While at Oshkosh in 1990 (I flew the Grand Champion Collings B24 with my 49 mission, this being the 50th, Dad as co-pilot to my 1st Oshkosh), a close friend and mentor Harry Ferran approached Dad and myself to partner an RV4 project. Flying warbirds, I really had little interest in homebuilts, but considering the man proposing the deal, I joined immediately. Boy, was I wrong about homebuilts, especially the Vans RV design.
We acquired the RV4 kit, and went to work in our shop at Skybolt. My dad was not only a decorated B24 pilot, he spent years in air force maintenance and was a true craftsman. My first flight in the 180 horse, constant speed RV4 was as much fun and high as one can ever imagine. The pride in the finished product is as good as it gets.
My stepson, Bob Oleksa joined with my dad to then begin construction of Jim Stewart?s S51 Mustang, another design we worked very closely with. Setting next to the S51 project was that gleaming RV4. Bob had a very close relationship with Kermit Weeks and Lee Lauderback through mom, and had more thrill ride time in a real Mustang than any kid alive. He rode and flew through many aerobatic maneuvers with the best in the business. As a 200-hour private pilot attending Embry Riddle, Bob kept eyeing the RV4 and then one day, dad said, Bob, I want you to check out in that airplane. Dad worked with him and I rode with him as well.
Bob had one of those traits we all dream of in a kid. If you could go to the people parts store and pick out 100% perfect people parts, you would have built a Bob. He always listened then executed with maturity and responsibility. I shared with him numerous stunts I had done in my early years that should have become another statistic. Over and over, I explained the difference between stupid and responsible flying. We did not build our RV4 for aerobatics, as Harry was intent to fly it around the world. If anyone out there remembers Harry, he flew his J3 Cub to the North Pole and back using his own designed drift meter, as GPS was not available. Flying an RV around the world was certainly within his capability. Dad hated wiping oil off the belly after my occasional rolls or spins, which I liked to do. So Bob was discouraged from using our RV for aerobatics and reserve that urge for the Extra, T6, or Mustang. After all, if you have access to those kinds of aircraft, why oil up the belly of an RV4?
Deb and I had arranged a 10-hour aerobatic course with our French Connection friends as a Christmas present in 1998. It was interesting to note that the insurance companies are worried about a tail wheel endorsement but ask nothing about aerobatics or unusual attitude training.
Bob, along with a good friend, father of four were killed on October 10, 1998 in my dad?s pride and joy. I can tell you, such a fatality changes families forever. The S51 was placed back in a box and sold. My dad lost all interest in aviation. I never flew the B24 or B17 again. Debra lost her son. Four kids grew up without a dad. Dark clouds just will not go away. Here was a kid on his way to the Blue Angeles or Thunderbirds as he fit the mold to a tee. Gone forever at age 21.
My career has spanned 5 US airlines and I have settled in as a Delta B767ER Captain. I expected and assumed many things in my career. So what happened? How could an exceptionally responsible young pilot end up in a low altitude flat spin? The pieces just did not add up. One piece, however, did. I learned and Bob learned how to fly in C150s, Cherokees, and Cubs. Go figure the role rate and performance of those airplanes then jump into an RV Series aircraft that is close to military fighter performance. Think about the difference. I think about the video of Bob performing aerobatics in Crazy Horse with Lee Lauderback. A Mustang goes up down and around as well with two people as one. An RV does not. Alone in the RV4, I could paint the sky. Add another sole and that performance drops drastically. Spin an RV airplane and you really get a high (low) quick. I never spun the airplane with two people and would rather not.
So why did Bob, a mature, responsible young pilot attempt aerobatics with and adult passenger he did not even know? The answer is, he did not attempt anything.
This is my theory: Bob and Eric were enjoying a beautiful late fall day flight touring the countryside. Bob showed Eric how dartful and nimble the RV4 really was. Move the stick just a little here and the airplane goes there really quick. That alone is what the Vans RV design is all about. In their short flight 1,000 feet agl probably turned into 700 feet agl. Heck, if that?s a bit too low, simple bull back and buzz back to 1,500 feet agl and continue the thrill.
At some point in the ride, Bob probably asked Eric, a non-pilot, if he would like a quick turn at the helm.
Eric was a new friend that was in town to stage a national quarter midget race on the grounds of Week?s Fantasy of Flight. Eric was an icon to kid?s racing series. Eric also had a tough time with numerous speeding tickets over short periods of time. Though one of the nicest guys I had met in recent years, Eric had a great thirst for thrill and speed. Feeling the immediate response to the RV4 stick, Eric placed the nose toward the sky as witnesses described, unfortunately from a low altitude. So what is low for any quasi-aerobatic maneuver in an RV? In this case, 3,000 to 5,000 feet may have been too low.
Bob?s limited 200 hours may have been the difference from my experience and even the reader?s experience, to recognize a situation and arrest the situation before it even developed. The experience Bob had in the Mustang may have given him a false sense of just how quickly their situation was going bad.
By the time corrective action was either recognized or taken, the RV4 was either close to stall, possibly high bank, high nose attitude, and airspeed dropping like a bullet. Dad installed a float carburetor on the factory new O360. One second negative G, and the engine would surge, the prop would cycle, and a close to stall condition could easily develop into an uncommanded roll into an inverted flat spin, in this case a classic flat spin. The greatest aerobatic pilot in the world could not have recovered once the maneuver was allowed to progress.
Would the aerobatic lessons prevented this accident? Absolutely! The actions would have been quickly recognized and the episode would have been a non-event. The tail wheel experience required by the insurance company was very minor to the experience level required to fly a truly high performance airplane. If I could do it all over, the aerobatic course would have come first, the tail wheel experience second, then the keys to the RV.
