I learnt About Flying From That

[John Boucher]

When I started flying - I promised myself to heed the signs of recklessness and always place my safety first and when taking a pax to be even more vigilant.

I only started taking passengers after I had accumulated 150 hours as I always wanted to install a sense of calm in the cockpit and still have this motto. I regard myself as a passenger friendly pilot and by no means a Top Gun. We have all heard of the "Dragons of the Downwind" and I experienced this monster first hand.

I had promised a close friend of mine to take him up early one Sunday morning as he wanted to take some overhead photos of his business premises in the industrial area in Postmasburg. Our combined weight at that stage was over 200kg's and the Cheetah's Warp prop was pitched for cruise and not climb and 75 litres fuel on board. We took off on the customary runway 06 at FAPT. There was absolutely no hint of a breeze and all looked great for a brilliant flying excursion. How wrong I would be proven. Twenty minutes into the flight, things started to change seriously. The air became viciously turbulent for no apparent reason except for seeing some ominous dust clouds being whipped up on the mine dumps out Beeshoek way. I made the critical decision of returning to the airfield pronto. I joined overhead for a windsock check and was shocked to observe it stuck in the horizontal position (10 knot sock) but swivelling around wildly. The wind was changing direction by up to 90 degree every odd second or two. I decided to land on 06 again which would bring me in at 45deg crosswind from the west. 1 Notch flaps selected I approached cautiously. Everything seemed okay even though the Cheetah was bucking around like a wild horse. Quite intimidating for any pilot I might add. Fly the aeroplane I was taught! Fly the aeroplane John! Closer to the flare things went awry wrong. One brief moment we were floating next the nose was up, the wing dropped, corrected, normal again I thought and then, we shot up in the air but with minimal airspeed! A flippen whirlwind - didn't see the dust and it had attacked us without warning. Full power applied, GO AROUND, get up the airspeed! We struggled to get height, on the contrary it felt we were going to be klapped into the ground! In then I made the mistake that nearly enhanced the situation of being klapped into the ground.... 100ft off the ground and instead of turning into the gusting wind I turned out of it - WHAT THE F&^%%k WAS I THINKING ?

FULL POWER, WHY ARE WE NOT CLIMBING, AIRSPEED 42-45mph, oh my Lord we are on the stall, DON'T PULL UP THE NOSE, WE ARE SINKING (yes what were you sinking about!) We crawled through the air hanging onto the prop, still no gain, watch the turn, no more than 15degrees or we'll go into a spin, rather nurse it in the turn, do a right turn out and get to runway 01. 80 foot, 70 foot, were going to be a tree top height shortly - I can see the newspaper (and the threads on AVCOM ) Some evil monster was pulling us down and back - the Dragon! A little respite came in that the wind had shifted yet again and all of a sudden we gained 200 foot. It felt like 2000ft in these circumstances.... Finally I could line up with runway 01 and I approached over the water - wow - no turbulence for a moment - and then it was back. NO FLAPS this time and in we went "hot". Well, it felt hot at the time. I flew the Cheetah onto the deck power off, we floated but only mere feet above the ground and then it stalled. THUD. We were planted and rolling ever so slowly on the ground.... SAFELY ON TERRA FIRMA!

Silence reigned in the cockpit. My PAX, who had flown with many experienced pilots turned to and said - well John my boy you can fly but I think its time for a serious DOP!

Lessons learnt - don't stop flying the aeroplane, learn to fly in all conditions, watch the dragons of the downwind, know your and your aircraft's ability and inability!

Red Heart a nd Raspberry has never tasted so lekker!

[AndyG]

Wow, great stories

[AndyG]

Now that my mate Alan has told one of his stories I have to tell one of my own.
I started flying late in life. I went solo on my 56th birthday. Our instructor, Peet, told me once that the only thing I would regret about flying is that I started so late in life. How true that has been. Starting flying is a rejuvenation in many ways, there are so many new thrilling experiences to encounter but also, on the other hand, you get this ruddy great trunk full of new mistakes that you've still got to learn your way through. And unfortunately I seem to be one of those people who have to make them all.

I have this one rigid unbroken rule. You NEVER, EVER, leave your aircraft unattended whilst the motor is going! Some of my younger flying mates (not Alan by the way - he's only got a few years to go to be as old as I am) have this habit of wandering around doing pre-flights while the prop is spinning or going into the hangar to fetch something they forgot. If this smug old man has told them once he's told them dozens of times "if you carry on in this reckless and irresponsible way, one day you are going to see your backside!"

It was one of those bitingly cold Highveld winter mornings. The frost was on the grass and the sun was just below the horizon. I had started my engine and according to my rule (you stay in front of your plane, holding onto the profile tube or sitting in the pilot's seat) I was sitting in the front seat putting on my helmet. My fingers felt like someone had taken a hammer to the tips and I couldn't fasten my helmet strap. One of my younger flying mates was on the point of taxiing out and I signalled to him to stop. In my haste I jumped out of my seat and ran the few metres over to him to get him to help me with the strap.

