![Airpath compass fluid](https://kumkoniak.com/120.png)
![airpath compass fluid airpath compass fluid](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/hXEAAOSwzKtgAHzV/s-l300.jpg)
My handheld transceiver restored communications for the taxi to transient parking. Olympia tower anticipated my arrival and gave me a green light as I approached for an uneventful no-flaps landing. I could receive but not transmit on the Com, but was still receiving the localizer. The gear made it down on ship’s power (but just barely). 1 Nav/Com.ĪTC cleared me to 3,000 on an intercept heading and I lowered the gear to hasten the descent. I switched everything off except for the GPS and the No. I told ATC that I needed an immediate descent to VFR and a vector for the ILS into Olympia. An electrical failure is not a good thing. The turn coordinator, the HSI, the flight director, the auto-pilot, the Nav-Com’s, the transponder (this occurred post-September 11 when operating transponders were MANDATORY), and the GPS (not to mention flaps and gear) all require 14 volts DC. In the Bonanza only the bare-bones attitude indicator is vacuum powered. Cycling the alternator on and off did not help. A quick check of all the switches and circuit breakers revealed no source for the problem. Then, about 15 minutes into the flight after leveling at 7,000 FT MSL in IMC, I noticed a slight discharge on the ammeter.
![airpath compass fluid airpath compass fluid](https://d29y7fsthxbb26.cloudfront.net/catalog/graphics/1/10-08100.jpg)
Engine start proceeded routinely and all instrument indications were normal during runup. Last October, I was flying our Bonanza from Seattle back to my home field in Concord, California. What if the turn coordinator packs it in as well? How about simultaneous failures of the electrical, vacuum and pitot-static systems? Could you maintain control of the airplane using only the magnetic compass? Could you fly “petite-panel” IFR?
![Airpath compass fluid](https://kumkoniak.com/120.png)