I never thought such an experience could happen to me.
Continued in PArt 2
Ned Bowers,
Skybolt
We acquired the RV4 kit, and went to work in our shop at Skybolt. My dad was not only a decorated B24 pilot, he spent years in air force maintenance and was a true craftsman. My first flight in the 180 horse, constant speed RV4 was as much fun and high as one can ever imagine. The pride in the finished product is as good as it gets.
My stepson, Bob Oleksa joined with my dad to then begin construction of Jim Stewart?s S51 Mustang, another design we worked very closely with. Setting next to the S51 project was that gleaming RV4. Bob had a very close relationship with Kermit Weeks and Lee Lauderback through mom, and had more thrill ride time in a real Mustang than any kid alive. He rode and flew through many aerobatic maneuvers with the best in the business. As a 200-hour private pilot attending Embry Riddle, Bob kept eyeing the RV4 and then one day, dad said, Bob, I want you to check out in that airplane. Dad worked with him and I rode with him as well.
Bob had one of those traits we all dream of in a kid. If you could go to the people parts store and pick out 100% perfect people parts, you would have built a Bob. He always listened then executed with maturity and responsibility. I shared with him numerous stunts I had done in my early years that should have become another statistic. Over and over, I explained the difference between stupid and responsible flying. We did not build our RV4 for aerobatics, as Harry was intent to fly it around the world. If anyone out there remembers Harry, he flew his J3 Cub to the North Pole and back using his own designed drift meter, as GPS was not available. Flying an RV around the world was certainly within his capability. Dad hated wiping oil off the belly after my occasional rolls or spins, which I liked to do. So Bob was discouraged from using our RV for aerobatics and reserve that urge for the Extra, T6, or Mustang. After all, if you have access to those kinds of aircraft, why oil up the belly of an RV4?
Deb and I had arranged a 10-hour aerobatic course with our French Connection friends as a Christmas present in 1998. It was interesting to note that the insurance companies are worried about a tail wheel endorsement but ask nothing about aerobatics or unusual attitude training.
Bob, along with a good friend, father of four were killed on October 10, 1998 in my dad?s pride and joy. I can tell you, such a fatality changes families forever. The S51 was placed back in a box and sold. My dad lost all interest in aviation. I never flew the B24 or B17 again. Debra lost her son. Four kids grew up without a dad. Dark clouds just will not go away. Here was a kid on his way to the Blue Angeles or Thunderbirds as he fit the mold to a tee. Gone forever at age 21.
My career has spanned 5 US airlines and I have settled in as a Delta B767ER Captain. I expected and assumed many things in my career. So what happened? How could an exceptionally responsible young pilot end up in a low altitude flat spin? The pieces just did not add up. One piece, however, did. I learned and Bob learned how to fly in C150s, Cherokees, and Cubs. Go figure the role rate and performance of those airplanes then jump into an RV Series aircraft that is close to military fighter performance. Think about the difference. I think about the video of Bob performing aerobatics in Crazy Horse with Lee Lauderback. A Mustang goes up down and around as well with two people as one. An RV does not. Alone in the RV4, I could paint the sky. Add another sole and that performance drops drastically. Spin an RV airplane and you really get a high (low) quick. I never spun the airplane with two people and would rather not.
So why did Bob, a mature, responsible young pilot attempt aerobatics with and adult passenger he did not even know? The answer is, he did not attempt anything.
This is my theory: Bob and Eric were enjoying a beautiful late fall day flight touring the countryside. Bob showed Eric how dartful and nimble the RV4 really was. Move the stick just a little here and the airplane goes there really quick. That alone is what the Vans RV design is all about. In their short flight 1,000 feet agl probably turned into 700 feet agl. Heck, if that?s a bit too low, simple bull back and buzz back to 1,500 feet agl and continue the thrill.
At some point in the ride, Bob probably asked Eric, a non-pilot, if he would like a quick turn at the helm.
Eric was a new friend that was in town to stage a national quarter midget race on the grounds of Week?s Fantasy of Flight. Eric was an icon to kid?s racing series. Eric also had a tough time with numerous speeding tickets over short periods of time. Though one of the nicest guys I had met in recent years, Eric had a great thirst for thrill and speed. Feeling the immediate response to the RV4 stick, Eric placed the nose toward the sky as witnesses described, unfortunately from a low altitude. So what is low for any quasi-aerobatic maneuver in an RV? In this case, 3,000 to 5,000 feet may have been too low.
Bob?s limited 200 hours may have been the difference from my experience and even the reader?s experience, to recognize a situation and arrest the situation before it even developed. The experience Bob had in the Mustang may have given him a false sense of just how quickly their situation was going bad.
By the time corrective action was either recognized or taken, the RV4 was either close to stall, possibly high bank, high nose attitude, and airspeed dropping like a bullet. Dad installed a float carburetor on the factory new O360. One second negative G, and the engine would surge, the prop would cycle, and a close to stall condition could easily develop into an uncommanded roll into an inverted flat spin, in this case a classic flat spin. The greatest aerobatic pilot in the world could not have recovered once the maneuver was allowed to progress.
Would the aerobatic lessons prevented this accident? Absolutely! The actions would have been quickly recognized and the episode would have been a non-event. The tail wheel experience required by the insurance company was very minor to the experience level required to fly a truly high performance airplane. If I could do it all over, the aerobatic course would have come first, the tail wheel experience second, then the keys to the RV.
I never thought such an experience could happen to me.
Continued in PArt 2
Ned Bowers,
Skybolt
