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An amphibian that sank?
On 23 Apr 2006 13:56:44 -0700, "Flyingmonk" wrote:
Anyone have the story behind this? Strange that a plane designed to float, sank! Friend of mine had built an Osprey II amphibian and planned to make its first flight from the water instead of land. He took it down the seaplane ramp for water-taxi testing. A few minutes after hitting the lake, he noticed water sloshing around on the bottom of plane. When he'd gone down the seaplane ramp, the nose of the plane had pitch up when it hit the water, ramming the tail skid into the fuselage and leaving a bit of a large hole. He poured on the power to go back to the ramp. When he got close, he cut power and flipped the Armstrong gear lever. But when the gear hit the ramp, the mains collapsed. Turns out the primary landing gear torque tube had been undersized (design error). My buddy paid for a forklift to carry his plane back to the hangar. There, he set the bottle jack under the wing to jack the plane up so that he could lower the gear back down. The jack slipped, punching a hole in the bottom of the wing. Amphibians CAN sink...and even if they float, the day ain't over yet. :-) Ron Wanttaja |
#2
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An amphibian that sank?
Ron Wanttaja wrote: Friend of mine had built an Osprey II amphibian and planned to make its first flight from the water instead of land. He took it down the seaplane ramp for water-taxi testing. A few minutes after hitting the lake, he noticed water sloshing around on the bottom of plane. When he'd gone down the seaplane ramp, the nose of the plane had pitch up when it hit the water, ramming the tail skid into the fuselage and leaving a bit of a large hole. He poured on the power to go back to the ramp. When he got close, he cut power and flipped the Armstrong gear lever. But when the gear hit the ramp, the mains collapsed. Turns out the primary landing gear torque tube had been undersized (design error). My buddy paid for a forklift to carry his plane back to the hangar. There, he set the bottle jack under the wing to jack the plane up so that he could lower the gear back down. The jack slipped, punching a hole in the bottom of the wing. Sounds like it was time to go get a beer and come back another day. Its always a good thing to know when you're whupped Don W. |
#3
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An amphibian that sank?
Prior to flying the "Spruce Goose", Howard Hughes filled the belly with
beach balls. He was concerned about sinking. Although he took most of the balls out after the flight (maybe he returned them and got his money back), there were many left in all the hard to get places. Prior to being refurbished in McMinnville, OR, I saw a number of them still down in the tight spots. Colin |
#4
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An amphibian that sank?
When he did his round the world flight he invented the ping pong ball
thing, filled the wings and other parts. |
#5
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An amphibian that sank?
In article ,
Ron Wanttaja wrote: On 23 Apr 2006 13:56:44 -0700, "Flyingmonk" wrote: Anyone have the story behind this? Strange that a plane designed to float, sank! Friend of mine had built an Osprey II amphibian and planned to make its first flight from the water instead of land. He took it down the seaplane ramp for water-taxi testing. A few minutes after hitting the lake, he noticed water sloshing around on the bottom of plane. When he'd gone down the seaplane ramp, the nose of the plane had pitch up when it hit the water, ramming the tail skid into the fuselage and leaving a bit of a large hole. He poured on the power to go back to the ramp. When he got close, he cut power and flipped the Armstrong gear lever. But when the gear hit the ramp, the mains collapsed. Turns out the primary landing gear torque tube had been undersized (design error). My buddy paid for a forklift to carry his plane back to the hangar. There, he set the bottle jack under the wing to jack the plane up so that he could lower the gear back down. The jack slipped, punching a hole in the bottom of the wing. A clear-cut example of O'Brien's Law at work! |
#6
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An amphibian that sank?
The aircraft could have been deliberately sunk for training. Or, it
might have hit debris in the water or a submerged object and received a whole punched through the fuselage. Lastly, water pumps might have failed causing it to sink gradually between pilot visits. Of course, Captain Zoom is known to operate a U-Boat in the vicinity of the EAA seaplane harbor in Wisconsin. Not that he torpedoed it or anything. It probably smacked him in the periscope upon landing. You know, the thing he looks down his nose at to watch USENET from in the submarine's Conman tower... |
#7
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An amphibian that sank?
The aircraft could have been deliberately sunk for training. Or, it
might have hit debris in the water or a submerged object and received a whole punched through the fuselage. Lastly, water pumps might have failed causing it to sink gradually between pilot visits. That last was really what I was wondering. If it didn't get much use, a few loose rivets could be enough. Peter |
#8
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An amphibian that sank?
Flyingmonk wrote:
http://www.divingservices.net/aircraft.jpg http://www.divingservices.net/9bcess2.jpg Anyone have the story behind this? Strange that a plane designed to float, sank! The Monk So was the Titanic! ;-) |
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