wrote:


Of course I couldn't get the WX there with no radios. Airport has a
4/22 and 14/32.

That's what windsocks are for.

However, since though I was now
NORDO it was not an emergency situation,

NORDO is not an emergency. Burning stuff IS however.


Overall, in retrospect, I was largely happy with my performance as I
didn't panic or anything of that sort (inexcusable) and got the
aircraft on the ground pretty quickly. However, I should have done at
least one thing differently: I should have either left the avionics
master off or, if leaving it on as I did once determining there was no
danger, I should have squawked 7600.

Without being IFR or someplace like a class B where communications with
a radar controller is required, I wouldn't bother sqawking IFR. If I
thought things might still be burning I would have left the avionics (or
general) master off.

In flight fires are nothing to sneeze at. The fire potential is a
much bigger issue than the nuisance of having no radios VFR. ATC
can fend for themselves.

1) ALWAYS have handheld with me. I own one - I'd left it in my own
152, which is what I usually fly. Nothing but laziness in not taking
it with me. (What could go wrong on a short, local flight, after
all?!)

And make sure it has alkalines or some other non-self-discharging
batteries in it. Nothing like finding the nicads in your handheld are
dead when you need it in such a situation.


2) Take a bit of time to think about a squawk in any lost-comm
situation. Really, it would have taken 5s to change the squawk and I
had plenty of time.

There's no real point to it in this case.

Glad it all worked out for you.