Post maintenance surprise!

So I picked up the 340 from the avionics place that installed some stuff I had bought from another 340 dude. Upgraded the Aspen, moved some instruments, and fixed (mostly) the cockpit lighting.

Paid my bill, fueled up, preflighted and started the engines. Listened tot he ATIS, Called Clearance, got my IFR clearance, called Ground, “Ready to Taxi” ..They asked if I could take RWY36, or I could wait 10 minutes for 28L  and I said yes, even though it was kinda marginal, length wise (2600 ft). I figured I’d do a short field takeoff .

Pulled up to the hold-short line, did the runup, got clearance for take off,  rolled to the threshold of 36 and advanced the throttles. Being a cool day, the engines were at full 335 HP. We accelerated quickly.

My, what a surprise. Unbeknownst to me, the aileron trim was full left, the rudder trim was full right, and the 340A went kinda sideways for a moment. Plus the roll. It rook me a minute to figure out what the hell was going on and maintain level(ish) flight. So much so that the tower asked if I was ok, but I didn’t answer ’cause I was too busy trying to fly…..I did figure out the aileron roll and then the rudder trim, and got them more or less centered back where they belong (on the 340 the aileron trim is very sensitive) and got back to flying(ish) trim.

I then replied to the tower that I had some “minor” flight control issues and could I fly runway heading at 2500 while I figured the issue out?

They said yes, so that’s what I did., I didn’t wanna go higher into IMC and really didn’t want to turn or engage the autopilot until I got things settled, all the while managing the engines and all that. I was so busy that I didn’t even bring up the gear for about 4 minutes.

Once I got the trims more or less centered I then let the tower know I was ready for a climb and they moved me to Departure for my en-route stuff.

A lesson learned: Make sure no one has messed with the trims. It can cause a real issue. I damned near crashed my plane because I didn’t check that as part of the preflight (why would I?) and wasn’t expecting the resulting flight attitude. I mean, yeah, elevator trim sure…. But not the rudder and aileron trim. (gonna fix that once I get them set again, a paint marker line for the proper setting for easy visual confirmation from this point on….)

The rest of the flight was pretty normal at 11,000 ft. In and out of IMC all the way home. Minor rime icing but I never even bothered to inflate the boots, and a decent, if ham-fisted approach. Broke out of the clouds at about 800 ft on the RNAV and did a really smooth (if a bit long) crosswind landing. (why is it that your best landings are when there is no one else in the plane to witness them?)

I really need to get a safety pilot and do some more time under the foggles though. Hand flying in IMC wasn’t as good as it should have been. Autopilots make us lazy and degrade our skills.

The “Palestinians” (Really Syrians by ethnicity and culture) renege on the terms of the Truce and refuse to release hostages as promised.

Hamas BLOCKS release of second group of hostages: Terror group refuses to free 14 prisoners and accuses Israel of breaking terms of four-day pause by failing to allow enough aid trucks into Gaza

Can anyone who has ever worked with or lived near an exiled “Palestinian” say they are surprised by this weasel-like behavior?

I mean, did you notice how quickly the “Incident” at the Canadian Rainbow Bridge crossing just faded ever so quickly into obscurity in the news cycle?

Lesse: The official story is (currently) that a millionaire driving in a “Bentley Supercar” had a Medical Issue and accelerated at over 100 miles per hour and struck a barrier at the border, causing the car to Explode (not crash and burn, mind you, but “explode”) with enough force to injure several nearby people and cause a full-on terrorism response.

But it was just a car crash: Nothing to See Here….Just Move Along.

(Funny Strange, I mean)

Joe Biden (the President ‘Cause he got 81 Million Votes without campaigning) won’t be charged with mishandling of Classified Documents, despite leaving them unattended in his garage and other places.

Funny how others, like Trump, are under indictment for possessing those documents, even though they were held much more securely.

Double Standards for prosecutions like this show that we have become a Banana Republic. We won’t even bother to discuss the president’s son’s crimes and a lack of prosecution(s)

I mean, the Macys’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is a family, fun, affair, or at least is is supposed to be.

But no, some assholes have to disrupt the parade with protests, some even gluing themselves to the road.

Were I in charge the parade would not have stopped for them, if you know what i mean. Or their hands would have been ripped from the pavement, without regard for damage, either to the hands or the pavement.

Some shit just doesn’t fly. IF the above happened even once, where the protesters weren’t treated with kid gloves, but rather suffered physical consequences for their actions, then that sort of disruption would suddenly stop happening.

Besides, if the Palestinian people hadn’t wanted war, they’d not have aided and abetted Hamas (much less elected them), nor would they have stayed quiet while the Hamas Terrorists assembled for their attack.

Hating a people is one thing, picking a fight when you cannot win is another. Protesters at the Thanksgiving Parade do not help the Palestinian cause, I think.

I have much to be thankful for, too much to list here.

I hope you do as well.

‘Tis all about perspective.

Yeah, sure, ’cause the average car crossing (or driving near) the border is carrying explosives.

New York governor says ‘no indication’ deadly vehicle explosion at Rainbow Bridge on US-Canadian border was terror-related

I’m not saying what it was, but to say that there was no possible connection to terrorism is bullshit. What other explanation for what appear to be several tens of pounds of a fairly high order explosive in a car?

Were absolutely correct:

Congress questions why the “Hemisphere” program allows the DOJ to spy on innocent Americans.

Pretty much a warrantless search.

And all along we’ve been telling you…..

I mean, I can hit a man-sized target (In the A zone) 80% of the time out to about 800 yards….that is about my limit of abilities (on a good day). That’s using a decent scope/rifle combination and a decent cartridge……from a pair of sandbags or an equivalent rest.

If true, then this is impressive, no matter what technology he’s using.

Ukrainian sniper claims new world record after ‘picking off Russian soldier from 2.36 miles away using “Lord of the Horizon” gun’

That’s a 4000+  yard shot.

On CBS, this morning, a “Hamas Official” claims that the war “is the fault of the US”.

I see it like this: