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#1
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I learned about flying from this, too...
In the mid 80s I was in flight training at a part 141 school, Navarro College, In Corsicana, Texas. I would not recommend this college to anyone seeking an aviation college, by the way. I'll let you know more privately if you wish. I took the nice 172 to Gilmer, Tx. for an overnight visit to part of my family that lived there, parked on the asphalt ramp and didn't tie down because the weather was so nice with light to no winds. I was leaving in the morning, anyway. At my brother's house we were watching the 10:00 p.m. news and during the weather there was a line of strong thunderstorms heading our way. Back out to the airport to tie the school's 172 down or fly the short distance to Longview & secure the plane if I couldn't find any tie-down provisions. After searching the area I noticed a thick wire rope sort of buried in the grass, weeds & dirt just off the asphalt. Thinking it would be hard to push the plane by myself once on the turf, I fired her up & taxied off the tarmac into the grass and positioned the plane over the rope. Just after the nose wheel left the asphalt I heard a sharp, though not loud, "ping." The storm was rolling in & the wind was picking up so I quickly secured the 172 to the rope and got back in the car & to the house. I didn't even consider investigating what could have made the "ping" noise (mistake # 1). I accidently slept too long the next morning and, aware that the 172 was scheduled for other students that day, made haste in leaving east Texas. My preflight was abbreviated and I skipped a step that I'd bet many skip on a regular basis, running my hand over the prop (mistake # 2). As I applied full power for takeoff I noticed an unusual vibration shaking the airplane. I was baffled but I had "get-home-itis" so I relegated the vibration to something the A&P should check on once I got back in Corsicana. Discontinuing the takeoff roll was a fleeting thought, but I didn't do it (mistake # 3). As I powered down at cruise altitude the vibration almost disappeared, putting my mind somewhat at ease. After landing and parking at the gas pumps I went back inside the pilot center to check out and shortly the lineman came inside and asked me in a rather disturbed tone of voice; "Ricky, WHAT did you do to the prop of that airplane!?" With a bit of shock, back outside I saw there was about 1/4" to 1/2" shaved right off from one blade of the propeller. Reviewing the events of the flight I realized that the "ping" was the prop striking something, probably the tie holding down the wire rope, or the rope itself, as I taxied off of the tarmac onto the grass. I did remember that the plane dipped slightly as I rolled off the asphalt due to a gradient difference. The A&P told me that it would not have been far-fetched for the vibration to have vibrated the motor right off of the front of the plane, which of course, would have been fatal. Thankfully, the prop was within limits to have him file & balance the opposing blade to match the other side so we didn't have to order a new propeller. SO - don't skip the little steps in your preflight, the ones that we sometimes deem less important. Up until that point, I sometimes did not check the prop. Now I consider it one of the more vital preflight items! Don't get so rushed that safety is compromised in any way. You've probably heard that the pressure to get to your destination ("get-home-itis") can be, and sometimes is, a fatal one. Ricky |
#2
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I learned about flying from this, too...
I realize you were just a student pilot at the time, but I find it curious that the word checklist is not mentioned anywhere in your article. |
#3
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I learned about flying from this, too...
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#4
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I learned about flying from this, too...
Larry Dighera wrote in
: I realize you were just a student pilot at the time, but I find it curious that the word checklist is not mentioned anywhere in your article. Jesus Wept Larry, Does your checklist tell you to check to see if two wings are attached? Bertie |
#5
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I learned about flying from this, too...
On Feb 5, 9:14*am, Ricky wrote:
In the mid 80s I was in flight training at a part 141 school, Navarro College, In Corsicana, Texas. I would not recommend this college to anyone seeking an aviation college, by the way. I'll let you know more privately if you wish. I took the nice 172 to Gilmer, Tx. for an overnight visit to part of my family that lived there, parked on the asphalt ramp and didn't tie down because the weather was so nice with light to no winds. I was leaving in the morning, anyway. At my brother's house we were watching the 10:00 p.m. news and during the weather there was a line of strong thunderstorms heading our way. Back out to the airport to tie the school's 172 down or fly the short distance to Longview & secure the plane if I couldn't find any tie-down provisions. After searching the area I noticed a thick wire rope sort of buried in the grass, weeds & dirt just off the asphalt. Thinking it would be hard to push the plane by myself once on the turf, I fired her up & taxied off the tarmac into the grass and positioned the plane over the rope. Just after the nose wheel left the asphalt I heard a sharp, though not loud, "ping." The storm was rolling in & the wind was picking up so I quickly secured the 172 to the rope and got back in the car & to the house. I didn't even consider investigating what could have made the "ping" noise (mistake # 1). I accidently slept too long the next morning and, aware that the 172 was scheduled for other students that day, made haste in leaving east Texas. My preflight was abbreviated and I skipped a step that I'd bet many skip on a regular basis, running my hand over the prop (mistake # 2). As I applied full power for takeoff I noticed an unusual vibration shaking the airplane. I was baffled but I had "get-home-itis" so I relegated the vibration to something the A&P should check on once I got back in Corsicana. Discontinuing the takeoff roll was a fleeting thought, but I didn't do it (mistake # 3). As I powered down at cruise altitude the vibration almost disappeared, putting my mind somewhat at ease. After landing and parking at the gas pumps I went back inside the pilot center to check out and shortly the lineman came inside and asked me in a rather disturbed tone of voice; "Ricky, WHAT did you do to the prop of that airplane!?" With a bit of shock, back outside I saw there was about 1/4" to 1/2" shaved right off from one blade of the propeller. Reviewing the events of the flight I realized that the "ping" was the prop striking something, probably the tie holding down the wire rope, or the rope itself, as I taxied off of the tarmac onto the grass. I did remember that the plane dipped slightly as I rolled off the asphalt due to a gradient difference. The A&P told me that it would not have been far-fetched for the vibration to have vibrated the motor right off of the front of the plane, which of course, would have been fatal. Thankfully, the prop was within limits to have him file & balance the opposing blade to match the other side so we didn't have to order a new propeller. SO - don't skip the little steps in your preflight, the ones that we sometimes deem less important. Up until that point, I sometimes did not check the prop. Now I consider it one of the more vital preflight items! Don't get so rushed that safety is compromised in any way. You've probably heard that the pressure to get to your destination ("get-home-itis") can be, and sometimes is, a fatal one. Ricky Actually, additional mistakes were not knowing the weather well enough to know there were thunderstorms on the way, which probably could have flipped the 172. Another was just not tieing the plane down. |
#6
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I learned about flying from this, too...
