Rescue from Altoona

Early Morning Rewind

Six days after an early departure from the Williamson Sodus Airport, Warrior 481 was once again staged at the fuel pump beneath a dawning sky. In contrast to the anticipatory crackle of activity from multiple people and aircraft the prior week, the Warrior stood alone in a scene suffused with quiet purpose. This was not a highly anticipated club fly-out. This was a rescue mission.

A week prior, seven WFC members set out for Washington Dulles International Airport in three airplanes. One of those airplanes, Ed's recently acquired Cherokee Six, did not make it back home. When the engine would not turn over at our dinner stop in Altoona, Ed discovered the starter Bendix still engaged with the flywheel and the prop unable to rotate freely. This suggested that something was broken inside the starter itself.
 

Light IMC

  

Date	Aircraft	Route of Flight	Time (hrs)	Total (hrs)
26 Sep 2025	N21481	SDC (Sodus, NY) - AOO (Martinsburg, PA) - N49 (Shamokin, PA) - SDC	4.8	3062.4

With Ed, Mike — an A&P from the field who has worked on my airplane for years — two serviceable starters, and a large assortment of tools, we launched for Altoona in Warrior 481.

As we climbed into the sky, Mike made the comment, "I don't even want to fly anymore in airplanes that I don't know anything about." Fortunately, he was well familiar with Warrior 481 and her maintenance, so my airplane passed muster. He also expressed doubts about flying with "just anyone" in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), but I somehow passed muster there, too. This was fortunate because we spent about 0.8 hours in IMC flying to Altoona.

I picked up our instrument clearance from Rochester Approach: Williamson Sodus Airport to the Altoona / Blair County Airport via HUDON intersection, an initial approach fix (IAF) for the ILS-21 procedure into Altoona.

Fortunately, the air was smooth and, as IMC flying goes, spectacular; layered clouds, glories, and a brilliant blue sky above.

Keuka Lake.

As we neared Altoona, the airport was still IFR and we flew the ILS-21 instrument approach past the final approach fix before visually acquiring the runway. This meant that I was able to log the approach as being flown under actual instrument conditions, my only example to date for 2025.

Nervous Nelly

The disproportionately large ramp at Altoona was essentially deserted except for a Cessna and Ed's PA-32. As I taxied onto the ramp, a lineman scurried out of the FBO gesturing for us to park at the far south end of the apron. Considering that I had an airplane full of tools, I wanted to park next to the Six that we were there to fix.

When the lineman ran to my airplane and dodged behind the wing, Ed popped the door open and the two of them proceeded to shout at each other over the sound of the engine. The gist was that there was a Penn State football game scheduled and he was trying to keep the premier parking in front of the FBO available for wealthy alumni. His anxiety level seemed unwarranted considering that the game was actually the next day and State College was an hour away by car. Ed laid on the charm and convinced him to let us park next to the Six temporarily, but the nervous fellow clearly had misgivings about our being there at all.

In short order, we unloaded the tools and extra starters and Mike set to work. The field remained quiet except for a Life Flight helicopter practicing in the pattern and the arrival of a second helicopter bearing a massive saw for aerial tree trimming.

Black ops at Altoona?

We were visited by Nelly several times. "Almost done? When will you be done?"

We'd be done faster if you would leave us alone. 

In two hours, Mike successfully replaced the starter and following a successful engine start, all was right with the world again for Nine One Four. We moved both airplanes to the far south edge of the massive ramp before walking to La Fiesta for lunch. Clearly, we needed to make room for the hordes of Nittany Lions fans flying their jets to Altoona a day early to park an hour away from the game. We enjoyed an excellent lunch at La Fiesta. Our meals were even better than a week earlier, perhaps because there was no broken airplane for dessert this time. When we emerged from the restaurant at midday, there were no new aircraft on the ramp. Shocking. Nelly was far calmer once our departure was obviously assured.

Sha-mokin!

Ed and Mike departed for Sodus in a much happier Nine One Four. I intentionally flew to Altoona with low fuel that morning considering that I was ferrying two other adults and a weighty portion of Mike's tools. I saw that Northumberland County Airport (N79) in Shamokin, PA was nearby and had inexpensive fuel at $4.68/gal.

As it turns out, there is a lot of terrain on a straight line flight from Altoona to Shamokin. Warrior 481 and I bumped along beneath the clouds and above the Pennsylvania ridge lines.

Susquehanna River.

Northumberland County Airport (airport #294) is one of those places with the identifier painted directly on a hangar roof. It's a little thing, but I find it appealing as a throwback to a simpler era before GPS pinpointed locations unambiguously.

"Airport Time"

After refueling the Warrior, I realized that the day had gotten away from me. I had committed to an afternoon work call at 3:00 thinking that I would be back to Sodus by then. But I was wrong. (This is the part where Kristy interjects the phrase "airport time" into the story.) So I camped out on an outdoor bench in the shade, shooed swarming lanternflies away (here too?), and watched a student pilot solo an Archer for the first time.

I took the call from the cockpit of the Warrior (to get away from the damn lanternflies), during which time my phone buzzed with an incoming text. It was a GIF from Tom depicting Jim Carrey in "green face" exclaiming, "sssssssmokin'!" I had to stifle a snort while contributing to a discussion on regulatory filing strategy with an intransigent Australian regulator. Obviously, Tom had been monitoring my movements in Flight Aware that day.

Overall, the impromptu vacation day was well-spent. I helped Ed rescue his airplane, witnessed some beautiful scenery, logged an instrument approach in actual IMC (the only one in 2025 so far), and explored a new destination. It was undeniably better than the average Friday!