Todd, is it too early to start coming up with nic-names for you?
WOW! I'm glad you are okay man.
Well on the Purple board I was RV-10Builder then RV-10Flyer now I guess I'll be RV-10Burner!
I don't know...since the fire was at the conclusion of your flight, I would suggest the obvious -- "afterburner".
So glad you and your daughter are OK, Todd.
I don't know...since the fire was at the conclusion of your flight, I would suggest the obvious -- "afterburner".
So glad you and your daughter are OK, Todd.
As for nicknames, I'd say that you may now accurately answer to "Lucky".
Todd,
I know you like to be noticed, going the alternative engine route and everything, but burning your own plane to a crisp just to become the center of attention on 4 different forum threads (AOPA, Purple Pilot's, Matronics and of course this one here at VAF) is going just too far!
All kidding aside, glad you and your daughter are still with us.
Fire is among my biggest fears in flying...
Very happy that all is going to be well for both of you. Fire is a terrifying event in any circumstance.
Last month I replaced my "pocket sized" fire extinguisher in my Grumman Traveler with a much larger Halon version within easy reach, (http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pspages/c352tsc.php). The couple of extra pounds is well worth the extra seconds it may give you.
"That which does not kill us makes us stronger." Friedrich Nietzsche
The little one is almost useless! I will put a bigger one in next time!
Now there is experience talkin right there!
Todd, this may be a dumb question, but did you or your daughter have any damage to your hearing? I mean with those kinds of pressures inside the cabin did your hearing check out okay?
Any guesses on your part what happened? Did you build the fuel system yourself or was it a Van's design system in the tunnel?
Just curious.
No hearing problems what so ever. No pressure feeling at all. It was so strange. It blows the doors and windows off but doesn't touch you.
Did you still have your headsets on? That certainly would have protected your ears.
i'm guessing yess, otherwise it's near physically impossible the doors blew off and the eardrums are intact
Glad to hear you're doing well... I wonder if you didn't really feel anything because you were essentially at the center of the "blast". Everything went out from where you were, and the backpressure essentially hit you everywhere at once. That would be quite different than if the explosion was to one side and blew past you.
That's exactly what I was thinking but was having a hard time putting it into words. There wasn't an explosion from someplace else and it hit them. They were in the middle of the air in the cockpit igniting, and the 'explosion' was actually the doors blowing of the plane from the air igniting.
I want to thank everybody for their notes and words. They have really meant a lot to me!