Ben Longden

Been there done that. :ah_oh: Firewalled the throttle, right stick, (wind was from my right) established a positive climb, flaps up and have another crack at it. I had a chat with the instructor afterwards, who was watching from the clubrooms... and he simply said "good decision". The way I looked at it, the gust was moving me across the runway just before wheels touched the deck, the right wing was being lifted and I felt I did not want to become part of the runway, so I decided to GTFOOT. Ben (Get the %^&* out of there)

Beware the angle of attack, you mean.... Time for us all to dig out the BAK and have a good re-read methinks. its all in there.... among the basics.. Ben

IceBob, Its nice to be talking to you in the present... especially after such an incredible incident. It shows your training kicked in - Judo and flight- at the right times... and you did the Bob Hoover thing of Fly the airplane as far as possible into the crash. Just glad you are in one piece.. But xrays on Monday? Geez... the hospital where I work would have had you in for x rays as soon as you walked in after a collision like that! (Its a public hospital as well..) Ben

Is it me, or have we forgotten the angle of attack thingy with relation to stalls? Something about airflow at an angle of greater than 16.5 degrees to the base line of a wing will result in loss of lift.. in other words, a stall? Movement of an AC in a parcel of air will relate as Mike said to the ground speed / Indicated airspeed concept. Remember the basic training we had, and why we do not conduct a climbing turn with the wings greater than 20 degrees from the horozontal? It does not matter what the wind strength or direction is... its got everything to do with stalling the outer wing.. or rather preventing the outer wing from stalling during the manouvre. Angle of Attack. Sounds like a George Bushism.... Ben

Mmmmm... seems the '10 minute' men are GPS dependant, while the navigators use 10 mile marks on their maps. *ducks to avoid a smack in the chops* Each to their own though. Me, I was taught to use distances on the map as a basic reference. Its a lot easier to plot your position on the chart, using 10 mile marks. I guess is has something to do with the old Speed = Distance/Time thingy. The big variable with navigation is ground speed.. and by using distances as a reference, you have a constant nav factor. Another factor to consider is the reliability of the GPS unit; can you see the screen when the sun is super bright.. is the power reliable... battery life.. things like that. I was taught the PPl nav at Shepparton, and the idea was that technology is wonderful, but you MUST be able to navigate at all times, especially when technology fails. 2.2c worth.. Ben

Good stuff, Darren. Ben

Storm warning as of 8.30pm (local) Today 24.3.08

It'd be interesting to read the ATSB summary in a month or so if and when it comes up. To be brutally honest, I think the words "disgruntled, employee, vengance, agenda" and a few others come to mind when it comes to the site in question... Its just one of the myriad of, er, debatable things you can trip over when surfing the net.. i_dunno Ben

Tripped over a site while looking for some Heavy Aviation Metal.... and saw THIS post. Ben Qantas 767 from Darwin Near-Crash: Lands at 350 kph From: Anonymous (sydney.indymedia.org.au ) Posted Mar. 19, 2008 I was travelling to Sydney on QF829 this morning from Darwin to Sydney. The take-off seemed odd with the plane levelling out at what seemed way too soon. The flight was OK but coming in to land, the screen was left on showing the plane's speed. Everyone was talking about how we were coming in too fast. The landing speed for the 767 is 200kph or less, depending on weight being carried. The plane landed with a big bump, too close to the end of the runway. The speed shown on the screen was 350kph. People took up the brace position as it bounced along the tarmac with the wings nearly hitting the ground. Everyone thought we would crash. We were thrown forward in our seats as the plane hit the ground. The noise of the reversed engines was shocking. The plane ended up at the end of the runway way too close to the ocean. The pilot did a violent U-turn to get back to the terminal. He started to chat about the weather but his voice sounded panicked. There was definitely something wrong with the plane - either before landing, or having been damaged during the landing- as QF411 to Melbourne was cancelled. The 767 has had several problems including mechanical problems with the wing flaps. Wing flap support structures have fallen off in the past.

