goflying

Great outcome Roger, No need to buy that lotto ticket, you've already won first prize "LIFE" Frank

i think by placing the jerry can on the ground is enough to create an earth, that's why in your experiment it made no difference. I could be wrong.

This is why we don't have the trigger locks anymore. Frank

Bluey, This was discussed at great length at one of our club meetings last year, a club member developed a gadget which some members are now using. Go to southernmicrolightclub.com.au click on newsletters, then click november 2012, article is on 2nd last page. Frank

Thanks Alf, Bluey and everyone else for their well wishes, I'll pass it onto Max next time i see him.

Having just returned home from visiting the pilot in hospital, i think i should write from our recollection ( the pilot and myself as the passenger ). We were on late final waiting for the trike in front of us to vacate the runway, once he cleared the runway and gave his call, we commenced our decent , as we started to round out we drifted to the left, i don't know if it was wake turbulence or wind drift or whatever but it was a smooth drift to the left, the pilot then tried to correct this to realign with the runway at which time we got thumped on the runway hitting the right tip of the wing and landing very hard . The motor then went to full power and we got launched in the air again. It seemed he was going to do a go around when he realized the motor was stuck at full throttle, he said he was going to do an emergency landing, killed the motor and commenced our decent for landing. At this point all seemed fine to me, when we were about 50", the trike stalled, the nose and the right wing dropped and then we hit the ground and slid across the surface coming to a stop. Everything happens so quick you can't do anything. When i spook to the pilot in hospital, it really shocked me that he said when we took of again for the go around that apart from no throttle control he also had very little pitch and roll control. I don't know what caused this but i guess we were in the hands of the man upstairs. The pilot sustained a broken pelvis and i just had muscle soreness all over but mainly to my leg where i got pinned under the trike. I'm ok now but the pilot has had a plate inserted to his pelvis and will be some time before he recovers from his injuries. Despite what he is going through, he remains in good spirits.

Congrats on your new toy Alf, she's probably just a little faster than the trike and a little more comfy , we'll probably catch up at Mount Beauty next weekend if your going. Frank

I think they did all the show circuits, i remember seeing them in my teens in the mid 80's at the Royal Melbourne show.

Personally knowing 3 people that have lost their lives in air accidents this year alone , i am glad this pilot , who i also know , has survived . Although he has some serious injuries , it looks like he should be ok going by media reports . I hope he makes a full and speedy recovery and hopefully he won't be rebuilding again this time . Frank

Thanks Alf , Just goes to show that accidents can happen to the best of us . Cheers Frank

Hi Guys , I have just returned from the family home and we know that pilot error has been ruled out , the weather doesn't seem to be a issue , but there is evidence to support mechanical failure which at this point we'll just wait for ASRA to release their report. The family would like to thank you all for your thoughts and condolences. Frank

Unfortunately the instructor was a close friend of mine and he leaves behind his wife with three young children under the ages of nine. Investigation is taking place but at this stage we don't know what was the cause of the accident.

That is correct FT but it must be on the UMTS/HSDPA frequency band not on the GSM band otherwise it will only work on the 2G network as i discovered. just simply look for a phone that has Quad band 3G and you should be right. Frank