Just stoppin in to say Hello again. Figured out it looks like #3 injector is gone....in the process of diagnosing it though I pulled a dummy move and left a rag in the intake spider when I attempted to start it with #3 injector unplugged. Sucked the rag into the drivers side and it is definitely stuck in a valve. Have it most of the way apart, but have to pull the turbo to get the drivers side intake manifold removed and see if I can work the rag back out or if the head is going to have to get pulled. Fortunate to have a work truck up here and the wife has her car so working on the truck as I have time. Going to have to get injectors and some other stuff ordered now.

 

Who's gonna get your injector money, and how big are you gonna go?

 

No idea.....depends on how bad the damage is with the rag. Going to pick up an inspection camera this week so I can take a peek inside the glow plug hole and see if I had any piston/valve contact. Will go from there on what the project is going to be.

 

Ventura trip went off without a hitch. I took the 99 to the 5 to the 126 and got off at Main St, then Lang, where her house was. Had her friend back the trailer into her driveway, as the street was full of parked cars, nowhere to drop off the Ranchero. Especially since there was no way to steer it as the steering column was disconnected. Left at 1:10pm got there about 5:15pm, then left at 6:30pm, and made it home at 12:07 am. Stopped for dinner at Taco Bell just south of Magic Mountain, and to fill up the gas tanks. Can't believe I paid $4.24 a gallon for gas there. Traffic was relatively light both ways. I especially noticed the lack of semi trucks on the road. Getting over the grapevine with the Ranchero was not too bad, just had to turn off the OD in order to maintain 55 mph. On the way back, only had to turn it off once or twice.

Jim

 

Sorry to hear about all of your troubles. I am following your Facebook posts, but generally by the time I get around to posting, there are already 50 posts ahead of me, saying exactly what I would have said.

I'll keep following though.

Glad you made it down and back. The 126 is a nice drive.

 

Not only is the 126 a nice drive, it's the OBVIOUS route!

Can't believe I recommended you go out through Moorpark on the 118!

Pop

 

That's okay pop. I missed it too. And I live here.

In fact, sometimes I take the 126 to the 5 to the 170 to get to work. At certain times of day it cuts an hour off my commute by avoiding the SFV

 

Good day to not take the 15!

HESPERIA, Calif. — Interstate 15 in Hesperia is expected to remain closed in both directions for up to two days after a fire was accidentally ignited by a worker at a bridge construction site Monday.

The freeway — Southern California's main connector to Las Vegas — was closed around 1:30 p.m. because of falling debris.

Officials said drivers should stay away from the Cajon Pass, which is just south of the area of Interstate 15 closed by the fire. Traffic was backed up 6 miles to the south and up to 20 miles to the north Monday evening.

The blaze was started when a construction worker's blowtorch accidentally ignited the wooden supports of the Ranchero Road overpass bridge, said San Bernardino County Fire Capt. Josh Wilkins.

Dozens of firefighters battled the blaze in windy conditions, with limited access to water, and high danger that the wooden skeleton of the football-field-sized bridge would collapse.

By Monday night most flames were out aside from some smoldering; firefighters were expected to remain throughout the night, said Caltrans spokeswoman Terri Kasinga.

Caltrans crews worked into the evening demolishing remnants of the wooden skeleton of the bridge, which had been under construction since early 2013, Kasinga said.

When the fire erupted, Caltrans contractors were still working on top of the bridge and unaware of the blaze until being evacuated by firefighters because the flames were being pushed away by the wind. One worker suffered smoke inhalation, Wilkins said.

"The Cajon Pass is going to be a nightmare for the next 24 to 48 hours at least," Wilkins said. "So if at all possible, avoid it altogether, because there is just no way they're going to open it any time soon."

 

So that's why my flight was delayed last Wednesday.

Ventura County Star



By The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES -The primary air traffic control system around Los Angeles shut down last week because data from the a U-2 spy plane's flight plan confused software that helps track and route aircraft around the region, the Federal Aviation Administration said Monday.

When the system failed Wednesday, a backup helped safely guide flights already in the air, but hundreds of planes across the nation headed for Southern California were ordered not to take off as an air traffic control facility about 40 miles north of Los Angeles effectively rebooted.

The problem had nothing to do with spy-related signals sent by the Cold War-era plane.

The plane flies at around 60,000 feet under 'visual flight rules.' According to the FAA, a computer perceived a conflict between the altitude and the use of visual flight rules and began trying to route the plane to 10,000 feet. The number of adjustments that would need to be made to routes of other planes throughout the area overwhelmed the software.

'The extensive number of routings that would have been required to deconflict the aircraft with lower-altitude flights used a large amount of available memory and interrupted the computer's other flightprocessing functions,' the FAA said in a statement.

The Pentagon confirmed Monday that an Air Force U-2 spy plane was conducting training operations in the area. It is not unusual for a U-2 to operate in the region, and the necessary flight plan had been submitted for the highflying plane, Col. Steve Warren said.

Since the incident the FAA has been analyzing what went wrong with its En Route Automation Modernization system.

The computer system, known as ERAM, allows air traffic controllers at several dozen 'en route centers' around the country to identify and direct planes at high altitudes..

 

I didn't think U-2's were still flying. Seems like a satellite could do anything a U-2 can do.

 

It takes time to re-position "spy" satellites over a specific area.

Yes, satellites will do a better job in the long run, but when you need intellegence data NOW, its best handled by sending a plane to take an initial look.

I believe there may also be an SR-71 or two still available in a real emergency, but of that I am not sure.

Pop

 

Glad you brought it up, Pop.

The SR71 was initially retired in 1989, then 2 planes reactivated briefly in 1995. Officially they are all retired now.

Its said that the location of three planes is known publicly. However I only know where Gramp's plane is.

 

The last sortie was at the Edwards Air Force Base air show that year.

We went up to see it. The SR 70 flew by at about 75k high, circled back, did a low level fly by, then landed and ran by on the Tarmac with both canopies up.

That was the Sat show with the expectations it would do the same on Sunday.

Well, after Sat's flight and inspection, it was determined that it was unsafe to fly again Sunday.

Amazing aircraft that Habu.

If you haven't been to the Blackbird Airpark up in Palmdale, it's a real treat. Maybe a G2G location sometime?

 

Is there such a thing? I would love to go. I also want to go to Ohio and see the one in the museum there. You think they would let the grandson of the REO in the cockpit? I doubt it.

 

Yes, it's pretty cool. It has an A-12, SR-71, drones, engines and the like. It's just a couple miles off the 14 Frwy.

Blackbird Airpark | Flight Test Historical FoundationFlight Test Historical Foundation