What would you do....G1000 alternator CB

Maddog1974

Maddog1974

Well-Known Member
If you had the alternator circuit breaker pop 7 miles south of departure point and maintenance base is 160 nm away. What do/would you do?

Pilot is a Instrument student on a solo and you are an instructor flying another aircraft with a mechanic who serviced the aircraft after the alternator failure.

The POH states in the Kinds of Operation Limits that the alternator is required for VFR flight.

So what would you do as the pilot?
What would you tell the student to do as the instructor following the student in the other aircraft?

I have been mulling over this for a day and a half but I have not looked through the FAR's yet. I assume that you are now flying an unairworthy aircraft, but you could say you are returning to a maintenance base where the aircraft could be fixed.

Lemme know yer opinions...
 
Ok, lets say you did that. Reduce the load, reset the CB and M battery amps go through the roof and the CB pops again. You land, taxi in, shut down and it is then that you notice the smell of something electrical burnt.

The next day an instructor and mechanic show up to fix it and another aircraft is dispatched with a second set of students, one of which will return with the original aircraft.

The student departs and 7nm south of the airport the CB for the Alternator pops again. Do you return to the DP or continue to the maintenance base?? Is it legal to continue?
 
[FONT=Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][SIZE=-1]SEC. 91.7 Civil Aircraft Airworthiness[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][SIZE=-1]A. No person may operate a civil aircraft unless it is in an air-worthy condition.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][SIZE=-1]B. The pilot in command of a civil aircraft is responsible for determining whether that aircraft is in condition for safe flight. The pilot in command shall discontinue the flight when unairworthy mechanical, electrical, or structural conditions occur.
[/SIZE][/FONT]




I would discontinue the flight. Not that I couldn't complete the flight safely, but if manufacturer says the aircraft is not airworthy unless the alternator is operating, then the aircraft is not airworthy. CYB!
 
mojo6911 said:
First, troubleshoot. If that doesn't get you anywhere, go back to the departure airport and call maintenance to come fix it.
Click to expand...

Yeah, this is the good round answer.

To be honest though if I was flying I'd shut off the master and enjoy a peaceful trip home.
 
it broke in flight not on the ground, that is why there is a stby batt. Now ifit is vfr, I would shut eberything down and continue to the destination turning on my electrical equipment prob. 20 miles out to talk with traffic or atc. Ifr, go back no doubt
Maddog1974 said:
Ok, lets say you did that. Reduce the load, reset the CB and M battery amps go through the roof and the CB pops again. You land, taxi in, shut down and it is then that you notice the smell of something electrical burnt.

The next day an instructor and mechanic show up to fix it and another aircraft is dispatched with a second set of students, one of which will return with the original aircraft.

The student departs and 7nm south of the airport the CB for the Alternator pops again. Do you return to the DP or continue to the maintenance base?? Is it legal to continue?
Click to expand...
 
If there is anything questionable and there is a student on board, especially a solo, go with the conservative option.
 
So wait.... it's been "fixed" already and the breaker still pops? And you smelled something burnt the first time? In that case I'm not taking that thing ANYWHERE until the problem has ACTUALLY been fixed and I know it's not going to light something on fire while I'm flying.

OTOH, if I was on the last leg home and the alternator just dropped offline, and I couldn't get it to come back... I'd proooobably just kill the master and standby batteries for a while (depending on weather and airspace along the route of flight) and bring everything back on the batteries once I got within radio range of home.
 
Blip16 said:
it broke in flight not on the ground, that is why there is a stby batt. Now ifit is vfr, I would shut eberything down and continue to the destination turning on my electrical equipment prob. 20 miles out to talk with traffic or atc. Ifr, go back no doubt
Click to expand...

:yeahthat:
 
Weather permitting I'm shutting everything off and enjoying a quiet ride. I've seen more than one student and instructor treat an electrical failure as a full on emergency.

I never once had this sort of problem in a Cub.
 
Got to look at the parameters. And just think snowball effect. What else could go wrong.

This flight...is it across Florida or across the desert with nothing in between? What airspaces are you going through (for radio/transponder requirements)? How long has this student been flying (will they be learning the 'just fly it' approach to everything)? What about weather? Are we in a glass or round dial?

Too many variables...so to be SAFE Id head back and come up with a game plan on the ground.
 
As an instructor your main point to a student is safety. Letting them continue is teaching the opposite. Yes there is a standby battery that will will allow for 30 mins or longer, but this is not the point. Safety is number 1 so have them return. And then have the mx fix it there. If this can't be done, have the student switch aircrafts and ferry the other one back vfr on a ferry permit. Depending on weather if its ifr, also have them declare an emergency. This can also lead in some good lessons on go/no go decesions, required equipment, and emergency ops. It also shows the student u care about safety, and adherance to the fars. A simple call to a local fsdo will get you a ferry permit for maintence so there is not the possibility of the battery dieng on the student and now he's lost comm .
 
Instrument student? Already has the PPL?

So is this how it happened?

1)aircraft is 160nm from home and the alternator fails.
2)CFI and A&P dispatched to R/R the alternator. aircraft is now airworthy.
3)both aircraft depart, but problem aircraft has the Alt C/B pop soon after takeoff (main battery may/may not be fully recharged, stby bat test guarantees 30 min once the main battery is depleted).

Don't voltage regulators sometimes fail when the alternator does?
 
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-mini
 
deadstick said:
Instrument student? Already has the PPL?

So is this how it happened?

1)aircraft is 160nm from home and the alternator fails.
2)CFI and A&P dispatched to R/R the alternator. aircraft is now airworthy.
3)both aircraft depart, but problem aircraft has the Alt C/B pop soon after takeoff (main battery may/may not be fully recharged, stby bat test guarantees 30 min once the main battery is depleted).

Don't voltage regulators sometimes fail when the alternator does?
Click to expand...

That is exactly how it played out.

There is open desert between the Departure and the Destination with 1(one) airport between the two.

Damn parachutes...in my day we wore parachutes....wait, we didn't need parachutes, if we couldn't fly it back then we weren't going back! :D

Well, it all worked out, but I agree that we taught the student the wrong thing that day. We had him continue 90 nm after the failure to the only airport in between departure and destination. We had the smell of electrical burns in the cockpit after the initial incident and then circuit breaker popped after the repair and in flight. That would have made my decision right then. Turn around and let them fix it there.

Thanks for Armchairing this one with me! Later!
 
When I was a student, this happened, and my instructor first tried to troubleshoot, then played a game of "Beat the Clock" back to our home airport. But we also were only about 40 miles to the north and had a tailwind returning.
 
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