RV-8 What happened?

"Lady Pilot" wrote in message
news:vdYXg.6100$fl.417@dukeread08...

"Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe" wrote:
"Lady Pilot" wrote:
Inhofe's Plane Experiences Problems After Landing

POSTED: 12:12 am CDT October 6, 2006
UPDATED: 12:31 pm CDT October 6, 2006

TULSA, Okla. -- A single-engine plane piloted by Sen. Jim Inhofe spun
around
after landing at a Tulsa airport, authorities said Thursday.

Ground loops happen.

Of course...I've owned 3 Beech 18 tail draggers...

Cool. I've always wanted to fly one of those.
Learned to fly in a C-120, but I'm so rusty nowadays that my brother doesn't
let me handle his T-18 or his "Pitts" on the ground.



A taildragger is dynamically unstable because the center of mass is
behind the main gear -

Are you an aerodynamics engineer? ;-) Many pilots around the world are
"effiencient" in training by a professional.


B.S. Mechanical Engineering, M.S. Electronics and Computer Controlled
Systems.
My brother is the one with degrees in Aero engineering.


get it a little sideways and it wants to continue around all the way.
Perhaps it was the end of a long day and the pilot got a little behind
the aircraft, or..., or... or...

Or....where are you? heheeheeeee


Yea.

--
Geoff
The Sea Hawk at Wow Way d0t Com
remove spaces and make the obvious substitutions to reply by mail
When immigration is outlawed, only outlaws will immigrate.

On Sat, 7 Oct 2006 09:24:16 -0400, "Peter Dohm"
wrote:

"Ron Wanttaja" wrote in message
.. .
On Fri, 6 Oct 2006 22:17:54 -0500, "Lady Pilot"
wrote:

"Roland Herwig, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration in
Oklahoma City, said a preliminary inquiry found that the plane spun
around
briefly upon landing.

"Finnerty said Inhofe thinks there may have been a problem with the
plane's
rudder.

"The plane is old-fashioned, with two wheels in the front and one in the
back, Finnerty said."

Any clues?

Could be human error, could be mechanical error. The Senator wouldn't be
the
first pilot to lose control while landing a taildragger.

As for potential mechanical causes, could be a jammed brake, could be a
problem
with the tailwheel itself. We had a Maule at a local airport lose one of
the
links that connected the tailwheel to the rudder, a month or two back.
Depending on how the tailwheel control is set up, this could cause the
tailwheel
to turn sharply.

Ron Wanttaja

The same has happened down my way.

Tension springs can simply defy inspection--especially on a pre-flight.

We had one throw a spring here at 3BS on take off last summer or the
summer before. It shook but he already had rudder control. Other
than the pilot being a bit apprehensive on landing (he wasn't sure
what had happened but had a good idea). The landing was uneventful.
When he came to a stop they found the one spring hanging loose. I
don't think they found a reason for it coming off as it had plenty of
tension.



Peter

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com