1 Fatal ...r.a.h or r.a.p?

There are only about 5% of peoples in the parade (flying and builders
pilots).

Another 15% standing by the runway and watching the parade ( sometime
commenting and/or criticizing).

And the rest (80%) don't even know there is a parade.

Jean-Paul

"kd5sak" wrote in message
. com...

"Al" wrote in message
...
I was tempted once, but the temptation went away with the
altitude...quickly.

What really amazed me was how fast the altitude and airspeed went
away.
When the thing first quit, I would have sworn I could not get down to my
departure runway before going off the end. I was wrong. Wrong by over a
thousand feet.

Al CFIAMI


I'm beginning to be glad the wife would'nt let me buy a kitplane when I
first retired
10 years ago. You guys have some real interesting stories to tell. Hmmm,
someone should start an aviation close calls recounting group.

Harold
KD5SAK

"Jean-Paul Roy" wrote in message
. ..
There are only about 5% of peoples in the parade (flying and builders
pilots).

Another 15% standing by the runway and watching the parade ( sometime
commenting and/or criticizing).

And the rest (80%) don't even know there is a parade.

Jean-Paul


I imagine the oblivious 80% don't even realize there IS anything
happening outside of Hollywood and Hip-Hop. Sad, really.

Harold
KD5SAK

kd5sak wrote:
"Al" wrote in message
...

I was tempted once, but the temptation went away with the
altitude...quickly.

What really amazed me was how fast the altitude and airspeed went away.
When the thing first quit, I would have sworn I could not get down to my
departure runway before going off the end. I was wrong. Wrong by over a
thousand feet.

Al CFIAMI



I'm beginning to be glad the wife would'nt let me buy a kitplane when I
first retired
10 years ago. You guys have some real interesting stories to tell. Hmmm,
someone should start an aviation close calls recounting group.

Harold
KD5SAK


A good share of these stories are about factory built certified
aircraft. Most kitbuilt aircraft now days are very safe.

Jerry

"Jerry Springer" wrote in message
. ..
kd5sak wrote:
"Al" wrote in message
...
A good share of these stories are about factory built certified aircraft.
Most kitbuilt aircraft now days are very safe.

Jerry


I'm sure they are all safe, unless something breaks or the pilot makes a
mistake.
I've always maintained my autos, tractors, and motorcyles well and never had
a serious
mechanical malfunction. Regarding the likelihood of a personal mistake,
though, now that
gives me pause for thought. The phrase "occasional lapse in judgement", if
looked up in the Encyclopedia, might just have my picture beside it.
Example- Once I tried to climb a curb with a fairly large SP-370 Suzuki, at
a little too fast and at slightly too great an angle.
I didn't previously realize that one COULD barrel roll a motorcycle.(G)
Fortunately, the earth
upon which I landed was relatively soft, only my ego was bruised.

Harold
KD5SAK

"Jerry Springer" wrote:

A good share of these stories are about factory built certified
aircraft. Most kitbuilt aircraft now days are very safe.

What do you mean--in hard numbers--by "very safe," and what evidence do
you have to back up your assertion?

--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

A good share of these stories are about factory built certified
aircraft. Most kitbuilt aircraft now days are very safe.

The majority of problems with homebuilts occur within the FAA designated
testing phase and are fuel system related (getting the fuel from the
tank to the engine).

On Sat, 04 Feb 2006 18:09:18 GMT, john smith wrote:

A good share of these stories are about factory built certified
aircraft. Most kitbuilt aircraft now days are very safe.

The majority of problems with homebuilts occur within the FAA designated
testing phase and are fuel system related (getting the fuel from the
tank to the engine).

During the 1998-2000 period (inclusive), for those accidents attributed to
mechanical failure, 9% were due to engine mechanical failure, and 6% due to the
fuel system.

For the engine mechanical failure, about 6% were engine internals, and the
remainder were engine-system such as the magnetos, oil lines, etc.

For the fuel-related accidents, 2.2% were firewall-forward, and the rest were in
the fuel delivery system.

21% of homebuilt accidents occurred in the first 40 hours of operation. About
6% of homebuilt accidents occur on the first flight.

Statistically, there is an 0.8% chance that a first flight will end in an
accident.

Ron Wanttaja

"Al" wrote in message
...
I was tempted once, but the temptation went away with the
altitude...quickly.

