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  #21  
Old 04-03-2020, 07:04 AM
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RONSIM RONSIM is offline
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Largo, FL
Posts: 1,029
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I know, for a fact, that a Grumman Tiger will taxi over (with enough power) a nose-wheel chock you were too embarrassed to shut down and remove (and that is only one of several over a 67 year flying adventure!)

Ron
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RV-8A Maintained and flown (Sold)
RV-6A Bought and Flying (N177RV), upgrades $$$
IO360, 180HP/CS, AFS 5600T, D10A, G650, G430, G327, ADS-B, VIZ385 AP
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  #22  
Old 04-03-2020, 07:38 AM
Flying Canuck Flying Canuck is offline
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 387
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I know a guy too. He's got plenty of proof of his humanity but today's story is from his 300 NM x-country for his commercial rating. With a rented 172 and his son along for the ride, he made the outbound leg without incident. The return takeoff, with full fuel on a very hot day at an unfamiliar airport, was a little too interesting. At the mid runway taxiway, between a couple of ATRs he decided to do an intersection departure (his home airport was a similar setup, 2500' from intersection). As the departure end approached much more quickly than the required airspeed this foolish pilot continued his takeoff and managed to get airborne, barely clearing the lights at the other end. As it turned out, this particular "midpoint" intersection provided only 1100' of runway. Hot, heavy and fighting wake from the just departed turboprop made for a great recipe for trouble. The kicker is that if I, I mean he, had done a short field takeoff it would have no trouble at all. Back tracking like everyone else would have been even better.

I never did get my commercial rating and this was by no means my last moment of stupidity but I've been sure to make each of them a lesson in what never to do again.
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Claude Pitre
RV-9A #91081, C-GCPT
Dynon SkyView HDX, IO-320 and WW 200RV C/S. Flying as of August 6, 2018

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  #23  
Old 04-03-2020, 07:40 AM
bobnoffs bobnoffs is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: n. wi
Posts: 777
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this is from flying magazine from 50 yrs ago. anyone remember?
pilot took off in his s.e.l. for a business trip. airplane was barely controllable. he was lucky enough to turn around and make a landing. his hanging suit bag was still draped around his elevator about where he had left it during preflight.
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Bob Noffs
n. wi.
dakota hawk/jab 3300 built and flying. sold 6/18.getting serious about the 12. in the hangar now as of 10/15/19
RV-12 kit as of 9/13
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  #24  
Old 04-03-2020, 08:12 AM
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Snowflake Snowflake is offline
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Victoria, BC, Canada
Posts: 3,932
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Well, I know "a guy" who was checked out in a friend's retractable high-performance amateur-built and managed to put 5 hours on it before landing it gear-up...

Mind you, this was a Vari-Eze, so the damage was limited to a 2x2" metal skid-plate on the nose. Replaced it with a couple of hours of work, and I am still flying it (ah, I mean... "the guy" is still flying it...).

Has to be one of the best airplane in the world for learning not to land gear up, in terms of the consequences of forgetting to lower it, IMO.
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1996 RV-6 "Tweety" C-FRBP (formerly N196RV)
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  #25  
Old 04-03-2020, 08:49 AM
SkipperBJW SkipperBJW is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2020
Location: Colorado Springs
Posts: 12
Default C-130 Ahead

My home airport (at the time - KRFD) was used almost daily by the Air National Guard to conduct training in C-130s. It was very common to be in the pattern with a pair.
I was piloting my Musketeer on final. In the right seat was a friend with almost 400 military jumps. My friend had no qualms flying with me...until that day.
A C-130 was landing in front of me. I was about a mile back and I thought above his approach path. About 300' AGL my plane suddenly banked/flipped 90 degrees! We were flying knife-edged and not on purpose!
As fast as it happened the plane righted itself to level flight and we landed with no further issues.
My friend turned to me as we taxied up to the hangar and said he had never been so scared in his life as when we nearly went inverted so close to the ground. Not a single one of his 400 jumps, day, night, into water, had ever made him pucker as much as that day with me.
I think he had good reason to say that and I drove home repeating "wing-tip vortices" over and over in my head.
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  #26  
Old 04-03-2020, 09:29 AM
patterson patterson is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Queen Creek AZ
Posts: 541
Default VFR into IFR

In the late 70s I had about 100 hours in my logbook when I decided to rent a 172 and fly from San Antonio to Long Beach CA. My wife and I wanted to spend Christmas with our family. A TV meteorologist that was teaching a weather class I was in said it looks good, but just watch out for that low pressure system over Mexico.

