Would this plane have flown?

http://www.thegaryhouse.com/aircraftdamage/

I was down in a remote area of Mexico this last weekend and a truck
backed into my aileron. I was lucky that the driver had a sat phone and
I was able to call an A&P to come down to Mexico and swap it for me.
However, all the local pilots, and the A&P who came down seemed to
think it would have flown ok as was. From a simply academic point of
view I"m curious what you guys think.

-Robert

yes.

("Robert M. Gary" wrote)
http://www.thegaryhouse.com/aircraftdamage/


I wonder how the damaged aileron would have reacted to slow flight vs. a
little speed ...better or worse?


Montblack
Don't show your pics to a B-17 crew member. :-)

"Robert M. Gary" wrote in message
oups.com...
http://www.thegaryhouse.com/aircraftdamage/

I was down in a remote area of Mexico this last weekend and a truck
backed into my aileron. I was lucky that the driver had a sat phone and
I was able to call an A&P to come down to Mexico and swap it for me.
However, all the local pilots, and the A&P who came down seemed to
think it would have flown ok as was. From a simply academic point of
view I"m curious what you guys think.

-Robert

Just looking at the photo, I would have been concerned about the outer
attach point for possible post impact misalignment that might under load
cause an issue, but that being said, I've flown prop fighters on ferry
permits that looked worse off than this.
The bottom line is that you had a known damaged airframe and a take off
decision to make that involved a go/no go without looking inside the aileron
for hidden damage.
If the guys that won't be in the airplane are right, and you don't have a
problem, you're gold. If on the other hand, if the guys not going in the
airplane are wrong, and you do have a problem.........well......they're not
in the airplane......and you might be dead!
My decision would have been to have it looked at before I flew it out.
Dudley Henriques

"Dudley Henriques" wrote in message
ink.net...

"Robert M. Gary" wrote in message
oups.com...
http://www.thegaryhouse.com/aircraftdamage/

I was down in a remote area of Mexico this last weekend and a truck
backed into my aileron. I was lucky that the driver had a sat phone and
I was able to call an A&P to come down to Mexico and swap it for me.
However, all the local pilots, and the A&P who came down seemed to
think it would have flown ok as was. From a simply academic point of
view I"m curious what you guys think.

-Robert

Just looking at the photo, I would have been concerned about the outer
attach point for possible post impact misalignment that might under load
cause an issue, but that being said, I've flown prop fighters on ferry
permits that looked worse off than this.
The bottom line is that you had a known damaged airframe and a take off
decision to make that involved a go/no go without looking inside the
aileron
for hidden damage.
If the guys that won't be in the airplane are right, and you don't have a
problem, you're gold. If on the other hand, if the guys not going in the
airplane are wrong, and you do have a problem.........well......they're
not
in the airplane......and you might be dead!
My decision would have been to have it looked at before I flew it out.
Dudley Henriques

The damage appears to be confined to the trailing edge of
the aileron, so it would be out of trim. But the
reflections and paint otherwise look straight and
unwrinkled. A ferry permit could be issued for such a
condition and an inspection for range of motion, security,
etc signed of by an A mechanic and of course it would be
finally up to the pilot whether to fly. I would not want to
fly it IFR, most ferry permits only allow Day/VFR.

Since the wing looks good at the tip/aileron area, I'd also
want to see the wing attach points since the strength of the
wing and its lever arm would have a lot of force applied to
the spar points. I'd look for wrinkles, cracked paint along
the fuselage. I'd still look that over, just changing the
aileron doesn't complete the inspection.


--
James H. Macklin
ATP,CFI,A&P

--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.
some support
http://www.usdoj.gov/olc/secondamendment2.htm
See http://www.fija.org/ more about your rights and duties.


"Dudley Henriques" wrote in
message
ink.net...
|
| "Robert M. Gary" wrote in message
|
oups.com...
| http://www.thegaryhouse.com/aircraftdamage/
|
| I was down in a remote area of Mexico this last weekend
and a truck
| backed into my aileron. I was lucky that the driver had
a sat phone and
| I was able to call an A&P to come down to Mexico and
swap it for me.
| However, all the local pilots, and the A&P who came down
seemed to
| think it would have flown ok as was. From a simply
academic point of
| view I"m curious what you guys think.
|
| -Robert
|
| Just looking at the photo, I would have been concerned
about the outer
| attach point for possible post impact misalignment that
might under load
| cause an issue, but that being said, I've flown prop
fighters on ferry
| permits that looked worse off than this.
| The bottom line is that you had a known damaged airframe
and a take off
| decision to make that involved a go/no go without looking
inside the aileron
| for hidden damage.
| If the guys that won't be in the airplane are right, and
you don't have a
| problem, you're gold. If on the other hand, if the guys
not going in the
| airplane are wrong, and you do have a
problem.........well......they're not
| in the airplane......and you might be dead!
| My decision would have been to have it looked at before I
flew it out.
| Dudley Henriques
|
|

A ferry permit could be issued for such a
condition and an inspection for range of motion, security,
etc signed of by an A mechanic and of course it would be
finally up to the pilot whether to fly. I would not want to
fly it IFR, most ferry permits only allow Day/VFR.

One of the reasons I didn't want to try for the permit is because I
just don't know what the procedure would have been, but I expect it
would have taken months. The initial inspection would have had to have
been done by an A&E and then approved by Mexico City. However, then
comes the custom's duties, etc. Finally, I'd need an A&P to look at it
before I entered the U.S. (or right after entering, I don't recall).
So I kept very, very quiet about it. I didn't tell the Mexicans about
it and didn't mention anything to U.S. customs.I believe that
technically both the A&P and I could have both been arrested since I
believe it is totally illegal for an A&P to do any major repair without
an A&E present.

I guess I got lucky that the guy who hit me had a sat phone on him.
Otherwise I would have been faced with the decision. Either fly it out
of there as-is or abandon the plane there.

I guess I got lucky that the guy who hit me had a sat phone on him.
Otherwise I would have been faced with the decision. Either fly it out
of there as-is or abandon the plane there.

Well, at that point the insurance company owns the plane. Do you want
to do them a favor that badly?

Jose
--
Nothing takes longer than a shortcut.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

Well, at that point the insurance company owns the plane. Do you want
to do them a favor that badly?

That's easy to say now. However, that really means that you may never
see your bird again and rather than a 2 hour flight to the states you
are looking at spending the next 2 days barfing in the back of a
pickup.

-Robert

Well, at that point the insurance company owns the plane. Do you want
to do them a favor that badly?

That's easy to say sitting here but not so easy when you're there. The
concequences of that are 1) You may never see your bird again and 2)
Rather than a 2 hour flight back to the states you are looking at 2
days of Mexican dirt roads blowing chunks the entire way.

-Robert