Orval Fairbairn
June 22nd 04, 09:48 PM
In article >,
John Ross > wrote:
> This past weekend was Creve Coeur airport's annual WACO fly-in. On
> Saturday early evening Bud Dake took up passenger Ken Love for a short
> flight in his clipwing Monocoupe. Bud has another Monocoupe and a
> 985-powered Younkin Mullicoupe. The two took off just as I was
> getting in my car to drive home.
>
> They didn't come back and friends at the fly-in called the FAA but it
> had gotten dark and nothing much could be done.
>
> In the morning the Kerners went out looking and spotted the wreckage
> on a duck club property about 15 miles northwest of the airport. They
> called for a friend to bring his helicopter but the ground was swampy
> and he had trouble finding a safe place to land.
>
> I've been thinking about this accident a lot. Talked to Kevin Kimball,
> the aeronautical engineer who built my plane. Also Al Stix jr. Here
> are the facts as I understand them, and my opinions based on
> observations:
>
> 1. I'm told the debris spread showed no evidence of plane coming
> apart in flight. Tail and wings were at the crash site.
>
> 2. I'm told the debris spread indicated plane hit HARD. The engine
> was ripped off the fuselage. Everything else was balled-up scrap.
>
> 3. Monocoupe was last rebuilt 20-ish years ago. I saw firsthand that
> Bud took excellent care of all his airplanes.
>
> 4. Bud was a smooth, skilled pilot who *never* did aerobatics without
> LOTS of altitude, and never did anything that heavily stressed the
> airplane. Never heard of him doing a snap roll.
>
> 5. According to Kevin, the clipwing Monocoupe stalls right where my
> Model 12 does, 61 MPH. IMO Bud would have survived (and probably
> walked away from) a forced landing in his plane in any place other
> than a field of giant boulders.
>
> Al jr. thought it had to be some kind of catastrophic failure, and
> said maybe the Aeromatic prop pitched a blade with resulting violent
> vibration. Kevin says with its lightweight wooden blades, this would
> not be a killer as on a plane with a metal prop.
>
> Always choose the simplest scenario that fits all the known facts. At
> the moment, I'd say the likeliest scenario is that Bud had a stroke or
> heart attack and perhaps slumped over on the stick. (Don't know if
> the plane had harnesses or just belts.) Ken Love was in his 70s and
> may well not had the strength to get a big man (250-ish) off the
> stick.
>
> I think Bud may have been dead before the plane hit the ground.
>
> I only knew Bud for four years, unlike many of his closer friends, but
> he was one of my favorite people. He took me up in his Mullicoupe the
> first day I met him. He was like that.
>
> We are diminished.
>
> JR
>
My condolences to all his friends and family.
John Ross > wrote:
> This past weekend was Creve Coeur airport's annual WACO fly-in. On
> Saturday early evening Bud Dake took up passenger Ken Love for a short
> flight in his clipwing Monocoupe. Bud has another Monocoupe and a
> 985-powered Younkin Mullicoupe. The two took off just as I was
> getting in my car to drive home.
>
> They didn't come back and friends at the fly-in called the FAA but it
> had gotten dark and nothing much could be done.
>
> In the morning the Kerners went out looking and spotted the wreckage
> on a duck club property about 15 miles northwest of the airport. They
> called for a friend to bring his helicopter but the ground was swampy
> and he had trouble finding a safe place to land.
>
> I've been thinking about this accident a lot. Talked to Kevin Kimball,
> the aeronautical engineer who built my plane. Also Al Stix jr. Here
> are the facts as I understand them, and my opinions based on
> observations:
>
> 1. I'm told the debris spread showed no evidence of plane coming
> apart in flight. Tail and wings were at the crash site.
>
> 2. I'm told the debris spread indicated plane hit HARD. The engine
> was ripped off the fuselage. Everything else was balled-up scrap.
>
> 3. Monocoupe was last rebuilt 20-ish years ago. I saw firsthand that
> Bud took excellent care of all his airplanes.
>
> 4. Bud was a smooth, skilled pilot who *never* did aerobatics without
> LOTS of altitude, and never did anything that heavily stressed the
> airplane. Never heard of him doing a snap roll.
>
> 5. According to Kevin, the clipwing Monocoupe stalls right where my
> Model 12 does, 61 MPH. IMO Bud would have survived (and probably
> walked away from) a forced landing in his plane in any place other
> than a field of giant boulders.
>
> Al jr. thought it had to be some kind of catastrophic failure, and
> said maybe the Aeromatic prop pitched a blade with resulting violent
> vibration. Kevin says with its lightweight wooden blades, this would
> not be a killer as on a plane with a metal prop.
>
> Always choose the simplest scenario that fits all the known facts. At
> the moment, I'd say the likeliest scenario is that Bud had a stroke or
> heart attack and perhaps slumped over on the stick. (Don't know if
> the plane had harnesses or just belts.) Ken Love was in his 70s and
> may well not had the strength to get a big man (250-ish) off the
> stick.
>
> I think Bud may have been dead before the plane hit the ground.
>
> I only knew Bud for four years, unlike many of his closer friends, but
> he was one of my favorite people. He took me up in his Mullicoupe the
> first day I met him. He was like that.
>
> We are diminished.
>
> JR
>
My condolences to all his friends and family.