On Feb 5, 9:27*am, Larry Dighera wrote:
I realize you were just a student pilot at the time, but I find it curious that the word checklist is not mentioned anywhere in your article. * A checklist is/was used most of the time, possibly skipped if in a hurry as I was. Even now, I find myself not using a checklist sometimes for preflight once I get to know a plane. It's easy to get complacent, especially with a small Cessna. I'd be curious to know how many actually carry around the checklist outside while preflighting? Ricky |
#7
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I learned about flying from this, too...
On Feb 5, 8:14 am, Ricky wrote:
In the mid 80s I was in flight training at a part 141 school, Navarro College, In Corsicana, Texas. I would not recommend this college to anyone seeking an aviation college, by the way. I'll let you know more privately if you wish. I took the nice 172 to Gilmer, Tx. for an overnight visit to part of my family that lived there, parked on the asphalt ramp and didn't tie down because the weather was so nice with light to no winds. I was leaving in the morning, anyway. At my brother's house we were watching the 10:00 p.m. news and during the weather there was a line of strong thunderstorms heading our way. Back out to the airport to tie the school's 172 down or fly the short distance to Longview & secure the plane if I couldn't find any tie-down provisions. After searching the area I noticed a thick wire rope sort of buried in the grass, weeds & dirt just off the asphalt. Thinking it would be hard to push the plane by myself once on the turf, I fired her up & taxied off the tarmac into the grass and positioned the plane over the rope. Just after the nose wheel left the asphalt I heard a sharp, though not loud, "ping." The storm was rolling in & the wind was picking up so I quickly secured the 172 to the rope and got back in the car & to the house. I didn't even consider investigating what could have made the "ping" noise (mistake # 1). I accidently slept too long the next morning and, aware that the 172 was scheduled for other students that day, made haste in leaving east Texas. My preflight was abbreviated and I skipped a step that I'd bet many skip on a regular basis, running my hand over the prop (mistake # 2). As I applied full power for takeoff I noticed an unusual vibration shaking the airplane. I was baffled but I had "get-home-itis" so I relegated the vibration to something the A&P should check on once I got back in Corsicana. Discontinuing the takeoff roll was a fleeting thought, but I didn't do it (mistake # 3). As I powered down at cruise altitude the vibration almost disappeared, putting my mind somewhat at ease. After landing and parking at the gas pumps I went back inside the pilot center to check out and shortly the lineman came inside and asked me in a rather disturbed tone of voice; "Ricky, WHAT did you do to the prop of that airplane!?" With a bit of shock, back outside I saw there was about 1/4" to 1/2" shaved right off from one blade of the propeller. Reviewing the events of the flight I realized that the "ping" was the prop striking something, probably the tie holding down the wire rope, or the rope itself, as I taxied off of the tarmac onto the grass. I did remember that the plane dipped slightly as I rolled off the asphalt due to a gradient difference. The A&P told me that it would not have been far-fetched for the vibration to have vibrated the motor right off of the front of the plane, which of course, would have been fatal. Thankfully, the prop was within limits to have him file & balance the opposing blade to match the other side so we didn't have to order a new propeller. SO - don't skip the little steps in your preflight, the ones that we sometimes deem less important. Up until that point, I sometimes did not check the prop. Now I consider it one of the more vital preflight items! Don't get so rushed that safety is compromised in any way. You've probably heard that the pressure to get to your destination ("get-home-itis") can be, and sometimes is, a fatal one. Ricky If you did that now, with a Lycoming engine, the solutions wouldn't be just dressing the prop. It would mean opening the engine. $$. Dan |
#8
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I learned about flying from this, too...
On Tue, 5 Feb 2008 07:31:04 -0800 (PST), Ricky
wrote in : Another was just not tieing the plane down. Right. That can be cause for disallowing an insurance claim in the event that it causes damage. |
#9
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I learned about flying from this, too...
I don't carry the checklist around when I'm preflighting but I do sit in the
plane after the external preflight and review it to make sure I did not miss anything. This is for planes that I have many hours in so I've done the preflight once or twice . But I still review it to make sure. John "Ricky" wrote in message ... On Feb 5, 9:27 am, Larry Dighera wrote: I realize you were just a student pilot at the time, but I find it curious that the word checklist is not mentioned anywhere in your article. A checklist is/was used most of the time, possibly skipped if in a hurry as I was. Even now, I find myself not using a checklist sometimes for preflight once I get to know a plane. It's easy to get complacent, especially with a small Cessna. I'd be curious to know how many actually carry around the checklist outside while preflighting? Ricky |
#10
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I learned about flying from this, too...
"Ricky" wrote in message
... In the mid 80s I was in flight training at a part 141 school, Navarro College, In Corsicana, Texas. Thanks for the reminders. I was wondering I would find this on rec.aviation.stories, but I can see by the comments by the moderator of that group that it would probably not be approved. Larry, ever wonder why there are no stories submitted? |
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