Off in the weeds

"Matt Whiting" wrote:


Nobody tried to shoot you down, eh?

I admit I did pucker a little bit.

There are some tough ol' Cajun boys down there.

--
Dan
T-182T at BFM

Dan Luke wrote:
"Matt Whiting" wrote:

Nobody tried to shoot you down, eh?

I admit I did pucker a little bit.

There are some tough ol' Cajun boys down there.


Yes, some of those illicit folks don't take kindly to being spied on!

Matt

Dan Luke wrote:
Oh, well; another lesson learned. "Controls free and correct?" Maybe at
the moment you check, but watch out for anything that could
interfere with them while you're not looking.

This is the one thing that has me nervous as I prepare to transition to a
aircraft with sticks instead of a yoke. I have a concern that even though I
plan to brief each passenger to "stay clear of that stick between their
legs" especially during take off and landing I still worry that if they get
nervous they might tighten there legs together or do something else to block
the freedom of the controls.

The only other aircraft I've flown with passengers and a stick is the R22
and it design tends to get it out of the passengers way.

What do those of you with stick controlled aircraft do to deal with this
concern.

john smith wrote:
In article ,
"Gig 601XL Builder" wrDOTgiaconaATsuddenlink.net wrote:

What do those of you with stick controlled aircraft do to deal with
this concern.

When you do your control test, pull it back slowly and keep pulling.
They get the message when it pokes them in the gut.
If you cannot pull it back into your gut, stop, and check the reason
why.

I'm not worried about explaining it to them when we are sitting nice and
safe on the ramp or at the end of the runway. What concerns me is what they
might do when we hit turbulence on short final.

In rec.aviation.student Dan Luke wrote:
Oh, well; another lesson learned. "Controls free and correct?" Maybe at the
moment you check, but watch out for anything that could interfere with them
while you're not looking.

Thanks for the story. Scary! I'm glad it worked out ok in the end.

You'd think I would have learned from it, but I had a somewhat similar
incident just two days ago, although mine was badly exaggerated by
stupidity on my part.

First, some context, for those unfamiliar with gliders. The takeoff is a
tricky operation, since you're balancingon a single wheel, and you're
effectively taking off in formation. There's usually a wing runner holding
the wing up at the start, but he can't keep up for long, and when he lets
go you usually need full control deflections to stay straight and level.
This lasts a couple of seconds, then airspeed builds up to needing only a
feather touch. The glider will lift off well before the tow plane due to
different stall speeds, and the ideal altitude for that phase is literally
about 5ft AGL. The ground provides an obvious lower bound, and if you get
too high you can pull the tow plane's tail up and smash his nose into the
pavement.

I always carry a 100oz Camelbak with me, having lots of water is handy
when you don't know how long you'll be in the air or where you might land.
I had been lying it horizontally next to the seat, but the hose wasn't
quite long enough in that position and I had to bend down to drink. This
time I decided to stand it vertically.

I was flying a Schweizer 1-26 where the stick always hits the knees when
going side to side. This doesn't limit control freedom to any significant
degree but I've become used to hitting my legs whenever I test the
controls.

During the takeoff roll I realized that this knee banging problem was
worse than usual. Oops! The top of the Camelbak was right behind my knee,
pushing it toward the stick, and limiting my controls for real. It wasn't
bad enough to pose a danger, especially on a calm day like Saturday, but
it was worrying.

The fix is easy enough, right? Just reach over there with the other hand
and pull it back out of the way. Of course it's not that easy, things get
in the way, and there are these armrests... CRAP! A moment's inattention
and I'm way too high and the tow plane is still on the ground. Of course I
overcorrect and head down too fast. I correct again but a bit too late,
and hit the ground with a thump that's painful to hear but probably not as
bad as some landings I've had.

Lesson learned, I leave the stupid water bag alone and do what I should
have done from the start, and fly the airplane. Once I get off tow the
thing is easy to move, and the rest of the flight is uneventful. (Too
uneventful, really; no thermal activity to speak of.)

