And so we crossed the Sonora , Chihuahua bound. Temps in the yellow on the climb out from El Paso, good old 69A huffing, and puffing in that hot thin 110F air. We were flying the scheduled run betwixt Tejas and Mejico , that lasted for a few good months in 1990 before the reality sunk in that there wasnt really that much demand for a vagabond DC3 shuttling back and forth between these cities several times a week. While it lasted we grooved on it though , flitting among the foothills of the Sierra Madre VFR with a WAC chart spread out in the cockpit. We couldnt quite make the cut IFR, the airways threaded over the mountains at altitudes that would necessitate oxygen for the crew, and put us way over our single engine ceiling if we had to cage one,there were no good drift down alternates available except for the dry lakes. So we flew by visual rules only , and followed the valleys, the ranches , and the roads to our Mexican stop over. The dry lakes came into play one day when one of our ships blew a cylinder off the engine and through the cowling , which then departed the engine and wrapped itself around the horizontal stabilizer , which amid the horrific backfiring, and shake/shaking of the stricken engine caused an unstoppable descent rate of 500 fpm , which fortunately occurred over a 10 mile long dry lake, where the crew alighted with aplomb , and added yet another story to the DC3 freight dog canon. All in all another day in the life.
Posted on: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 17:49:23 +0000
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