EP202 - Declared Mercy

Ryan and Jackie flew the beautiful RV-10 down for the EP200 hangar show. On the way home, the airplane had other plans: autopilot master fault, attitude indicator misbehaving in IMC, showing level while the airplane turned left, a wall of clouds ahead, and one analog instrument left in the panel: the compass. Ryan keyed up center and, per his own post-landing text, "declared mercy." So tonight is the rarest kind of debrief, one with the pilot in the room: round-robin questions, every decision second-guessed with love, and the sobering inventory afterward: "all the backup to the backup, that would not have worked." For the record, as established on air: Ted did not fly into a Bravo. Tonight's wisdom, pulled from the show's earliest days and never more fitting: remember, you fly an airplane with your head, not your hands and your feet. Mentioned on the show: Tape machine, merch, and everything else: https://www.midlifepilotpodcast.com Anderson, Indiana (KAID), home of unleaded fuel: https://www.airnav.com/airport/KAID Garmin Axis: https://www.garmin.com/en-US/aviation/axis/overview/ Picking up an IFR clearance on the ground: https://www.boldmethod.com/learn-to-fly/regulations/how-to-pick-up-an-ifr-clearance/ Rensselaer, Indiana (KRZL): https://www.airnav.com/airport/KRZL Purdue University Airport, Lafayette (KLAF): https://www.airnav.com/airport/KLAF Garmin GSU 25: https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/532062/ East End Grill, Lafayette: https://www.eastendmain.com/