Hey, if you're the guy who took off on runway 18 in the light blue and
white Piper retractable at Sunriver, OR (S21) Sunday around noon, what
the hell was wrong with your engine? With the sputtering I half expected
not to see the plane pop up above the trees... And I was really surprised
you didn't come back around to land immediately!

We had a similar experience at Sun N Fun while watching as a beautiful old
DC-3 / C-47, fresh out of the paint shop, departed on RWY 9R -- trailing
black smoke from her starboard engine.

They didn't seem to be climbing very well, and we expected to see them come
back to land immediately. They did not, and over the course of the day I
forgot about her .

We found the big Gooney bird back in its parking spot by supper time,
apparently none the worse for wear -- but I (and others around me) were very
concerned at the time. It seemed pretty obvious that they were having a
problem of some sort -- but they successfully ignored it.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"