Dan Lloyd RV-10 "Factual" report out...

[JDanno]

I "liked" the part about:
"A trim tab for the rudder was discovered to be attached with duct tape".

and this: "the airplane's first flight occurred with Clecos (temporary fasteners) holding the upper aft portion of the cowling in place and with a passenger onboard."

How in the world did he get anybody to sign off on this thing!??!?

[allbee]

Originally Posted by Brantel

I think it is here:

"Multiple wires showed no evidence of having being connected prior to impact. Examination of the cableing connected to the electrical system's contactor relays, revealed that a cable was not secured to its corresponding terminal on the contactor relay.

Further examination revealed that the terminal bore no evidence of dimpling or indentation and its interior surface was sooted."

&

"the engine required a constant and stable source of electricity to operate the fuel injection, fuel pumps, and engine control computer. "

thanks brian, the whole read just made me chill all over. the rules are there for a reason, for YOU. brake them and it will hurt is all that can be said. There were so many variables, eeeek. experimental engine, glass panel, eek. so many things that could go wrong.

[Bill Wightman]

Flying, for professionals and amateurs alike, is SELF CRITIQUING.

We all suffer the consequences of accidents like this that go up in lights in the Regulator's view. Esp now with the Fed screwing down tight on everything.

Freaking unbelievable.

[Fearless]

As a current builder there are lessons to be learned from this for me. The positive that that I take from this tragedy is that there was only one fatality and not more had it occurred later.

[n5lp]

Originally Posted by JDanno

I "liked" the part about:
"A trim tab for the rudder was discovered to be attached with duct tape".
...

There are plenty of scary things in the report but that isn't one of them to me. My rudder trim tab is currently held on with carpet tape after verifying the size by attaching it with duct tape. I see nothing wrong with that and if it falls off it doesn't cause a problem.

Of course I'm assuming that they are just referring to a fixed wedge of some sort. Initially I too thought they were talking about mounting some sort of adjustable trim tab with tape.

This report does seem to end prematurely. I'm not sure we are getting the whole thing.

[Ironflight]

Originally Posted by n5lp

This report does seem to end prematurely. I'm not sure we are getting the whole thing.

Remember, this is simply the "Factual Reprot" - not the final determiniation of cause, so I wouldn't expect it to have a bow on it and tell us what they think was the proximate or root casue.

[f1rocket]

I'm at a loss for words, except to say it makes me more than a little angry.

[MSFT-1]

I have an RV-10 that I have flown for the last 250 hours.

I simply disagree with the comment that the airplane is fast and slick. I find it to be one of the nicest, well behaved airplanes I have ever flown.

After my first landing (which I sqweaked on), I walked away thinking I was an awesome pilot. After more than two hundred more, I now know for certain that it is the airplane and not the pilot.

The RV-10 is not a difficult or unforgiving airplane for a pilot of average ability (IMHO).

I think the accident was caused by some poor decision making before the airplane ever left the ground. While I haven't done any of the things listed in that write up, I have done a few things as a pilot over the years that in hindsight were poorly thought out. My guess is most everybody has.

[RVbySDI]

I do not want to sound like I am second guessing our brother's decisions but it is apparent in reading the report that this particular builder needed more guidance in the build process than he got. Apparently he did not fully understand what he was putting together on some of his systems when building the airplane.

Then, once the airplane was flying, he did not have a good enough grasp of what he needed to do to fly the airplane. He needed much much more guidance on how to fly his new airplane. He was clearly not prepared to fly this airplane even after flying it for several months.

It was apparent to me from the emails discussed to his friend(s) that he was truly wanting someone to help him understand how to manage his airplane. The sad truth though is that he appeared to lack the self-discipline to restrain himself from flying his new airplane until he fully understood how to do so, and, more to the point, until it was ready to be flown.

This report indicates to me that this builder/pilot did not understand his airplane. From his own words: "Eww I am an idiot!! I had no clue. . .Definitely a case of money versus intelligence. . ."

In my reflections on what I do in unfamiliar situations; I always want to understand what I am involved in at all times. In order to do so one can ask the questions of: "WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, HOW". However, none of those questions every fully explains the situation. It isn't until one asks WHY that one can fully understand what is going on. If anyone is asking WHO did WHAT, WHERE, WHEN and HOW, they still do not fully understand the situation until they finish their query's with WHY it was done.

WHY is the reason some engineer far smarter than me designed a component in such a way, WHY is the reason a pilot much smarter than me teaches a particular procedure in a particular situation. WHY is the reason the elders in my life much smarter than me tell me I should make sure to look for XYZ when I do ABC, WHY is the reason so many have posted on this forum "ASK ME HOW I KNOW!"

"Paul the Overlord" has posted a thread (I Promise To. . .) detailing what his criteria for being prepared for flying is.

In reference to that thread: This accident is a reminder of my promise to make sure I understand what I am doing in the airplane before attempting to fly. If I do not feel comfortable with my ability to control the aircraft in a normal flying environment I am not going to go up in it. An example of this promise to myself is landing other people's airplane. I do not ever allow myself to land someone else's airplane if I am riding with them and they have allowed me to control the airplane. I have had several pilots tell me that I should go ahead and land the airplane. I always refuse, if offered, to land an unfamiliar airplane! My lack of experience with how an unfamiliar airplane behaves keeps me from wanting to put myself in a situation where the airplane could surprise me with something I was not aware of or prepared for when down low with little or no avenue for escape.

I am taking this from reading the report: Be wary of the things I do in my building and in my flying. If I do not know something ask someone who does know. And ask them WHY!

[Daver]

My heart goes out to this guy & his family.

I think he was just trying to do too much, too fast.

His plane was complicated; engine, prop, avionics could easily overwhelm a pilot during testing. A stack of manuals several feet high

I'm building my RV9A simple. Fixed pitch prop, lycoming 150HP engine, std
6-pack, etc. I'm still just a student pilot (52 hrs) and, by the time my plane is
ready to fly, I'll probably still will have less than 100 hrs.

My flight instructor & good friend has agreed to do the initial flight testing.
He has tons of time (almost 7000 hrs) in many different planes.

We are not rushing this thing. It'll be ready when its ready.

This in my $.02 FWIW.

Dave
working on finish kit