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  #1  
Old 09-10-2015, 05:21 PM
jmartin871 jmartin871 is offline
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Reno
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Default Severe Turbulence

I experienced a single jolt of severe turbulence in my RV-7 while crossing the Sierra's near Donner Pass. My head hit the canopy hard and things (like my iPad) flew around the cockpit. After I landed, I inspected the aircraft and found no damage,i.e., no rivets popped or rippled surface sheet metal.

Question: Would anyone suggest any specific areas to check further? Should I get a professional to look at it?

PS: It flew fine afterward. No obvious distortions in any surface.
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  #2  
Old 09-10-2015, 05:27 PM
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Mike S Mike S is offline
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Default Welcome to VAF!

First post -----

Welcome aboard.

This is probably a good question to ask the good folks at the factory.
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  #3  
Old 09-10-2015, 05:31 PM
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wirejock wirejock is offline
 
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Default Welcome

Welcome.
Is there a G meter?
Doesn't sond like more than 3 negative.
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  #4  
Old 09-10-2015, 06:05 PM
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f14av8r f14av8r is offline
 
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Location: Tampa (Wimauma actually)
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Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by jmartin871 View Post
I experienced a single jolt of severe turbulence in my RV-7 while crossing the Sierra's near Donner Pass. My head hit the canopy hard and things (like my iPad) flew around the cockpit. After I landed, I inspected the aircraft and found no damage,i.e., no rivets popped or rippled surface sheet metal.

Question: Would anyone suggest any specific areas to check further? Should I get a professional to look at it?

PS: It flew fine afterward. No obvious distortions in any surface.
It doesn't take much negative g to push your head into the canopy if you don't have your straps cinched down. Very few of us fly around with the straps cinched tight on a cross-country. Personally, I wouldn't be concerned about one jolt that threw you out of the seat.
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  #5  
Old 09-10-2015, 06:07 PM
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R. Daniels R. Daniels is offline
 
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You can't make an uneducated statement like that wirejock. Could have been 2 G's or 6 G's. Your head will try to hit the canopy and your things will fly around either way.
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  #6  
Old 09-10-2015, 06:31 PM
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N941WR N941WR is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by R. Daniels View Post
You can't make an uneducated statement like that wirejock. Could have been 2 G's or 6 G's. Your head will try to hit the canopy and your things will fly around either way.
Remember, you are sitting still at +1 G. So a -1 jolt simply brings you to zero. So, a negative 1.5 G hit will read as -.5.

I hit a 3.7G positive hit once. Oh, that hurt! Pulled the data later to verify and sure enough, I didn't misread the G meter.
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  #7  
Old 09-10-2015, 07:08 PM
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f14av8r f14av8r is offline
 
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Default My educated rebuttal

Quote:
Originally Posted by R. Daniels View Post
You can't make an uneducated statement like that wirejock. Could have been 2 G's or 6 G's. Your head will try to hit the canopy and your things will fly around either way.
I've pulled, pushed, and experienced enough positive and negative g in my life to know the difference between 2 and 6 g - positive or negative. If the OP had a minus 3g or greater hit, while strapped into his airplane in typical cross country fashion, I assure you he'd have more damage than just a "hard" head hit and some things flying around the cockpit. Knocked unconscious would be more typical of that type of event.

Hey guys, I'm not saying he didn't experience a significant turbulence event. I just doubt it came close to approaching the limits of our fantastic airplanes. If you've ever experienced minus 3g or greater, and I have, you have some appreciation of the extreme nature of those conditions.
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Last edited by f14av8r : 09-11-2015 at 05:43 AM. Reason: error in judgement!
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  #8  
Old 09-10-2015, 07:16 PM
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Neal@F14 Neal@F14 is offline
 
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If it wasn't a continuous sustained negative G load, I wouldn't worry too much about it. These RVs are incredibly strong airframes and can withstand a lot. If you're really concerned, you could pull some wing skins off and eddy-current test your spars but IMHO that would be overkill.
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  #9  
Old 09-10-2015, 07:30 PM
David Paule David Paule is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Neal@F14 View Post
....If you're really concerned, you could pull some wing skins off and eddy-current test your spars but IMHO that would be overkill.
I wouldn't do that on my plane. A good visual inspection ought to suffice, unless there's some new damage found.

Dave
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  #10  
Old 09-10-2015, 07:53 PM
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Neal@F14 Neal@F14 is offline
 
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I guess I should've used the words paranoidly concerned instead.
Unless your head broke the canopy and there were visibly signs of overstressing the airframe, it's probably fine. RV flyers encounter strong mountain turbulence every year while crossing the Rockies and these airplanes endure it just fine.
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