Puchacz New Cautionary Tale/Tail

"danlj" wrote in message
:

On Sep 7, 7:46*am, JC wrote:
On Sep 7, 1:09*am, GARY BOGGS wrote:

How could you fly a glider without a rudder and not be able to tell
something is very wrong????...clip...

Boggs

I agree with Gary.. How could the pilot not notice the rudder is gone?
Our club DG200 had the rudder pop out on a winch launch and it fell
back and hung from the rudder cables. The pilot felt both pedals go
forward and get stuck. He completed the launch and from the ground he
was told that his rudder came off so he made gentle turns and landed
without trouble....clip...

We don't recognize when something has gone wrong with the rudder
because
a - we normally don't practice not having a rudder
b - really don't understand, in the seat of our pants, what it feels
like not to have one
So -- all we know at first is that *something is wrong*. (Note that
Juan Carlos points out that the pilot was TOLD his rudder was off.)
What that *something* is, ain't all that obvious. This is true for
MOST airplane malfunctions, not just rudder malfunctions. And the
emotional upset ("alarm") that we feel during the event hinders
rational analysis.

I speak as an expert, having once many years ago flown a Blanik L-13
with the rudder cables reversed. All I could tell was the rudder
*wasn't working*. So I put my feet on the floor. Which worked fine
until they quietly snuck back onto the pedals during the turn from
base to final. My personal mantra, "Speed is my friend" saved the day.

(Then, after the repair, one of us five guys who'd all missed the
rudder reversal, found the safety missing from the castellated nut
underneath the elevator bell crank and saved someone's life. An
airplane flies awkwardly but safely without a good rudder, but the
pilot dies without an elevator.)

DJ



DJ, PCC's are your friend!!! A Positive Control Check where you push on
the left rudder pedal and say "Rudder-Left" should have found this
before takeoff.

Larry

On Sep 8, 12:11*pm, Brad wrote:

rudder? what's that?

It's a mere Cartesian abstraction; the horizontal projection of a
ruddervator.

Thanks, Bob K.

On Sep 7, 11:19*pm, "F-U-Ed." wrote:

Just for your information, before you so blatantly post such rude and
one sided statements, you should know that this pilot...

[Full message and header omitted but on file.]

Reading Cindy's post, and even between its lines, I really don't see
any content that particularly defames the Puch. I'm guessing that most
European sailplanes are susceptible to very similar failure modes.
There is an excellent lesson here that a good PCC should also include
the axial play of control surfaces, and not just their deflection,
sense, and slop.

Also, if you really must post material like this, my suggestion would
be to do so either more completely anonymously or more openly. And
better yet either more moderately or not at all. I think we've all
occasionally posted in haste and repented at leisure, so I do
understand how strong feelings can cloud one's judgment. Mike's
suggestion of taking a deep breath before clicking Send is probably a
good one.

Thanks, Bob K.

Reading Cindy's post, and even between its lines, I really don't see
any content that particularly defames the Puch.

Thanks.
I'm sensitive about Pooches overall, and wanted to be as fair to the
airframe
as I could be.

There is an excellent lesson here that a good PCC should also include
the axial play of control surfaces, and not just their deflection,
sense, and slop.


THAT was/is the message the pilot and I wanted to emphasize.
Thanks for the comment about AXIAL examination. I frequently see
pilots wobble surfaces about, sometimes too roughly, and VERY seldom
see someone check all surfaces for all three axes of movement. That
could perhaps have found this as a potential departure of a surface.

I was delighted to read the thread's progress tonight. Thank you to
Eric M. for the detail and thoughtfullness of his contribution. And to
JJ.
I couldn't begin to recall the fanny hardware, as the last 50-3 I knew
was over ten years ago, and only through one periodic inspection.
(Tongue bit and lips clenched. Restraint shown here.)

Thanks to many of you for defending my reputation! Ahhh, Chivalry.

And Bob W. -- the incident report wasn't YET published. ;-)
I wasn't waiting for Monday, as I only get to here intermittently.
I am glad to see it recorded, and will be curious to see what, if any
conclusions, can be drawn. I deliberately avoided any personal
conjecture,
writing only what was told to me. (Adjusting front pedals may have
masked a 'moment of change', or not.)


I did not point fingers of fault in any direction.
There are plenty of US glider "events" that never make it into any
reporting
system. I only did what was asked -- to try to have some good results
and discussions from an otherwise unsettling flight. I hope this
inspires
other pilots to POST and share things that keep each other more
aware, more conscientious and still having fun with each other in
2011.

We could all use the reminders.

Cindy
(who went wave soaring Wednesday)
www.caracole-soaring.com