Your first Flying 'incident'
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Edge of the fens
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Landings... Hey Bluebeard! You've reminded me of another one, from about a month ago. On my tailwheel conversion at Clacton...
I'm up in the Super Cub for my third session of the day, we're doing circuits on 18. Standard drill for the last hour has been; waddle our way to the hold for 18, power checks, vital actions, line up, take off, fly the right hand circuit, aim for 500 feet overhead the school playing field on final, then plop the thing down on the numbers and keep the stick back until we stop. Then waddle our way back to the hold for 18... you get the idea.
I'm starting to get the hang of things, still floating a wee bit on the flare, but getting there. So this particular approach is nice and routine; 500 feet over the playing field, carb heat back in at 300 feet, aim to cross the hedge at 50mph, here come the numbers...
Voice from behind - "Power on, go around."
Instinctively I do as I'm told, power on, hold her low to build up the speed, positive rate of climb and drag flap away immediately... but for a split second I'm confused - that approach looked good, my speed was right, the flare was timed well. What had gone wrong?
And then I see, waddling her way along the footpath that crosses the runway at Clacton, some old biddy and her dog. Totally oblivious to the fact that she'd almost been chopped up by a propellor...
Oddly enough, I now ALWAYS have a damn good look at the runway on short final...
I'm up in the Super Cub for my third session of the day, we're doing circuits on 18. Standard drill for the last hour has been; waddle our way to the hold for 18, power checks, vital actions, line up, take off, fly the right hand circuit, aim for 500 feet overhead the school playing field on final, then plop the thing down on the numbers and keep the stick back until we stop. Then waddle our way back to the hold for 18... you get the idea.
I'm starting to get the hang of things, still floating a wee bit on the flare, but getting there. So this particular approach is nice and routine; 500 feet over the playing field, carb heat back in at 300 feet, aim to cross the hedge at 50mph, here come the numbers...
Voice from behind - "Power on, go around."
Instinctively I do as I'm told, power on, hold her low to build up the speed, positive rate of climb and drag flap away immediately... but for a split second I'm confused - that approach looked good, my speed was right, the flare was timed well. What had gone wrong?
And then I see, waddling her way along the footpath that crosses the runway at Clacton, some old biddy and her dog. Totally oblivious to the fact that she'd almost been chopped up by a propellor...
Oddly enough, I now ALWAYS have a damn good look at the runway on short final...
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Bordeaux, France
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And then I see, waddling her way along the footpath that crosses the runway at Clacton, some old biddy and her dog. Totally oblivious to the fact that she'd almost been chopped up by a propellor...
WTF!!!
You are telling me there is a public footpath across an actively used runway?!?
Why the hell doesnt it at the very least go around the runway, let alone around the airfield completely. Cant it be re-routed? How come this is deemed safe?
An astounded SD...
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Bicester
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Exactly the same thing happened to me at Sandown. Short final, about 50', looking ahead at the far end, and these 2 bodies appear walking left to right. They then stop on the runway and watch in amazement as I struggle away to avoid them.
Nice guy in tower quite relaxed about it, apparently happens all the time. The thought of what might have happened had I not seen them is scary.
Nice guy in tower quite relaxed about it, apparently happens all the time. The thought of what might have happened had I not seen them is scary.
Avoid imitations
Join Date: Nov 2000
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Many years ago, when Ipswich still had an airport instead of just another housing estate, a similar problem existed with walkers assuming a right of way across the main runway.
In the event of encountering walkers on the runway, the standard drill was to make a go-around and inform tower who would send out someone in the Landrover and advise the errant pedestrians that they really ought to move out of the way or the police were coming.
One particular instructor had a particular way of making a go-around. He applied full throttle, flew at height 0.5 feet and laughed like a drain at the walkers who were now "runners" and "divers". He did it with me on board one evening, I was about to go around but he took control and went for them, scattering half a dozen walkers and their dogs.
Unfortunately, he did it once too often. The group of youths involved ran for their lives but one of them was pushing a motorcycle which took off the nose oleo and caused the aircraft to cartwheel, fortunately without injury to anyone.
He was seen shortly afterwards clutching a P45....
In the event of encountering walkers on the runway, the standard drill was to make a go-around and inform tower who would send out someone in the Landrover and advise the errant pedestrians that they really ought to move out of the way or the police were coming.
One particular instructor had a particular way of making a go-around. He applied full throttle, flew at height 0.5 feet and laughed like a drain at the walkers who were now "runners" and "divers". He did it with me on board one evening, I was about to go around but he took control and went for them, scattering half a dozen walkers and their dogs.
Unfortunately, he did it once too often. The group of youths involved ran for their lives but one of them was pushing a motorcycle which took off the nose oleo and caused the aircraft to cartwheel, fortunately without injury to anyone.
He was seen shortly afterwards clutching a P45....
Join Date: Dec 2003
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Back in 1999, just having turned 17 two weeks ago and on my fifth solo on single engines. Flight on a C-150, normal T/O at a lovely, cold January afternoon. Climb to 750ft went normal, then engine started roaring the same way my moped did two years before when the engine blew off. Reduced RPM until the roaring came back to a comfortable level, landed that bitch and found out a day later when visiting the mechanic that one cylinder was short before being ripped into pieces (you could actually see a ring around the middle of the cylinder where the material was way thinner already).
Had lots of near misses with pointy fighters when sitting in gliders the years before but that's not an incident, is it?
Had lots of near misses with pointy fighters when sitting in gliders the years before but that's not an incident, is it?
Join Date: May 2004
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Well I flew under a helicopter
It was about an hour after darkness and i was practising solo circuits for my night rating. There was about 10 airplanes in the circuit which made it quite busy and on top of that, night ifr helicopters also use the main runway approach path/slope.
I was monitering the spacing of the plane(s) in front of me as we sauntered and wobbled down the glideslope when my plane experienced a sudden uncommanded roll to the left to an angle greater than 45 degrees and just sat there. It may have continued rolling if i hadnt smoothly applied full opposite controls.
Then the plane flicks across to the right hand side, full opposite controls once again.
This cycle repeated with the same foracity a couple times and persisted all the way down the glideslope to a greater or lessor degree, at times it wasnt noticable at all.
Best guess is that it was a helicopter.
Plenty of speed throughout, never got low, just a real shock.
I have followed 100s of cessnas into the aerodrome without these sorts of antics being displayed by my aeroplane.
I was monitering the spacing of the plane(s) in front of me as we sauntered and wobbled down the glideslope when my plane experienced a sudden uncommanded roll to the left to an angle greater than 45 degrees and just sat there. It may have continued rolling if i hadnt smoothly applied full opposite controls.
Then the plane flicks across to the right hand side, full opposite controls once again.
This cycle repeated with the same foracity a couple times and persisted all the way down the glideslope to a greater or lessor degree, at times it wasnt noticable at all.
Best guess is that it was a helicopter.
Plenty of speed throughout, never got low, just a real shock.
I have followed 100s of cessnas into the aerodrome without these sorts of antics being displayed by my aeroplane.