I lost an engine on a C210 at about 300 ft, on departure. The thing
quit
like someone had pulled the throttle, which turned out to be very close to
reality. In the shock of the moment, I thought about trying a turn, but
decided to plant it off the end of my departure runway(I was 3000' down a
4000' runway), instead. The clearway at the end was level and had no large
trees. I had already cleaned up the departure flaps, was climbing at
80kts,
and the gear doors were just closing when the thing quit. I immediately
selected the gear back down, and was flat amazed at the sink rate that
developed, no power, windmilling, with the gear in transit. At about 20',
still over the runway, I had to hold it off using flaps, to wait for the
gear to finish extending. The main gear came over center in the saddles,
just as I ran out of elevator, we touched down on the mains, and had to
hold
the nose gear off long enough for it to extend. I slid onto the numbers at
the far end with the gear pump still running to close the doors, and got
it
stopped. The engine lit off, and we taxied back to the tiedown, and
deplaned.
It turns out that this aircraft had recently come out of 100hr., and
for
some reason they had the Airquipt(sp?) hose that runs from the air cleaner
to the turbo-charger off. When the mechanic put it back on, he didn't know
what to do with the ends of the metal wire that winds around the inside of
the hose. He bent each wire end into a little "U" shape, and hooked them
together in the middle of the hose. (They should have been placed under
the
hose clamp at each end) A couple of hours later, with vibration, the glue
holding the wire failed, and hooked in the middle the wire collapsed like
a
slinky, allowing the hose to collapse, shutting off all air to the turbo.
What really amazed me was how fast the altitude and airspeed went
away.
When the thing first quit, I would have sworn I could not get down to my
departure runway before going off the end. I was wrong. Wrong by over a
thousand feet.

Al CFIAMI


I never tried it "for real", but had the experience on one "simulation"
about 25 years ago.

I was a student pilot in a Cessna 150M, with an instructor. And, I suppose
that I had always been visibly nervous regarding the "what if the engine
quits" scenario.

In any case, we took off into a head wind of around 12 knots (on the ground)
from a 3000 foot paved runway on a little "training only" airport. The
instructor said to climb until I believed that I could make it back to land
on the reciprocal, then pull the power and try it. I really doubt that such
a demonstration was approved, much less encouraged, even then; and it may
have been my first attempt at a down wind landing as well!

In any event, we climbed to a little more than 350 feet before I pulled the
power to idle; and promptly began my turn back tothe runway. As I
mentioned, I had heard all of those horror stories about how it was suicidal
to attempt a turn greater than 90 degrees; and this required a turn or at
least 225 degrees, a short straight glide, and then about 45 degrees back
the other way--all before the final glide, flap extension, and flare. I did
not simulate the customary 4 seconds of disbelief, nor did I simulate a
reasonable period of indicision regarding what to do next--to turn or not to
turn was never the question--I just applied the carburetor heat, pushed the
nose over, and cranked it into the turn ... and the limitations of my chosen
procedure only gradually became apparent.

Now, I should mention that I am not really a fan of high winged aircraft. I
admit that they have their practical side--lighter structure for a given
strength, ease of undercarriage inspection, and the wing is well clear of
most of the "stuff" on an narrow and unimproved runway. Still, as I said, I
am not a fan. A wing is really a think that one should sit upon; it is not
a thing that one should attempt to look through.

So, I continued around the turn, still at a safe altitude and with the
engine idling smoothly, and the runway eventually came into view. And I
continued around, still at a safe, and saw that I was really not far from
the runway at all. Therefore, I continued the turn to about the 270 degree
point before making a roll reversal--and finally getting the flaps down. By
then, I was just about over the runway and diving with full flaps. It then
became intuitively obvious, to even the most casual observer, that I was
much too high.

As to the outcome? We flew away without lnading.

One of these days I still plan to get back to flying, and to make the
transition from former student to current pilot. Until then, there are
memories of a time when flying was more innocent, a little crazier, and a
lot more fun!

Peter

Peter Dohm wrote:
I did
not simulate the customary 4 seconds of disbelief, nor did I simulate a
reasonable period of indicision regarding what to do next--

Peter


Very astute observation, Peter.

In article ,
"Peter Dohm" wrote:

In any event, we climbed to a little more than 350 feet before I pulled the
power to idle; and promptly began my turn back tothe runway.

Idle thrust is still quite a bit of applied power.
Instead of pulling the throttle (air), pull the mixture (gas).
This will give you a windmilling prop with all the associated drag.
When you are ready to restore power, push the mixture back in.
Try it and see how your results change.