So there we were flying along Fat Dumb and Happy as the saying goes. POP GRRRRR ROAR. What was that?

We were out for a morning flight and the exercise was to fly straight and level along a country road. Straight and level means not gaining or losing altitude and an equal amount of horizon under each wing. I have had beginner pilots fly with me and take almost 2 hrs. before this basic skill is sufficient to move on to the next stage of flight. Alberta has a lot of straight roads so this is an easy skill to practice. There is nothing more disconcerting to a passenger that flying at a weird angle nose slightly up and crooked as you fly to a $100 hamburger. But I digress.

We had been flying the exercise for about 40 minutes and it was time for a break. Linden was 25miles away and would provide coffee and washroom facilities.

When we were about 2 miles east of the runway and getting ready to cross overhead. POP GRRRRRR ROAR. What was that? Smoke was coming into the cockpit. OH OH, “My Plane” I stated as I took over the controls. “Linden traffic this is November Juliet Victor turning an immediate right base for runway 16.” Power back let’s get this thing on the ground NOW. Add a little power to check that the motor is there if needed and more smoke in the cockpit. Okay I guess we land with as little power as possible. Open both moments later we were back on the ground, safe. I did not call Mayday or Pan Pan as I felt it was more of an inconvenience than an emergency, but I did make sure I got to the ground as soon possible. If I were in Red Deer airspace where there were many airplanes in the circuit, I may have used a different approach to getting the plane back on the ground.

Normally I always carry a full tool set in the aircraft with sockets, wrenches, and a multi bit screwdriver. For some reason today was different. I did not even have my trusty pocketknife that I sometimes use as a pretend screwdriver.

I can’t even get the cowl off to see what the issue is.

These boots are made for walking, so down the road we go to the local grocery store. (I was hoping they would have a small hardware section and carry a screwdriver.) No such luck. That meant a walk down the valley and up the hill to the Home Hardware store. As we started to walk a lady who had heard me ask for some tools at the grocery store, drove up and asked if we would like a ride. “Yes please” She Also waited will I picked a small crescent wrench and a Phillips screwdriver and took us back to the plane.

You gotta love the small-town friendly helpfulness. I took the cowl off and found the muffler had broken at the elbow in the back of the motor. This break meant that the exhaust was blasting right onto the firewall and had burnt the fiberglass noise mat. Thus, the smoke entering the cabin. Thank goodness for a stainless-steel firewall.

This was not on a weld joint but rather a flat part of the tube near the bend. I was able to remove the back nuts and take the muffler and the elbow off. Another long walk to the east end of town and we stopped into the local welding shop pieces in hand.

Another piece of the puzzle I have not mentioned yet was I had a commitment to be back in Airdrie to run the sound for my Granddaughter’s Spring musical The Lion King by 12 o’clock. My Copilot had promised his daughter he would be at Calgary International by 12.30. It was ten o’clock and we were running out of time.

As I walked into the welding shop with pieces in hand, I got that “really you want me to drop everything and do that for you” look. The promise of an airplane ride and it was “well give me a few minutes and I will see what I can do.” By 10:30 we had the repaired part in hand, and we were walking back to the plane. No rides back this time so I guess we were going to get our ten thousand steps in early. And here I am without my fitbit.

The Crescent wrench worked just fine to get the muffler remounted and we were ready to be airborne by 11am.

When I first had the issue, I had called a couple of club members to see if assistance could be offered.

As we were putting the muffler back on Jim Corner arrived in his trusty KitFox. He agreed the weld was “a thing of beauty and a joy to behold”. I asked Jim to follow us back to CGB2 as a safety watch and we were back on the ground at Carstairs before 11:30. Hurry to get the plane tucked away and off to Airdrie for me and Calgary for my Co-Pilot. We both made our commitments.

Linden is a pretty good place to fly and the people pretty willing to help. Thanks Linden and thanks Jim for putting your golf game on hold and helping a friend.

Norm