Spin

Going flying sounds like a fair excuse, Tex! Not sure on the Drifter angle, I know there is one syndicated down there and Drifterdriver on the forum certainly had one in his school, but I don't think that is the case any longer. I'll ask around and get back to you, an LP taildragger is next on my list once I've sorted out my PPL.

More info, pse contact Jan on 07 5546 1813 www.gcsfc.org.au

in a country where the president couldn't even moisten his cigar in private, without being up for impeachment - they're going to keep the lid on a plot which had to involve thousands, if not hundred's of thousands of people.

Settled in to read mine last night - bit of anticipation in getting to the classifieds as I used to read them on the website weeks before the mag arrived. Gets another :thumb_up: from me.

The ZU rego and aircraft type are kind of giveaways as to where this happened. I followed some discussion on a local aviation forum after the video first surfaced, seems very little doubt that there is no fakery involved, just lack of skill....

http://www.equipped.com/aopa-ditch-rebut.htm Following on from the Paul Bertarelli article posted by Mozartmerv in the accompanying thread, I found the story above amusing - reminds me that it isn't only on recflying that pilots all but come to blows in support of their pet theory. It does explain how some of the firmly held opinions/myths(?) originate - eg high wing aircraft will almost inevitably go over on their backs. Sad that someone had to die to bring all this to light, but a refresher course on the available material makes me feel a whole lot better about doing the Cape Moreton - Redcliffe jump as well as low level past the Gold Coast; should the worst happen, there is every chance that I and my passengers will make it out ok.

:thumb_up: hit the nail on the head. There are enough vital actions to be performed before making a controlled landing on the water, without cluttering your thinking with a bunch of other considerations.

I can see that there are situations where you may want to minimise the decent rate, but certainly for the last 100' feet or so I'd want a bit of speed in hand to manage the flare - it was quite noticeable when I landed deadstick that the lack of residual thrust robbed the elevator of some effectiveness and the aircraft sat down a bit sooner than I would otherwise have expected.

I'll second that wholeheartedly - I haven't flown Victor 1 yet, but there are plenty of urban areas, not to mention bushland where airspace considerations make you fly lower than you might otherwise. I know I always breathe a slight sigh of relief leaving Archerfield to the east at 1,000' , when I get to within gliding distance of the turf farm - before that it would be roads, back yards or a factory roof if the music stopped. More generally, be careful what you wish for - Victor One is a fantastic facility that I intend using in the future - no-one is forced to go that way, so let's not put ideas about closing it in the authorities heads. Whether through bad luck or poor judgement, this pilot didn't survive, but a ditching isn't inevitably fatal, indeed in an RA aircraft with its low stall speed it should be survivable. I'll admit that trikes worry me though, I always used to eye that sharp edged tube in front of me and wonder how to avoid meeting it if the worst happened.

Gotta love a post that starts, I don't want to speculate and then proceeds to throw up exactly that:roflmao:. The original post was prompted by a ppruner who appeared to conclude that the aircraft couldn't have flown the intended route without running out, which is clearly BS - yeah I read the specs too and full tanks may have required some creative weight management - I mean an RA aircraft has never taken off overweight has it? HH, couldn't agree more re the emergency declaration - I will say in my defence that I had around 27/8 hours total time and was on my first solo cross country for my PPL when the engine decided to go on strike. I remember my biggest issue was gathering the courage to announce that I was deviating from my flight plan, it never occurred to me that I wouldn't land successfully. I would hope that 15 yrs later with a few more hours under the belt I may do a little better. Hope never to find out though. I am not sure that I agree re the "how little damage". I've seen a ditched aircraft underwater and any number of photographs of others and those that ditched rather than crashing into the water at speed, were all virtually intact - one lost the cowling and others had a few minor panels missing, eg. oil inspection panel and a luggage door. The Lightwing on the other hand has virtually nothing that lines up the way it started out - rear fuselage is twisted to one side and rotated through 30 odd degrees and both wings don't seem to line up with the centre section any more. The video also seemed to show the various bits flexing too and fro. All academic now anyway, some poor bugger "summoned the sum total of his knowledge and skill" and didn't make it. I'll definitely be giving ditching a lot more thought before flying Victor One or the similar coastal routes around the Gold Coast and Moreton Bay islands - I particularly liked Mozartmerv's example briefing in the companion thread.

Personally I find that if you cut off his alcohol supply and gently roll him over, he mostly recovers on his own.

