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I was out doing some low level lake/river flying with Dan today... very nice flight, except dan zoned out a little dropping back down out of a turn, and bounced us off the lake at 130kts or so.


Cracked my nosewheel fairing up pretty good... we pulled it off this evening, and tomorrow we're gonna glass it back up and repaint it.




Just another day in the good life....

"zoned out a little dropping back down out of a turn, and bounced us off the lake at 130kts"

For us English speaking, let me get this right: you flew so low that you hit the water !!!

John

"zoned out a little and bounced us off the lake"!?!

Ian, ummmmm... where do I start?

What exactly IS plan "B"?

Now, I am not one to preach. I have done some silly stuff in my day and never really been bitten hard because of it.

Please be careful out there. The bike accident was a close one and should be a warning shot off the bow.

I hate to sound like a safety Nazi. That isn't my intention, but this story rang a few bells for me anyways.

On the other hand, how is that wheel pant coming along? It is good practice for the RV, for sure.

CJ

tmbg wrote:Just another day in the good life....

Hmmm...the good life, huh?

If CJ isn't going to preach like a safety Nazi, I will...dude, that was stupid, and beyond the fact that you two are both fine, posting it on the net like it was no big deal, is another one of those "What?" moments for me.

This one turned out to crack a wheel pant (A NOSE wheel nonetheless!! That could've flipped SO easily!!), so it gave you an excuse to build yourself a a perdy little glass and paint booth. Well, that's just great...hopefully next time it doesn't give your family an excuse to build your final resting place.

Sorry to sound morbid, or the class goody goody, but this is a real example of WHAT CAN GET PEOPLE KILLED.

Glad you're okay dude. I really like ya, and hope to eat at the Otter again with ya.



Again, sorry to post this, but I couldn't let it go...

Boy, that's scary stuff Ian. I shudder to think if you guys planted that nosewheel just a few more inches in the water, you would have gone right over. Done deal.

Sometimes you have to listen to that little voice that is saying, "this might not be a good idea."

i was just gonna watch but i think ian is just getting ya'll wound up. tell me, how do you bounce the plane off the water in a turn and bust the nose wheel fairing and not sink a plane...??? i am having a hard time picturing please help clarify ....

if you did do it i hope you dont do it again. but if you do call me i'll video it for ya.

never mind in re-reading i see it was after a turn.

A friendly word of advice from someone who used to fly low for a living:

You can only tie the record for low flying. You can never break it. Therefore, it's not a record worth attempting to beat.

Buck

-----------
Buck Wyndham
RV-8 N18XL
Wings and tail done
Poplar Grove, IL
Former A-10 low flyer

If your serious Ian, give your ticket back as you are not mature enough to fly.

I'm not saying this with a mean spirit, just one of honesty.

tmbg wrote: Just another day in the good life....

Negative Ghostrider.

that would be such a violent flip the impact would kill you instantaneously..
ian can i get you to buy me a lottery ticket ???

Just another day in the good life....

You might want to look at it this way - Every day after Feb. 17 is a gift from God.

I have hesitated to post on this due to the bad memories attached. On May 7, 2005 on a return trip from the Bahamas, my wife and I were forced to ditch our Cherokee 140 4 miles off the coast of Ft. Pierce, FL. Even though I slowed the aircraft to just above stall speed, the impact caused the plane to flip. My wife and I were able to escape the sinking aircraft with only minor injuries. After floating in the ocean for 20 minutes we were rescued by the Coast Guard.

They told us the last 10 "ditches" were recovered in body bags.

It was not a "great day".

smithhb wrote:I have hesitated to post on this due to the bad memories attached. On May 7, 2005 on a return trip from the Bahamas, my wife and I were forced to ditch our Cherokee 140 4 miles off the coast of Ft. Pierce, FL. Even though I slowed the aircraft to just above stall speed, the impact caused the plane to flip. My wife and I were able to escape the sinking aircraft with only minor injuries. After floating in the ocean for 20 minutes we were rescued by the Coast Guard.

Holy cow! Glad to hear you guys are ok. I'm sure it had to be an awful experience!!!

Ian -
You may not agree, but you're one lucky dude!

Others -
Not that I recommend trying it - but did anyone see pics of the "waterskiing Harvards (T6)"?

http://www.warplanes.com/photogallery/v ... LERY_ID=25

Lorin D

the south african guy's...awesome video. i believe thay have the wheels locked for the skiing...dont forget them for your landing check list


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDDBbmedrgk

About 12 years ago, I was a passenger in a 182 with 2-3 others and the pilot drug the nose wheel on a lake shortly after takeoff. There was a cameraman on the other side of the lake that wanted a shot of a "low pass". I was sitting on the floor with my back to the instrument panel and didn't really know how low we were until I saw spray out of one of the side windows. Not much you can do at that point except let the pilot concentrate. Keep in mind, this was a commercial rated pilot that didn't discuss anything with his passengers beforehand.......

I didn't bother to stick around for the landing

for what it's worth, you're actually a lot more likely to flip at low speed than at high speed.

also for what it's worth, didn't anyone notice the part about how I wasn't the one flying?

Ian,
buddy, i dont want to see you die....... seriously.

tmbg wrote:for what it's worth, you're actually a lot more likely to flip at low speed than at high speed.

130kts is high speed? It would've flipped either way had it been a more forceful impact.

tmbg wrote:also for what it's worth, didn't anyone notice the part about how I wasn't the one flying?

Yes, but you were still in the front seat (right?) and a pilot, and could've done something...that'd be the last time I ever flew with a guy like that if I lived through it like you did.

Ian, any way you look at this, it was inadvertant contact with the surface, and was an accident. Nothing more than a cracked wheel pant was the result, but it was an accident. Monetarily, the feds wouldn't care, but runnining in to the surface is careless...regardless of who was manipulating the controls.

tmbg wrote:also for what it's worth, didn't anyone notice the part about how I wasn't the one flying?

I noticed that it was Dan flying. But dead is dead, PIC or not. I'm sure it was quite the exhilarating experience once you figured out that you weren't going to die, but I think the general attitude that you're conveying about the experience is "hey, that rocked, dude!", and that's going to get quite a few people around here riled up.

So, I'll leave it at that, because I'm not your mommy and while I do help keep the board running, lecturing just ain't my job.

-- patti (just chipping in what's left of my .02)