It was a dumb thing to do but luckily I got taught a lesson in the best
way and nothing got broken.

--
Michael Ash
Rogue Amoeba Software

"Gig 601XLBuilder" wrDOTgiaconaATsuddenlink.net wrote:

This is the one thing that has me nervous as I prepare to transition
to a aircraft with sticks instead of a yoke. I have a concern that
even though I plan to brief each passenger to "stay clear of that
stick between their legs" especially during take off and landing I
still worry that if they get nervous they might tighten there legs
together or do something else to block the freedom of the controls.

The only other aircraft I've flown with passengers and a stick is the
R22 and it design tends to get it out of the passengers way.

What do those of you with stick controlled aircraft do to deal with
this concern.

If a vary forceful elbow into the rip cage doesn't work, I carry a .45. So
far, I've had to use the elbow, but not the .45.

"john smith" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Gig 601XL Builder" wrDOTgiaconaATsuddenlink.net wrote:

john smith wrote:
In article ,
"Gig 601XL Builder" wrDOTgiaconaATsuddenlink.net wrote:

What do those of you with stick controlled aircraft do to deal with
this concern.

When you do your control test, pull it back slowly and keep pulling.
They get the message when it pokes them in the gut.
If you cannot pull it back into your gut, stop, and check the reason
why.

I'm not worried about explaining it to them when we are sitting nice and
safe on the ramp or at the end of the runway. What concerns me is what
they
might do when we hit turbulence on short final.

A dope-slap upside the head usually works.

Drat! Another keyboard ruined...

Peter

"Gig 601XL Builder" wrote

This is the one thing that has me nervous as I prepare to transition to a
aircraft with sticks instead of a yoke. I have a concern that even though
I plan to brief each passenger to "stay clear of that stick between their
legs" especially during take off and landing I still worry that if they
get nervous they might tighten there legs together or do something else to
block the freedom of the controls.

What do those of you with stick controlled aircraft do to deal with this
concern.

If someone does not follow your instructions and starts interfering with
the stick movement, you quick reach over and punch them in the temple as
hard as you can, and knock them unconscious.

Well, that is one idea. Perhaps not a very good one, but an idea- none the
less! g

You are building your own, right? How about making the passenger stick with
a removable feature, kind-of like how a socket extension clips onto a socket
drive. It could be made to clip into place easily, but only removable by
pushing in a little button, or something.

That is how I foresee building, when I get going on one. I would also make
a permanent storage feature, easily and quickly accessible while in flight,
and a kind-of "funnel" to guide the stick into place, even in turbulence.
--
Jim in NC

In rec.aviation.student john smith wrote:
In article ,
"Gig 601XL Builder" wrDOTgiaconaATsuddenlink.net wrote:

I'm not worried about explaining it to them when we are sitting nice and
safe on the ramp or at the end of the runway. What concerns me is what they
might do when we hit turbulence on short final.

A dope-slap upside the head usually works.

Any suggestions for when the aircraft has tandem seating and the passenger
isn't physically accessible?

--
Michael Ash
Rogue Amoeba Software

"Gig 601XL Builder" wrDOTgiaconaATsuddenlink.net wrote in message
...
What do those of you with stick controlled aircraft do to deal with this
concern.

I have done several hundred commercial glider rides, so I guess I can ring
in on this one. We always got by with a good briefing and a good control check.
You have to watch those cameras! I prefer that they use a neck strap if one is
available so the thing does not end up adrift on the floor and jam the stick or
rudder. With kids, you instruct them to cross their arms across their chest and
hold on to their shoulder belts. This just naturally keeps their hands away
from the controls.

Since we sat in back of the pax, a sharp pull on the hair was briefed to us
as an emergency option, on the theory that the pax would naturally release the
stick to defend themselves.

Vaughn