Today's Message Index:
----------------------
1. 01:27 PM - FW: A320 Skiing Video (James, Clive R)
2. 01:51 PM - ILAFFT (James, Clive R)
Message 1
INDEX | Back to Main INDEX |
NEXT | Skip to NEXT Message |
LIST | Reply to LIST Regarding this Message |
SENDER | Reply to SENDER Regarding this Message |
|
Subject: | FW: A320 Skiing Video |
> ______________________________________________
> From: James, Clive R
> Sent: 23 January 2009 21:18
> Subject: A320 Skiing Video
>
> http://www.truveo.com/Newly-released-video-shows-plane-landing-on-Huds
> on/id/901984028
>
> They've got all the good footage on this link, watch for the poor guy
> falling off the wing on the right he must have been well chilled,
> worth watching thru
>
> Clive R James
> Harding OIM,
> BP Exploration Operating Company Limited,
> 1 Wellheads Avenue, Dyce, Aberdeen AB21 7PB
> Tel: +44 (0)1224 772982
> Fax: +44 (0)1224 834896
> e-mail: clive.james@bp.com
> INK saving ECO SANS FONT used, www.ecofont.eu
> BP Exploration Operating Company Limited, a company registered in
> England and Wales with the company number 305943 and VAT number
> GB365678995 and whose registered office is Chertsey Road, Sunbury on
> Thames, Middlesex TW16 7BP
>
>
Message 2
INDEX | Back to Main INDEX |
PREVIOUS | Skip to PREVIOUS Message |
NEXT | Skip to NEXT Message |
LIST | Reply to LIST Regarding this Message |
SENDER | Reply to SENDER Regarding this Message |
|
Hi Chaps, I wrote a little story up about my last day at home
I was having a really good day......then I learned about flying
from that.
I finally had the Esqual up and running with it's new trim
system and had had a few good flights one day the previous week. The
flying the first day was cut short as I had a baffle come loose in a
cooling duct and the noise was something that I had to figure before I
flew again. The weather the first day was almost calm and clear with low
cloud base but fine for local flying. The electric trim was working Ok
and the plane was, as usual a joy to fly about in.
After fixing the baffle properly (real flock'd epoxy job). I
packed for work a day early and had my last day of leave clear to fly
the Esqual and try out the trim and the stability.
I flew the Esqual first in September with a really experienced
pilot and instructor. He shook my down such that I could fly alone and
then develop it. Subsequently I had even flown into a tree surrounded
airfield on a gusty crosswind day, 4 months previously without any
fuss. Between then and last week I'd been flying my trusty SP which I
now have over 1000 hrs on over 8 years. Nothing on the Esqual however.
The Esqual like the lightning has a castoring nose wheel and toe
brake steering. My first 250 hrs was done on a microlight with the same
set up. Somewhat lighter and with a more effective rudder without prop
blast but never the less a similar principle I felt I was 'tuned
into'. This thought was to be my undoing....
I took off on the first flight and seeing 2 days previously
had done 4 uneventful take off and landings decided an hour of handling
checks would be appropriate. This would give me a chance to assess the
stability, the trim settings and see what fuel it was using in an hours
flying . This I did, thoroughly enjoyed myself, got frozen (no heater)
and landed to make adjustments. The stability wasn't positive and I
didn't have enough up trim for approach with landing flap. I still had
some up bungee up trim set in so was planning to disconnect this to
rely on the trim tab only and to adjust the throw of the tab for the up
trim to be more effective at full up travel.
As I landed and taxied back I noted the right brake was a little
weak. After a cuppa and a muse, I adjusted the trim tab and dropped the
bungee off the elevator and noted some fluid on the cockpit floor below
the brakes. I've been chasing a small leak for some time and thought 'at
last, a leak big enough to find'. Sure enough I traced it to a fitting
on the master on the right brake pedal and also found air had collected
in the brake pipe. I bled the air and tightened the fitting, dried
everything off and tested it, no drips ready to go. I'd now found my
spongy right brake problem and fixed it. Back to the flying.
The weather was good a slight cross wind from the left but ideal
for landing down the side of our hangar when I returned. The hangar at
my base is in the middle of the one end of runway. A quaint feature that
was caused many years ago by the edges of the runway not belonging to
those that owned the middle. Not a problem to us local fliers as we are
used to it.
I took off and climbed up as far as ATC would let me ( we are
under the Northerly approach to a local airport). Still I got up enough
to get some straight and level in and see what the trim was doing now.
Still not positive but neutral, now I was getting somewhere. As I
approached the airfield with a positive step forward in the test flying
a down wind 'go around' was appropriate for the lads on the ground. That
done and a tear drop to get back to approach height and to slow down I
slid down the side of the hangar as I had many times before and swung
onto the runway. A little fast but those big flaps will soon sort that
out. The plane floated a little further than I would have liked but I
soon had it down on the runway and was steering with my feet and my
toes. Nothing seemed to be happening right and a slid steadily to the
right of the runway, the right brake!...alas the wrong thought as I was
soon off the right side sitting in the mud wondering what had happened
to that positive feeling I had not 1 minute before.
Like you do, I have analysed those few seconds a few hundred
times since.
Here's my list of what I did wrong:
Too fast, I have recently read the excellent article on flying
the Lightning by Buz and Nick. Too fast is a no no, unless you have a
mile of runway to wait above till you land. I was, I know now, too
fast.
Toe brakes and castoring nose wheel, I've done little taxiing
with the toe brakes since September. Lots of Jab flying with a nose
wheel though. 4 months before, prior to ever leaving the ground, I'd
done quite a few miles on the runway, swerving stopping, turning on a
sixpence till I was back where I was in my Shadow microlight days.
Surely that would do , alas it wasn't enough, should have refreshed my
feet more on the ground.
Concentration, as I came in to land I was thinking about the
next change I could make to help the stability. What effect will some
down bungee have?
Brakes, I was still tuned into the fact I had a soft right
brake, I didn't try the brakes on my landing checks, in fact I can't
remember when I did a brake check in the air. Sitting in the hangar
after the right brake had a harder pedal than the left. The black stripe
on the runway showed that the right brake was, on that landing as good
as the left if not better.
So, entirely avoidable , and I learned about flying from that.
Good news is insurance are going to support the repairs, I'm
going to take the plane home to fix it for a few months and make some
other improvements fit that heater for one.
(and fit a bathroom, though not in the plane).
For Esqual owners, there is a mod that can be done to the rudder
pedal arrangement that stops the quadrant pivot bending. I'm not sure
that the fact the pivot is bent and the pedals now make an almighty
grating noise had anything to do with me loosing control of the steering
but it certainly didn't help. I've attached the picture that Nick was
good enough to send me which clearly shows the mod that I recommend all
Esqual owners fit. Regards Clive
P.S. If you have the urge to tell me something extra I did wrong
please resist the temptation to share it with me, I feel bad enough.
Clive R James
Harding OIM,
BP Exploration Operating Company Limited,
1 Wellheads Avenue, Dyce, Aberdeen AB21 7PB
Tel: +44 (0)1224 772982
Fax: +44 (0)1224 834896
e-mail: clive.james@bp.com
BP Exploration Operating Company Limited, a company registered
in England and Wales with the company number 305943 and VAT number
GB365678995 and whose registered office is Chertsey Road, Sunbury on
Thames, Middlesex TW16 7BP
Other Matronics Email List Services
These Email List Services are sponsored solely by Matronics and through the generous Contributions of its members.
-- Please support this service by making your Contribution today! --
|