Oil door departs the airframe

Friday on the takeoff roll from Minden, NV (MEV), the oil door decides
it's time to bail out. The latch has been a problem lately and the
whole door assembly had an appointment with my brother and his riveting
tools for a hinge and striker plate replacement. So, a co-worker and I
have just filled up on a huge 4-egg omelet at the airport cafe and we're
probably 1000 ft. in to the takeoff roll. I didn't notice anything but
my co-worker, out of the corner of his eye, sees a white flash go by.
We takeoff and as I'm turning left 20 degrees he tells me "We lost the
oil door on the runway...want to go back and get it?". Hmmm, so that's
what it looks like with a big "D" shaped hole in the cowl, eh? :-)
"Minden traffic, Arrow two one zero four Tango is not departing the
pattern, turning left downwind runway three four be advised there is an
oil door somewhere on the runway, Minden".

One of the guys helping the gliders starts to look for it and eventually
hunts down another guy in an airport truck. We jump in the back and
drive to the arrival end of 34. Sure enough, about 1000 ft. down the
runway, there it is on the right side of the runway. We get back to the
plane and one of the guys calls the local shop. A mechanic shows up
on a bike a few minutes later, takes the door back with him then comes
back with an old piece of hinge pin and some trusty 100 MPH tape. Five
minutes later, we're good to go and he charges me nothing for the
repair. Cool!

The 100 MPH tape holds well enough that we don't lose the oil door into
Lake Tahoe on the way back. First time I've seen 170 kts GS on the GPS
as we were coming downhill from 12,500 back into the Sacramento valley.

--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL-IA Student
Arrow N2104T

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth
with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there
you will always long to return"
- Leonardo Da Vinci

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