First leg to El Paso was nice and smooth, but about 50 miles from the airport things began to change. I continued on, decending so I could see, trying to remain above mountain tops. Finally, with viability about one mile, I decided to do a 180. Too late. It was worse behind me now. I dialed in 121.5 and declared an emergency. FSS immediately answered and had me key my Mike so they could locate my position. They gave me a heading to fly. I was now 500 feet below mountain tops and 30 miles out.

10 minutes or so later I got the runway lights a mile away. I've never seen anything more beautiful than those lights. Once on the ground I went to the FSS station and thanked those guys for saving our bacon! Fagitaboutit was their response. No report. No consequences. Haven't done anything that stupid in a plane since.
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RV-4 N8ZD Sold
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Last edited by patterson : 04-03-2020 at 09:36 AM.
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  #27  
Old 04-03-2020, 09:52 AM
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rv8ch rv8ch is offline
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: LSGY
Posts: 3,198
Default Nice try FAA!

To be clear, I have never done anything dumb or against the regs!

But I did know a guy who was flying around central Texas in the 1970s in a tripacer and didn't pay attention to the forecast, ended up scud running around to try to get home, and ended up flying below some radio towers, possibly under the guy wires. Scared straight! Last time I spoke to him, he's never scud run again.
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  #28  
Old 04-03-2020, 10:27 AM
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climberrn climberrn is offline
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Carson City, NV
Posts: 493
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With only about 10 hours in the newly completed RV, I landed at a very sleepy airport not far from home base to practice some landings. On roll out, that thing wouldn’t slow down. I was pulling the throttle back so hard. Thought the throttle was partially stuck open. Had my hand on the ignition ready to turn the key off and realized the flaps were still up. Check the no flap landing off the list...

My first coast to coast trip, we arrived at the airport before sunrise. RV had partial fuel, was going to fill it up prior to departure. The pump was INOP. Had to adjust plans for a fuel stop in Utah for fuel and a snack. After the “hot start” in Utah, I reached down for my iPad to load the next leg in. Was not there. Taxied forward a few feet and spun plane around and saw it laying on the ramp with the case lying a few feet from it. The same iPad that had our whole route planned and saved in ForeFlight. Shut down to retrieve it. Luckily it barely had a scratch on it. Things were going better until a low fuel pressure alarm over Wyoming. Got everything worked out, but that was a long day, and barely noon!
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N626JA
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Last edited by climberrn : 04-03-2020 at 10:29 AM. Reason: Grammar
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  #29  
Old 04-03-2020, 10:49 AM
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bkervaski bkervaski is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Birmingham, Alabama
Posts: 1,643
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I knew a guy that was practicing an IFR approach to a favorite nearby airport, noting the very beautiful newly paved runway. When he landed and rolled out he came to a stop about 50 yards from the construction crew. Luckily, it was a long runway, he turned around and departed after a friendly wave. Upon departing he did notice the temporary X's on the threshold. I bet he never forgets to check a notam again .. ever!
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  #30  
Old 04-03-2020, 10:52 AM
Brettc Brettc is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Bonney Lake, WA
Posts: 71
Default PPL Lesson Learned

On my first solo cross-country I did a weather check and of course it wasn't a good day to fly. After a long conversation with my instructor, he talked to me into it. The weather was nice directly over the airport and that was about it. So with a grand total of 27 hours (1.6 of those were solo) under my belt, I took off and within 1 minute I was socked into the clouds. That was the longest 30 seconds of the flight.

I broke out of that cloud and flew the remainder of the trip between two decks. Within twenty miles of my target airport the sky was clear and all was well. I called the instructor on landing and told him there was no way I was comfortable going back until the weather lightens. I was responded to with heavy pressure and told "the skies are clear here at the airport". So grudgingly, I took off. I spend about 30 miles of that flight socked between two cloud decks, looking for a hole to get down to the airport. Eventually one single hole opened up about 10 miles before the field, and I was able to fly home at about 800 ft AGL, with rain. Indeed, directly over the field, the skies were clear. I had no idea how close I was to the several radio towers in the area, or how bad that could've been if the weather worsened, and I didn't find a hole to get down.

After a few weeks of deciding it was time to look for a different instructor, I ultimately went back to him and finished my PPL. I've added the video, which doesn't do it any justice (1:00 and 3:45 is the only interesting part). An experienced pilot may have had no issues at all, or even better, just decided not to take off that day. I had a couple dozen hours under my belt and not nearly enough solo experience. From that day on, I made my own decisions on whether or not I was comfortable with departing.

https://youtu.be/vQDxa8iSBFw
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Last edited by Brettc : 04-03-2020 at 02:41 PM.
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