Off in the weeds

It was the second flight of the day for the conservation organization I do
volunteer flying for. The local Baton Rouge guy bird-dogging illegal Cypress
logging had me set up to take him, a reporter and a cameraman from the Fox TV
station up to video the bad guys at work.

4R is the shortest runway at BTR, but it's closest to the FBO, so I begged for
it and got it.

http://www.naco.faa.gov/d-tpp/0708/00040AD.PDF

I had given my pax - both newbies - the standard preflight about seatbelts,
headsets, sterile cockpit, etc. I remembered to tell the cameraman in the
front seat beside me to keep his feet off the pedals. Then I did the runup,
completed the pre-takeoff checklist and was cleared to go.

It's my habit to pull a little back pressure as soon as the airspeed's alive;
we were rolling and all seemed well. The airplane was loaded almost to gross,
so I let the airspeed build to 60 KIAS before I pulled back for rotation.

Well, I *tried* to pull back for rotation. The yoke wouldn't budge. At
first, I thought I had failed to set the elevator trim. 182s are a bit pitch
heavy anyway, so I pulled harder. No joy. At this point, puzzle-solving time
was over. Airspeed was passing 75, the airplane was heavy, and the end of the
runway was fast approaching.

I killed the power and jammed on the brakes. For some reason, I announced to
the tower that I was aborting, even though I had rather a lot to concentrate
on at the moment. It became one of those "time slows down" experiences: my
mental calculations told me I wasn't going to get 'er stopped before the
concrete ran out. I started planning the best route through the lights and
into the smoothest looking part of the overrun.

We finally slowed to taxi speed about 50 feet off the end and I turned around
and bumped along the grass back to the runway. The tower was asking if I
needed assistance and what I wanted to do. Oh, yeah: and "what happened?"

We had just figured that out. As we turned on to 4R for takeoff, the
cameraman had shifted his large video rig in his lap - right up against the
yoke in front of him. When I tried to pull the yoke back, there was nowhere
for it to go. The camera was taking up all the room between the right yoke
and the cameraman.

As we taxied back for another try, the three pax were joking about what had
just happened and kidding the cameraman. I don't think they realized how
close they had come to getting hurt or killed.

Oh, well; another lesson learned. "Controls free and correct?" Maybe at the
moment you check, but watch out for anything that could interfere with them
while you're not looking.

--
Dan
T-182T at BFM

Dan Luke wrote:
It was the second flight of the day for the conservation organization I do
volunteer flying for. The local Baton Rouge guy bird-dogging illegal Cypress
logging had me set up to take him, a reporter and a cameraman from the Fox TV
station up to video the bad guys at work.

4R is the shortest runway at BTR, but it's closest to the FBO, so I begged for
it and got it.

Was it very hot also? I'm asking due to the fact that it took 3800' of
runway to accelerate to 75 and stop. That is a long way in a Skylane.

It is great that all turned out well and probably better than you
weren't able to rotate enough to lift-off. That may have been even
worse with that guy that close to the controls.

So, how did the flight go once you got off the ground on the next
attempt? :-)

Matt

"Matt Whiting" wrote:


4R is the shortest runway at BTR, but it's closest to the FBO, so I begged
for it and got it.

Was it very hot also? I'm asking due to the fact that it took 3800' of
runway to accelerate to 75 and stop. That is a long way in a Skylane.

South Louisiana in August? Yes, very hot. There was also some runway spent
while I tried to figure out the problem. Did we go past 80 KIAS? Maybe.

I've now had two scary emergencies. What they say about getting past the
denial stage is true.

It is great that all turned out well and probably better than you weren't
able to rotate enough to lift-off. That may have been even worse with that
guy that close to the controls.

So, how did the flight go once you got off the ground on the next attempt?
:-)

Fine. We found some cypress rustlers and the TV folks got their videos. Lots
of low altitude maneuvering and generally fun flying.

--
Dan
T-182T at BFM

"Dan Luke" wrote in message
...

As we taxied back for another try, the three pax were joking about what
had just happened and kidding the cameraman. I don't think they realized
how close they had come to getting hurt or killed.

Wow! Thanks for the story, and I'm glad to hear you made it without
bending anything. We all learn from these stories.

There's an FBO across the airport from the main terminal operated by a guy
named Emil. Do you happen to know if it's still there?

I had one of the craziest and most unbelievable experiences there when a
Texas CAP group showed up a little after Hurricane Andrew. Those guys
basically just acted like they owned the place and there as bit of trouble
because one of 'em violated instructions from Ground more or less because he
simply didn't want to follow them. (No safety issue, just a belligerent
pilot.)

-c

"Gattman" wrote:

There's an FBO across the airport from the main terminal operated by a guy
named Emil. Do you happen to know if it's still there?

Nope. I've only landed at BTR a few times; I don't know anyone there.

--
Dan
T-182T at BFM

"Gattman" wrote

I had one of the craziest and most unbelievable experiences there when a
Texas CAP group showed up a little after Hurricane Andrew. Those guys
basically just acted like they owned the place and there as bit of trouble
because one of 'em violated instructions from Ground more or less because
he simply didn't want to follow them. (No safety issue, just a
belligerent pilot.)

If the unit at OSH (the CAP cadets and supervising officers) are any
indication of CAP as a whole, I'm not surprised. They are the ultimate in
belligerent.
--
Jim in NC

Dan Luke wrote:
"Matt Whiting" wrote:

4R is the shortest runway at BTR, but it's closest to the FBO, so I begged
for it and got it.
Was it very hot also? I'm asking due to the fact that it took 3800' of
runway to accelerate to 75 and stop. That is a long way in a Skylane.

South Louisiana in August? Yes, very hot. There was also some runway spent
while I tried to figure out the problem. Did we go past 80 KIAS? Maybe.

I've now had two scary emergencies. What they say about getting past the
denial stage is true.

It is great that all turned out well and probably better than you weren't
able to rotate enough to lift-off. That may have been even worse with that
guy that close to the controls.

So, how did the flight go once you got off the ground on the next attempt?
:-)

Fine. We found some cypress rustlers and the TV folks got their videos. Lots
of low altitude maneuvering and generally fun flying.


Nobody tried to shoot you down, eh?

Matt

Well, I *tried* to pull back for rotation. The yoke wouldn't budge. At
first, I thought I had failed to set the elevator trim. 182s are a bit pitch
heavy anyway, so I pulled harder. No joy. At this point, puzzle-solving time
was over. Airspeed was passing 75, the airplane was heavy, and the end of the
runway was fast approaching.

Damn, Dan, that's one of the scariest stories I've seen here.

What you described is one of my worst-case scenarios with giving
rides, ranking right behind having a kid totally freak out in the air.

Glad you made it okay.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

("Dan Luke" wrote)
Nope. I've only landed at BTR a few times; I don't know anyone there.


Well they know *you*, now. g


Paul-Mont-Ground-Crew
Our EAA Chapter's (August) Young Eagle day is Saturday ....morning.

http://www.americanwings.org/eagles.htm
American Wings Museum is next to the tower.

Maybe Cary (from these newsgroups) will be there, with his Diamond DA42 Twin
Star, giving kids rides again.

"Montblack" wrote:

Nope. I've only landed at BTR a few times; I don't know anyone there.


Well they know *you*, now. g


LOL

"Look, here comes Mr. Off-Road again!"