So last week I had to go and test fly an airplane that I was thinking about buying.

Thing is, getting into (and especially out of) Tulsa  (where the plane is) via commercial air can be,….problematic.

Luckily, I already own a plane.

So I flew mine there, It costs more than commercial, but is always a more flexible option. Which is one of the reasons I own and fly my own plane.

So I pulled the 340 out at 7 AM.

Filed a flight plan from home to Tulsa, got the direct route. Did the usual” check the weather, taxi, get clearance, do the runup, call for the release, announce my departure on CTAF, take off, call Departure in the climb…..

The flight was smooth, there was a bit of haze (Canadian wildfire smoke?) but other than that it was clear.

flew out there in 2.6 hours, at 16,000 ft. Cruise was 200 ish knots at 32 GPH. ATC calls were good, a nice descent by the controllers and they lined me up nicely for the visual approach for 18R at KTUL

Landed in Tulsa, parked the 340, met the MU-2 pilot,. We went over the plane, added some fuel, filed a flight plan, and took off. (legally, I can’t fly an MU-2 without the proper training, so I didn’t do the takeoff and climb out…. or most of the flying ….while we did the checkout)….But I can tell you that it flies really nicely, different than the 340 in some ways, but just like every other MU-2 that I have been in).

We did about a 2 hour checkride, using a checklist provided by several MU-2 pilots and a standard post-maintenance checklist as well. We had a page of squawks, but nothing major and nothing that the seller won’t fix before I buy the plane. The ATC folks were very accommodating, giving us block altitudes so we had room to maneuver and giving us routes that were well away from other traffic so we could do things like engine shutdowns (one at a time) and such.

Landed back at Tulsa and met with the team leader at the maintenance facility who will be dong the prebuy inspection. We talked, he made some suggestions, we agreed on a plan of action, and we were done.

So then Stan, the pilot, got a text message….his flight home had been cancelled. Now, mostly, one cannot get from Tulsa to anywhere direct, most flights go through another airport….He had the choice of Houston, Minneapolis, Denver, or Atlanta….and was looking at 5-9 hours to get home to Lebanon TN.

I pointed out that the difference for me was only about another 90 minutes or so to fly him home and then go back to my home airport. He agreed and helped pay for the fuel. So we did that.

Filed a flight plan from Tulsa to Smyrna, Tennessee at 21,000. Got the route we requested, filled the 340, preflighted the plane, and took off. Stan had never flown a 340, so I let him do the climbout and then (he tended to climb too fast and wanted to run the engines a bit hot…..he’s used to turbines, not piston engines), once we were at 21,000 ft, we trimmed the plane, set the autopilot, and cruised.

214 knots at FL210 at 34 GPH. The issue at that altitude is cooling the engines, as the air is thin and there are less air molecules to carry the heat away. 214 knots gave us a CHT of 400 ish, which is pretty much the max continuous cruise temps.

Stan is apparently also an instructor pilot, and he does a class on landings and energy management to make landings smoother, he was, of course, touting his class and suggesting I attend….

Before long, we were in the descent to Smyrna. ATC routed us south of the Lebanon airspace, and set us up nicely for runway 32. (Rwy 19 was closed)  Winds were 170 at 12,

And, for once, when there was someone to see it, I greased it in….one, two, and then, gently, the nose gear. no chirps, just a rumble.

I looked at him and said “I can’t do better than that”. He grinned and said “Maybe you don’t need my class”.

Pulled to the FBO, added some fuel to the Aux tanks, unloaded his gear, paid for the fuel, filed for home at 12,00 ft, Preflighted, started the engines, Got the ATIS, Called Clearance, got my clearance, called ground, got taxi instructions to Rwy 32, taxiied (had to ask for better directions, which pissed off the ground controller, but the signage is poor and confusing) got to the hold-short line, did a runup, called Tower, got takeoff clearance, and took off.

They turned me east for about 15 miles for other traffic, then had me climb to 8K, then 10K, turned me to a 360 heading, then told me “Climb and maintain 15,000” which was odd, as I was pretty sure I had filed for 12….and on a 360 heading I should be flying at an even number of thousands, not odd….and when I questioned, I was told to contact the next sector as they would have higher…..I pointed out that I had filed for 12, but he told me I had filed for 18……( I hadn’t) I can only figure that he was busy and got confused..

Called the next controller and reported in “11,400 climbing 15000 assigned, 360 heading, assigned)… Telling them that I was doing odd things, but those were the instructions the previous controller had given.(“Assigned”)…and he never changed either of those instructions. So I followed what I had been given.

Next controller that I was handed to  (I told him the same thing) to wanted to know why I was at 15K rather than an even number of thousand. I told him that that was what I had been assigned and we just following instructions, and that I had filed for 12K….He checked, and yes, that was what I had filed for and suggested either 14 or 16K. I picked 14K and was told “descend and maintain 14,000” Still flying the assigned heading  of 360 (the route to home was a heading of 004, so why fight the system that early?)

Next was Indy Center, The controller there wanted to know what fix I was flying to…he felt I was a bit left of course (which I was, if I were flying direct)….I said I was flying the heading they assigned. He wanted to know who assigned the heading. I said Nashville approach. He told me to fly to my home airport as the fix rather than a heading. and asked why I didn’t ask for a fix instead . I pointed out that the heading was less than 5 degrees off of my course home, so why fight the system….?

Skimming over the clouds at 200 knots is kinda pretty…

And it looked like I lost a blade ….an interesting shutter artifact:

That Indy Center controller handed me off to another controller at Indy Center, who then handed me off to Chicago…who for once actually descended me properly rather than waiting until the last minute and then bombing me in from less than 20 miles out.

The sunset was spectacular at 14,000 ft

And then it got even better:

and better

And a few minutes later, as it got dark, the moon on the other side was as nice:

f

Pretty soon it was full dark, and I was down to 5000 feet looking for my airport. Oddly, I had issues finding it, but using the pilot-controlled lighting I turned the lights bright and dim a few times and found it right in front of me…..

Since it was clear, once I had the airport in sight, I cancelled my IFR , changed to CTAF, announced my position and intention (there was no-one else in the pattern, but that’s the proper and safe thing to do), entered the downwind at midfield, and did a nice visual approach and landing. Rolled out to the end to give the turbos time to cool down, taxiied back, opened the hangar door and put the 340 away.

Long day, but productive.