alf jessup

Poteroo, Yeah I wasn't sure if they were fitted with flaps or not & going by what you have just said they really don't assist the aircraft much in any way, I think he did a pretty good job overall as he is still breathing & that's a bonus

Teckair, Looking at the amateur video footage of him on his final descent before he went out of view it looked like it was gliding pretty fast, not sure if the Ryan had landing flaps which wouldn't help the cause, pretty heavy old plane by the looks of it, all I will say is he is alive with a few broken bones, a good landing I'd say but not a great one as the plane can't be used again until it's repaired. Easy for us all to be critical of the event outcome but he is alive and that is all that matters. Alf

Well he didn't stall & spin in did he?, hit a tree on the way past to the fairway, pretty good job of it I think.

Laurie, Looks like he flew it as far in to the crash as he could, very good piloting & very good skills, kept it in control all the way to a stop.

One thing is guaranteed, the aircraft is somewhere in this world, I doubt it was taken by aliens, it is either under water somewhere or hidden on land, will we ever find it?? only time will tell.

Damn big ocean, maybe some stuff has washed up in Antarctica which is a pretty unhabituated place.

My return line runs back to the left tank in the Tecnam Sierra, when I am brimmed I notice on occasions when I turn right or left while taxiing or parked on an uneven part of the hardstand it will vent out the left side wing tip vent or right depending on the slope, I do my run ups on left tank and select both for take off, after flaps up & fuel pump off and wait until I reach 1000ft I will then select the left tank only and run it for 1/2 hr before switching to the right, I never shut the other tank off until I have run on the new tank for at least 1 minute. Once I have used 1hr of fuel I usually just run on the left side and cross feed when required to keep the fuel balanced, always have both tanks on when landing. When full and flying out of balance you will start leaving a contrail of fuel

Well it will sound like this... ker ssplatt then probably a ker boom

Dave, Going by media reports, loss of directional control by student on landing.

Off Topic They are mandated in Germany I think, you cannot fly LSA with out one. I don't think they should be mandatory here, and I don't think people who fit them should be ridiculed by non believers in them (yes there are pilots out there that hang it on them), I used to say to them well if your going down out of control for some unfortunate reason I bet for a fleeting moment before it all goes black for you, you will be wishing you had one. They used to say to me "but what if it doesn't work when you activate it" I used to say, well you will know the last words I ever spoke, I will be cussing "thank you BRS for allowing me to carry this anchor around for the last .... years, the other thing I used to say well if I do need it for some reason and it saves me I will be one up on you if you need it. Alf

Like I said earlier I didn't put a BRS on my old trike because I though it was going to have a structural failure or my flying skills were lacking, I put it on because of the unforeseen things that can surprise you, like coming out of a turn which you previously scanned for hazards prior to commencing that turn and to have 4 ibis about 100 ft above you and 100 meters in front of you just fold their wings and drop because that's what birds do when they are threatened, and have one of those up to 20lb i guess birds miss the leading edge spar by what looked like inches to me and the rest by a few feet all while your doing a massive 60kts. Sure put the wind up me, I actually a few seconds after they passed pictured in my field of view where I was going to be spiraling towards the ground to end my days after my wing collapsed. Its a personal choice, its a possible second chance at living and its the things you don't see that might just help kill you, bird strike, collision in the circuit, wake turb ect. Its not for everyone but it was for me, I don't have one on my Tecnam but i know it is just as vulnerable to the listed above as my trike but just feels slightly better than a 3" aluminum tube under tension. Alf

Maj, Off topic I had no qualms after a near miss with some ibis in my trike about putting a chute on it, I looked at the fact I still had a earning capacity of a few million left in my working life so 6 grand was nothing if it saved me just once, fortunately in the 560 hrs I flew it I never needed to see if it worked. Its not about being a woos, I bet there are plenty of dead pilots out there that wished at the time of there impending demise had one little red handle to maybe give them a chance to see their loved ones again. Alf

Ross, I think your on the money with your opinion, unless it was an extreme weather event that forced them both down in the process of shearing the Thrusters wing to allow it to end up closer to the Drifter at the points of impact for both aircraft, you don't have to be Einstein to figure out they both hit something in the air (Weather event ? each other?? double medical event at the same time???) only time will tell. FT, My old trike that went down at Tyabb last year was fitted with a BRS, it was never deployed, a Kitfox fitted with a BRS that was run over and had its tail cut off by a Cessna at YLTV a few years back turning final was also fitted with a BRS, it was never deployed. A BRS can save you, you have to practice every time you fly where the red handle is located even with your eyes shut, you have to fly with it armed (pin out) or you may as well take it off because when the fhit hits the san you aint going to have time to fiddle around looking for the safety pin to pull out. BRS state that you can be saved from 300 ft or less, but rest assured you got to be on the money with activating it at that height. Alf

Maj, I feel your pain and know what your going through losing an aircraft that was once your pride and joy which you washed, caressed, pampered and took pride in, bad enough to lose a pilot and a friend also. I had the same feeling when my old faithful trike and a piece of history being the first ever XT912 build by Airborne went down in Tyabb last April taking with it the new owner I sold it to 14 months previously, the only saving grace for me was the machine was not at fault and she was performing perfectly right up to the point of impact. It took me awhile to come to terms that the thing I had polished, pampered, patted and loved was nothing more now than a pile of twisted & torn mangled mess that claimed the life of another person. It's like losing a pet and part of the family. Alf

Going by the location of the aircraft and parts I would say they touched. Only speculation though. We will know soon enough I guess once the RAA investigators have inspected the aircraft. That is of course if they let us know.

Karaone I think Adam

Condolences to both families and friends. Let us hope it was weather related accidents as if it is the other, what can one say?

Really pleased for you Don and for the scorpions let out to get some air, must be taken with it, hope you enjoy it when you get it. Alf

Nice work Don on ordering the Sling, out on your own on this one or in it with a few others. For you to defect from the Tecnam Sierra it must be a great plane. Alf

AJ, Obviously the media didn't understand what the instructor who apparently witnessed it from above said and wrote it differently then? No one is saying that he did, I was only hoping what was written wasn't the fact, nothing more nothing less. So no one is really BS ing here, only commenting on what was written, and we all know what the media is like.

Glad the pilot is ok, shame about the plane, I am hoping that the report is not true about trying to get back to the runway from that height, very luck man if this is the case as it has claimed many a pilot in the dreaded EFATO and turn back attempt.

My parents are in Lakes Entrance, been there 25 years, I am about 1:10 minutes away from there. Yep you can keep QLD and it's humidity, I love it here

Dazza, Always new there was something good about you, now being a Victorian it shows . Alf

Whereabouts in Vic were you born Dazza just for interest sake.

Scre80, Doing it like you are 1 to 2 times a week is great, means you won't have to do so much revision on a previous lesson had, will work out cheaper for you. As for how often you fly well that is up to how much disposable income you have to fly with. Me personally I average over 100hrs per year and I work away on rotation for 6 months of a year, so 100hrs in 6 months is a pretty good effort, mind you I own my own plane now which helps. Alf