Postby Petrodactyl » Fri Oct 15, 2010 10:07 am
We had this exact scenario at our airfield.
Windlass with cut-back wing, 2 up, stall 30ft above ground after take-off. Pilot and pax fortunately walked away with minimal injury. Aircraft very sick - wing unsalvagable, pylon & lower boom bent.
Pilot admits forcing the trike off the ground. He has a lot of experience and many hours, but flys sporadically and on this day was in a hurry to get airbourne as the light was fading.
Obviously this problem is also exacerbated by the extra weight that not only increases the stall speed, but also increases the momentum of the pendulum of the trike under the wing, which swings further forward and tends to increase the angle of attack of the wing.
I was taught, and I try to teach pupils to fly by feel rather than to fly by numbers. Indicated airspeed is not a guarantee that the aircraft is ready to fly. Wind direction and speed, air density, leaving ground effect and especially added weight will affect aircraft performance enormously, so I ask my pupils to be patient and wait until they are sure that those wings are fully supporting the aircraft and that the speed has built up enough before they climb.
Christian Carver
Go Fly a Trike!
ZU-BBU