Agreed on the fuel issue Turbo, I didn't want to get into slanging match with some of the famous know it alls, but 118l usable, coupled to a 912 that is going get through 20l an hour at worst suggested that he would have had plenty left even at a ground speed of around 85kt. Thinking about it he probably picked the wrong aircraft specs! A great pity the pilot wasn't able to give out a position, I understand there were 2 Blackhawks, one of them winch equipped not far ahead of him - that may just have made the difference, but I'd not bet on doing any better myself, especially if not familiar with the minor landmarks. I've had engine failure a bit higher than him and whilst I reckon I did ok on the "aviate" component, I cringe a bit at the "communicate", blithley assured atc that I was not declaring an emrgency as I could glide to a suitable field:blush: I'm not pointing fingers, however purely on the basis of probablities, I'd be more concerned with reports (true?) that the aircraft was returning from a visit to the factory for maintenance. I saw some of the news footage too and agree that it appeared to me that the aircraft had gone in hard - the fueselage had fractured behind the cockpit and it seemed as if at least one wing had also partially separated at the root. Attached a small photo which illustrates this.

I'd put it under the heading of something that a prudent pilot would investigate himself, before flying somewhere like Victor 1. I've read a few articles and the odd chapter in training books, not much more you can do I would think, after all it isn't that common an occurrence. I do wonder though how many aircraft obey the edict in ERSA; "all occupants of single engine aircraft must wear approved life jackets for the duration of the over water portions of this route"

Yeah they have a full MGL avionics suite, incl autopilot which they have used extensively. The seats also fold back, allowing the off duty pilot to sleep, but even so............... Interior photo;

Poster on the elderly plum calling it a Lightwing and quoting an RA rego.

You're right David, it doesn't look very big. I believe the mayday call can be heard on the liveatc archive - would answer the question I guess, not sure that I want to listen just yet though.

1 dead, 1 survivor - just announced. RIP

Watching on CH 7 atm, Victor 1? Appears to be a low wing single, selfishly I hope it is a GA type otherwise the media will be all over the "ultralight, experimental" angle again. edit: There seems to be a possibility of someone still in the wreckage - really hope not:crying:

Much as I may curse modern technology on occasion, the world really has become a smaller place - although the pilots (and their tailbones) may not agree:laugh:. Have just been listening to the Sling team setting off from the Hawaiian Islands, bound for LA, via liveatc. Estimated flight time 21+ hours. So final hop across the Pacific, leaving the trans US journey and 3 further jumps across the Atlantic between them and home. They certainly have taken a major bite out of the total trip by now.

Great photos as always Scott. Looks as though the wx played along for the Sunday - grrr, would be the day I couldn't get there.

S'okay, this version's better looking anyway! CH-7 Angel

Pretty cool looking machine they built - tantalising considering that a few single seater choppers, eg. Mini 500 and a few others did actually fly on Rotax 582 power. One wonders whether it wouldn't actually work with some tweaking, propellor revs, pitch etc. The stability issue still scares the pants off me.

Dunno if this has been on here before, but could probably stand a little more exposure. Couched in humorous terms but the underlying messages are valid. 1. Thou shalt abstain from the intersection takeoff for, verily, the runway behind thee, as the altitude above thee, cometh not to thine aid when thou needest them. 2. Thou shalt not linger on active runways lest thou become like unto ground beef. 3. Ignorest thou not thy checklists for many are the switches, handles, gauges and other demons awaiting to take cruel vengeance upon thee. 4. Thou shalt cast thine eyes to thy right and also to thy left as thou passeth through the firmament lest thy fellow pilots bring flowers to thy widow and comfort her in other ways. 5. Buzzeth not, for this shall surely incur the wrath of thy neighbors and the fury of the CAA shall be called down upon thy head. 6. Thou shalt be ever mindful of thy fuel lest there be nothing in thy tank to sustain thee upon the air and thy days be made short. 7. Trust not thine eyes to lead thee through the cloud lest the Archangel Gabriel await thee therein. 8. Thou shalt not trespass into the thunderstorm lest the tempest rend the wings from thy chariot and cast thee naked into the firmament. 9. Put not thy trust in weather prophets, for when the truth is not in, then they shall not accompany thee among thy ancestors. 10. Often shalt thou confirm thine airspeed on final lest the earth rise up and smite thee.

Great video, but......! Interestingly when I first saw that video, youtube suggested another similar topic which turned out to be a wingsuiter colliding with a bridge and bringing himself undone - chute deployed but the bloke landed in more pieces than nature intended, ugly stuff. Unfortunately there is going to be more of that as these guys push the limits.

That would be our very own ScottW, who started this thread. Pm him and ask whether he has anything.