Dumb things

Last night I did a couple of dumb things with my RV-8. One of which was mostly not my fault and one of which was definitely my fault. The result was a really good (cheap) lesson that could have been a whole lot worse.

I live in an area with about 20 airports and have landed at them all over the last few years, with the exception of one: Langley Air Force Base. So last night on a calm, clear evening about 45 minutes before sunset I took off with a friend from my home airport. I called Langley's tower and asked for permission to do a couple of touch n gos at Langley and was quickly approved (apparently, business was really slow just a couple days before Christmas).

The controller asked me to call the 5 mile final. It was perhaps the easiest final approach you could ask for (no wind, 10 miles of viz, 150' wide 10,000' long runway and no one else in the pattern). What could go wrong?

I made a terrific squeaker of a wheel landing...

Two hundred feet later I saw the cable stretched across the runway at a height of 3" or so. I didn't have enough speed left to fly over it. Other than a hard bump as I went over it, not much happened. I stopped and talked to the controller and she pointed out that it was the BAC-12 emergency arresting gear located 1100' from the approach end of the runway.

So how dumb is that? (Not that the cable was there since it is needed for jet emergencies) How dumb is it that I didn't know it was there? Lesson one: if you are going to a new airport, check the AFD or ask the tower about obstructions etc. BTW, it is OK for bigger planes to land before the BAC-12 and just run over the cable but us little guys have much less tolerance for 1" steel cables strung across the runway.

Now for the really dumb part. I never got out of the plane to check it over. I did a couple taxi turns and then asked for permission for two more touch n gos. I flew two more very nice patterns with great landings (beyond the wire) and headed home.

When I landed at my home field 20 miles away, I found I had no right brake. The landing was uneventful and I gingerly taxiied back to my hanger. When I got out I found the right wheel pant was gone and my brake line busted.

Amazingly enough, the wheel pant was back at Langley and relatively undamaged. The total cost of this little adventure will likely be about $50. It could have been A LOT worse of course. Lesson 2: Always take the extra time to look at your plane if you do something like this (hard landing etc.).

I am embarrassed by my poor decision making. I am thrilled that I got this lesson drilled into my head without hurting anyone or seriously damaging my tin.

Merry Christmas.

bruce

I'm glad you are Ok and the plane will fly again. I'd like to share with everyone something my flight instructor taught me to do upon entering the pattern: Step on the Brakes! I've done that nearly 10,000 times now Rosie

Obsrtucted Landings

Here's another example of obstructed landings.
About 10 years ago, I had occasion to take my girlfriend to a place called River Ranch here in Florida. It was to be a relaxing weekend getaway. When we arrived at dusk I was cleared to land on runway 15. (5000 feet, 50 feet wide).
Just before touchdown I said to my passenger, what's that on the runway? I immediately applied full power and did a go around. As we passed over the obstruction we saw it was 5 deer lying directly across the runway. They left when we flew over them.
After landing, I told the attendant in the FBO about the deer. His reply,"Oh yeah, we also have a lot of wild pigs and turkeys that like to lie there before dark." I then told him that he should mention that there might be wild animals on the runway when pilots call in for information. He got the message. It is now in the flight handbooks.
Have a great Holiday everyone.
Woodman
Roger Hirschbein

Along the same lines

I was about 100 hrs into my flying career when one summer my parents and I decided to fly from Dallas to Chadron, Nebraska for a family reunion. I was excited about it as it would be my longest cross country, and I had a Piper Cherokee 180 at the time. We stopped in Dodge City, Kansas for breakfast and everything was going well enroute to Chadron when it was decided a bathroom break was in order.

I punched up nearest in the GPS (they had just come out back in '97) and sure enough there was an airport at our 12 o'clock, 10 miles. It was public, non towered and we were headed straight down the runway into the favored winds. I figured we would call on the CTAF for a Unicom airport advisory. No answer so I simply stated we were on a 4 mile final, any traffic in the area please advise. Nothing. I made 2 or three more calls before we landed at the end of the 7000' runway.

About half way down the runway, I see orange cones down the center line and veer right to miss them and taxi down the right side of the runway. I knew then that something was wrong and didn't really know what to do now. I really couldn't take off again so I kept taxiing to see what I had done. I was sure I had landed at the airport from the runway numbers and markings, there was no "X" at the end of the runway etc.

As we neared the end of the runway, I began to see people -- a lot of them! It was then that I stared straight ahead in disbelief. I was facing two race dragsters at the end of the runway pointing straight at me. A flagman waved me over and I got out, knowing I would probably lose my license over this.

To my surprise, he welcomed us and asked if we had flown in for the race! I said "no, we really only wanted to use the restroom." He and some of the other officials helped us move the plane off the "race track" and said "Enjoy the races and just let us know when you want to leave. We saw you coming in and stopped the races so you could land."

Breathing a sigh of relief, we took care of business, bought a soda and watched a couple of races. I then mentioned we needed to be on our way so they stopped the race, let us taxi out and take off, and everyone smiled and waved as we passed overhead!

This obviously could have been a disaster so I am very thankful it turned out the way it did. Turns out, the airport is closed on Sundays for local racing.

Moral: ALWAYS check the AFD before landing at an unfamiliar airport and ALWAYS overfly a field before you land.

My humiliating experience FWIW.

landing on a drag strip

This obviously could have been a disaster so I am very thankful it turned out the way it did. Turns out, the airport is closed on Sundays for local racing.

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Great story, and great lesson! It seems like the guys running the airport need to add an automatic announcement to their CTAF on Sundays!

N297NW said:

So how dumb is that? (Not that the cable was there since it is needed for jet emergencies) How dumb is it that I didn't know it was there?

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I am glad that you are ok. I can't believe they did not tell you about the wire Here in Pax, if you are a small prop plane (T-6, C-12..), the tower tells you the status of the wire and the location.