My instructor saved my life, without knowing it...
Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2011 1:41 pm
On Saturday I was flying to Potch with a friend. He had his wife on board I were solo. As we crossed over the ridge approaching the dam just before Potch, approx 36 miles from Crosswinds, I felt a bit of shaking on the bar. I noticed this immediately as the flight was extremely smooth thus far, even with the tail wind taking my ground speed up to 85 m/ph in some places.
The next moment I was looking straight up at the sky. I pulled my bar hard towards me to get penetration and level the aircraft out. I just managed this, when I went down in a spiral towards the earth. I dropped from 5600ft to ground level in a few seconds. I had serious trouble and had to fight hard to keep the aircraft in the air. I saw a road and radio'd to the other aircraft that I have trouble and will attempt a emergency landing on the road. After that my radio work were done, and I prepared to make an emergency landing on the road. The aircraft was violently going wherever the wind wanted to take me. I managed to dodge two trucks, but at this stage I was pushed far from the road again. My arms started giving up, shoulders were getting heavy, then all of a sudden I heard my instructors voice in my ears, "onthou jy is n man op n perd" I composed myself again, actively thinking and fighting off the adrenalin pumping through my vain's, so not to freeze up. I got her lined up on the road again, but traffic was bad, and I couldn't land. Desperately I called the other pilot asking him where he was and if he had a visual on me. He replied that he was at 6000ft and things were bumpy, but that he can at least control her. I replied telling him I will try and climb out of this sh*t. The wind however kept me from getting altitude. Once again, my body started giving up, then I heard his voice again. "Never stop flying the plain, until the bitter end" "lose your mind, lose your life" I pushed the throttle down hard with my foot, and pulled the bar in to get maximum penetration. My Cobra's 582, was screaming, the Spirit 15 wing making violent flapping noises as the wind did with it whatever it wanted. Eventually, after which felt like a lifetime, things started to calm down at 5800ft, still busy, but nothing remotely as bad as down there.
I flew straight back to Crosswinds, most of the time playing with my IPOD to distract myself from what just happened. After landing at Crosswinds, I was exhausted. I waited for 10 minutes, looked at the windsock and decided that the weather is still good enough for another flip. So I got into my flying machine and took off, for another lil flight. http://www.youtube.com/wvbosch
Flo, thank you. Without the guidance and knowledge you shared with me, I would have died on Saturday.
ZU-DLP
The next moment I was looking straight up at the sky. I pulled my bar hard towards me to get penetration and level the aircraft out. I just managed this, when I went down in a spiral towards the earth. I dropped from 5600ft to ground level in a few seconds. I had serious trouble and had to fight hard to keep the aircraft in the air. I saw a road and radio'd to the other aircraft that I have trouble and will attempt a emergency landing on the road. After that my radio work were done, and I prepared to make an emergency landing on the road. The aircraft was violently going wherever the wind wanted to take me. I managed to dodge two trucks, but at this stage I was pushed far from the road again. My arms started giving up, shoulders were getting heavy, then all of a sudden I heard my instructors voice in my ears, "onthou jy is n man op n perd" I composed myself again, actively thinking and fighting off the adrenalin pumping through my vain's, so not to freeze up. I got her lined up on the road again, but traffic was bad, and I couldn't land. Desperately I called the other pilot asking him where he was and if he had a visual on me. He replied that he was at 6000ft and things were bumpy, but that he can at least control her. I replied telling him I will try and climb out of this sh*t. The wind however kept me from getting altitude. Once again, my body started giving up, then I heard his voice again. "Never stop flying the plain, until the bitter end" "lose your mind, lose your life" I pushed the throttle down hard with my foot, and pulled the bar in to get maximum penetration. My Cobra's 582, was screaming, the Spirit 15 wing making violent flapping noises as the wind did with it whatever it wanted. Eventually, after which felt like a lifetime, things started to calm down at 5800ft, still busy, but nothing remotely as bad as down there.
I flew straight back to Crosswinds, most of the time playing with my IPOD to distract myself from what just happened. After landing at Crosswinds, I was exhausted. I waited for 10 minutes, looked at the windsock and decided that the weather is still good enough for another flip. So I got into my flying machine and took off, for another lil flight. http://www.youtube.com/wvbosch
Flo, thank you. Without the guidance and knowledge you shared with me, I would have died on Saturday.
ZU-DLP
Ek laaik nie om so te leer nie!
