to have to pull it off and have it manufactured (better than order one and figure out it's wrong). So, again, I have to take a trip by car when I could have gone by plane....ughhhhhh!!! Who said owning an airplane is a good deal!?! OK, I don't feel better, but at least it's off my chest.