BEN YOUNGER is a TV and film writer/director, avid motorcyclist, and surfer-but it's being a pilot that he treats as a second profession. Follow Ben Younger on Instagram: @thisisbenyounger. One interesting flight back in May involved a quick trip down to Palomar to pick up my friend Martijn, who was visiting from Costa Rica. It was not a great beginning as I hit the starter button on the ramp in Santa Monica (KSMO). Nada. Not enough juice. The battery had drained to 11.3V after having updated all of the electronic charts on my multiple navigators and Garmin glass. High-class problem, but still a problem. Engine jumped by friend Kim Davidson and run-up complete, I got held for 20 minutes waiting for an IFR clearance. Sometimes you hear something out in the world and it scares you sufficiently as to leave a mark. For me, it's imagining my cylinder walls glazing after idling for more than five minutes. I was told idling for long periods could do this to my engine, and while I don't actually know anyone who this has happened to, nor do I remember where I originally heard it, it has taken up permanent residence in my head. Once in the air, I found myself in the clouds within a minute. Head down in the instruments and flying through the smooth grayness, I climbed and waited for the light to shine from above. With the Garmin G500 TXi's flight director showing me the way, it's easy to fly by hand, and you really want to be in full control that close to the ground, in case George decides to get weird. And weird he got.
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