Ben

Once you have your RAA paperwork up to date and hire a plane, make it on a saturday and head to Shepp for lunch.... No need for the nazi card, er, I mean ASIC.. Ben

I had to work Sat, but made it Sunday before scooting to MEL to pickup Robyn. While there was not much in the way of stalls, the friendliness made up for it. Remember, I went after lunch, and things were being packed up, but it was a bloody horrible day being around 40 degrees.. and there was no way this could have been factored for. Still, top marks for what the BFC did. There were some nice planes on the flight line, and a few for sale.. some new stuff as well as classics such as a Bonanza and a 1966 PA28.. as well as a few other things. It was nice to get up close and personal with a well worked C337. The biggie was hearing - and seeing the success of the clubs Tecnam... The plane was the only one swamped with onlookers. If Bendigo has another.... I will be back, for sure. Ben

F22... the billion dollar baby becomes a high speed ground vehicle... http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=322_1174752283 Ben

Polaroid lenses play havoc with reading LCD screens, which are hard enough at the best of times to read in bright sunlight. Then the vision is distorted when looking through perspex - stress lines etc become visible.. No wonder they are not recommended! Me, I have a pair of 'aviator' prescription multifocals, tinted to standard. Vision in and out of the cockpit is crystal clear. The problem then becomes perspex scratches when flying into sun... Ben (I had a pair of Rayban aviators, and got the lenses changed.. a hell of a lot cheaper than buying a new frame!)

Either way works..... Ben

This is what he means... Ben

Safe? I agree... I would rather fly than drive anytime as its so much safer in the air and in the circuit than on the highway. Ben

Hi Karen, As soon as you think that things are not going to the script.. you can call for assistance. It might be just a call on the CTAF to confirm the active runway in use, to talking to the Air Ambo on a ten mile final (doing 200 knots) when you are turning base.. through to calling ATC for assistance. At the ATC seminar in Shepp last year, Airservices said they would rather help a pilot in the early stages, especially if its a VFR flight into Instrument conditions. Even when Nathan organised a visit to Melbourne Centre, I asked one of the controllers about when to call for help. The reply was "as soon as you think you need it." The big thing is even on a VFR flight is to make sure you have the freqs of Melboune / Brisbane centre for the flight... Ben

I would still report this to REX, and send a copy to the ATSB. Send it as soon as you can. What this pilot did was wrong, and endangered the life of his passengers, brought his company into disrepute and also slandered the RAA at the same time. Ben

Amen to that. Ben

Bugger, Terry. Just glad you are still here to share the tale with us. Ben

Methusala, Its probably one of the 4x4 users that came for the party. Probably has a P Plate on it somewhere. We had someone deliberately cutting the string, then the chain, then the padlock on a horse agistment paddock - so the horses would stray onto the road during the EI crisis. (then they would be impounded and us fined..) I placed a "this gate is under video surveilance" sign on all the entrances, and for good measure, placed a dummy security camera opposite, up high.. Fixed the problem quick smart. If the ar$eh*les believe they are being watched, then they wont do it. Ben

But as he sat quietly, control stick in one hand, and the other wrapped around a calming drink, he was astonished to look up and saw the oddest of sights. There was this big sperm whale plummetting towards the ground accompanied by a bowl of petunias. Thats, odd, he thought....

There is a lot to be said for the communal system..... but it takes complete trust in each member of the group. Otherwise.... chaos reins supreme. Not that many years ago, I was involved with two musical and theatre groups. I was a techie for them both. One would have a full blown spontaneous committee meeting to decide who was going to sweep the stage and when. In the other group, if the stage needed sweeping, there were about four volunteers doing it. While there are clubs that are 'clicky' and intolerant of new members, especially, God forbid, a student pilot - or even worse, a CFI who needs a base for his school... a club is usually what you make of it. Ben

Actually a lot of help, Nomis. One thing I know I have in common with airline pilots is that we have a love of flying, and anything aviation. When something like this comes along, for every single person that saw it, there will be a different theory of what "actually happened". The only folks that can tell us that were the crew themselves, and I guess they are a tad busy doing, er, "Please Explain " paperwork... I wonder how the call to the RACV went? ;) Ben BTW, Nomis.... Happy birthday! You are now officially one of us Old Farts...