As I turned round after getting the strap fastened I saw my trusty trike gathering pace as it turned on a slight downhill towards the runway. Panic stricken, a hefty dose of adrenalin shooting into the bloodstream, this old man took off after his pride and joy, the lead to his headphones jerking from side to side like some trotting stallion's giant flaccid penis. The inevitable happened. The plug point of the lead hit the ground at a point where a millisecond later my left foot was to land. My momentum carried me forward, the lead trapped under my left foot jerked my head downwards, my feet left the ground and I became a flying uncontrolled missile crashing into the earth, helmet first. Because of the surprising speed of my panicked run my helmet gouged a furrow in the ground filling the helmet with soil and grass. Stunned but still charged with adrenalin I managed to jump up half blinded by the soil and grass only to see that my trike, motor still turning, had been stopped by the long grass on the other side of the runway.

Did this happen to one of my 'reckless and irresponsible' young flying mates? No, it happened to this smug old man who NEVER, EVER leaves his aircraft unattended. How unfair!

Did this happen on some quiet morning with no-one around? Of course not! It happened on the day that everyone in the club had pitched up to fly - even the Thunderbird pilots had all come out early. Were they busy in their hangars unsuspecting of the unfolding drama? They all had ring side seats. If you believe that you're a fool for only five minutes, forget it, the story told to great mirth and hilarity at get togethers grows longer and more hilarious with each telling! What shame! What humiliation!

So what's the lesson to be learnt from this?

Being in charge of an airplane with the liquidizer blades turning is like being in charge of a toddler in a crowded supermarket or near an unguarded swimming pool. You daren't let your guard slip even for a second!

[AndyG]

Just in view of the above,

We had a top Vascular Surgeon who was training at our airfield. His morning preflight was to walk up and kick his front wheel, start his engine, and then continue his preflight. Many experienced pilots asked him about this and his answer was, what is the problem the motor is at idle??

Nevertheless the instructor insisted on a further preflight before flying. In front of him. The guy was a renegade and had a holier than you attitude. He often pushed the fact that he was a medical specialist and was quite adept and picking up things quickly.

His flying career didn't last long as fellow pilots quickly let him know that safety was foremost and if he didn't practise it at our airfield then there was a problem.

He tried instruction at a few other airfields and was told the same.

He sold his brand new trike and stopped flying.

[grostek]

Sadly an attitude that is not uncommon.

Kind regards,

Gunter Rostek.

[AlanM]

TonyV wrote:
I have this one rigid unbroken rule. You NEVER, EVER, leave your aircraft unattended whilst the motor is going!

Nice one Captain, (where was I when all this happened ?????) Very valid advice nonetheless

[Peg Leg]

AXIOM

In theory an axiom (not strictly according to Webster) is a statement of fact taken as truth, which does not need to be proven to be true. Keeping that in mind, it would then suffice to say that Microlight Instruction is a process defined by hours and hours of complete boredom punctuated by seconds of shear, utter and excruciating terror!!

It was a morning as they normally come at the height of summer, clear, crisp and delightfully fresh after the previous evenings’ thunderstorm. The sun was slowly creeping over the horizon as my student and I poured our coffee prior to the 1st and last lesson of the day. Today, we would go practice a couple of circuits, followed by some simulated engine failures in the GF and pupe would be ready for his 1st SOLO.

The microlight was a brand new Windlass with one of the 1st Cut Wings (A standard wing, cut back by the factory). What an improvement this wing had on the previous designs – the cruise was increased and the climb was phenomenal to say the least. Turbulence handling was unsurpassed for a local product at the time, and we loved it.

During our pre-flight discussion the task at hand was made clear to pupe. We had considered various alternatives as we discussed this. We made sure that we carried only 25 liters of fuel for the flight. I weighed 90 Kg and pupe 130 kg and the plane was still brand new, engine had only been run in. We were quite aware that we were at gross weight and a bit, but I’ve done this plenty before and were quite relaxed about the whole W&B issue.

After a couple of circuits, which went very well to all standards, we departed for the GF area. I chose a huge spot with miles and miles of ploughed fields and little strips of land in between. We could really land anywhere. “POWER-OFF” I bellowed from the back seat and pupe duly took his foot off the throttle. I then calmly asked, “where are you going to land?” upon which he pointed “there”.

Not entirely satisfied that he’d be able to make it, I said, “Show me” and off we went. As we continued on our glide path, I decided that his chosen spot is a borderline decision – if he doesn’t turn in time, he is going to be lined-up across the furrows of the ploughed field – I’d then decided I’d allow him to make the mistake and recover the plane fairly close to the ground so that pupe can see his mistake for himself.

Well, maybe, the fact that we were overweight, the fact that I had not kept in mind the nasty little cutback wing stall characteristics, the fact that this brand new Windlass did not have an instructors throttle at the back seat and maybe, just maybe because I also then waited too late with the command to give full power, have put us into a prediction here. As I shouted “FULL POWER”, pupe just burst out laughing in the intercom and froze on the bar, and then refused to punch his foot on the throttle. I pushed the bar a little forward realizing I’ve just completed the round-out phase of a perfect landing in a completely unsuitable field – I then screamed again, “FULL POWER”, to which pupe still did not re-act. We were now floating crossways to the ploughed furrows, maybe two-three feet off the ground, overweight and in desperate lack of airspeed. All I could do now was to continue the flare, and boy was I good at that. Push the bar forward, float a little more, start dropping, push the bar forward, float a little more, start dropping, push the bar forward………….

Now, there are many schools of thought, but I was always very content to drill my students that when the wheels touch the ground (doesn’t matter when or where ) that is when you cut the power, throttle off – finito. Nevertheless………

At this stage we were about 12 inches off the deck with the bar fulllll forward, when I felt the left wing drop about 15 degrees. Pupe gave a shriek like shout in the mike and suddenly he had full throttle – it was absolutely amazing. Suddenly I knew we were going to make it..

The little Rotax 503 whined at full revs behind me and I had hope – just then, I felt the left wing dropping and I could barely hold it, never mind lifting it up again.. The bar was full forward against the profile tube, we had maybe 6 inches below us and I could just feel if I pull the bar in half a nanometer, we were going to hit the ground – we flew a full 500 meter ½ circle to the left. I remember screaming in the intercom, “help me pick-up the left wing,help…..”

When I saw the shrubbery approaching on the side of the field, I suddenly wondered if we were going to make it after all. We had full power, full bar forward, a left wing low and ground below us. I think it was then that I almost gave up. I yanked the bar in, just a wheee little bit, thinking that I might just bounce the wheels on the soft sand which will give us a bounce and more room to maneuver – pretty desperate I’d say, but I did it anyway.

Well, the result was unbelievable – the trike bounced maybe ten feet up and we were out of here. Only problem was, as we hit the ground, pupe duly, like a good pupe might have done with inexperience, took his foot off the throttle. So, there we were traveling at a 30 degree angle towards the heavens with absolutely no throttle. At the crest of the climb, maybe ten or fifteen feet up, the trike flicked it’s nose toward mother earth, like any good trike should in a deep stall – just to add to the incredible drama, pupe, realized what was happening and as the nose of the trike accelerated toward the earth, he applied full throttle again.

We hit the ground at an impossible speed. I remember the crunch when my head struck the earth –I then remember my 130kg pupe and side of the trike following suite and landing on top of me. I could not breathe for what felt like 15 minutes, (maybe little less) and pupe was gone. He just lay motionless half on top of me and the silence was eerie. I thought, excellent – not only have I broken my back, I am going to die not being able to breathe whilst I am looking at my dead pupe. It was AFWUL, to say the least.

After a couple of minutes he started moving, I started breating and we crawled from the wreckage. We were able to call another trike with the radio (totally smashed but still working somehow). My doctor booked me off for 3 days (NOT SURE WHICH HURT THE MOST, SORE BACK OR SORE EGO), my pupe ordered a brand-new trike the next day – and I never crashed again to this day. Was it me or was it him? Doesn’t matter, learn from your experiences and fly safe

Please take into consideration that the facts of the crash only came to light after many nights of discussions and deep soul searching around campfires with the assistance of some frosties and the good company of fellow trike pilots.

[extra300s]

Wow that is scary stuff! Glad you are both ok. So atleast your student had some spare part for his new trike

[AndyG]

Shew,

Unless you are a 100% sure on how your student is going to react, make sure that the instructor has a throttle as well.

Glad you guys were all right.

[andreb]

Nice story. Hilarious if it wasn't so serious.
Glad you made it through though.

[AndyG]

z

[Uncle Spud Murphy]

Peg Leg Mfwetu (Zulu phrase compliments of leftseat) your tale is an inspiration to me and will be to many others I am sure. Much I have learned from the mistakes of others recorded on this topic and I haven't sat in the driving seat of a aircraft yet. My deepest respects to all of you who have admitted to being human and being human is our greatest enemy.

Printed everything I have and placed on file to re-read whenever. There will come a time when I will face what others have recorded here and who knows. By admitting your own mistakes and surviving you might just save me and anyone else who takes notice. Don't let this topic die guys. It's too damn important.

See!!! I can be serious, so I can

Alles van die beste. Listen. learn. Be safe, not jammer

[AndyG]

Any more posts. It was making for interesting reading and learning.

[AndyG]

p

[AndyG]

Might be a good idea to revive this topic. I know that I learnt from all the postings made. Everyone learns from hangartalk, newbies and the more experienced pilots. The intention is not to lambaste or crit any posting but merely to see how it could have been done differently to avoid the situation or incident described.

Cheers,