Walked into a wing!

[PFLsAgain]

Here's the scene. A beautiful day in Shropshire and I had a C172 booked out for 3 hours. Phoned a friend who had never flown before and he brought his two kids along. We decide to fly to Caernarfon.

We arrive at the airfield on time. No C172. It's in Swansea I'm told. 60 minutes later it shows up. The previous pilot hadn't realised that the plane would ice up if left out overnight, and had spent 45 minutes defrosting it before returning it to me.

Better late than never, we get off. I fly round the coast rather than over the top, because of some haze over the Welsh mountains. Beautiful trip and we're all having fun. Land at Caernarfon, refuel and stand in awe as a Harvard is displayed expertly over the airfield. Fantastic! (I ring the airfield at Sleap so they can hear the sound of it. They were simultaneously pleased and a bit narked too!).

Ooops, realise I'm going to be late getting the airplane home. Hurry everyone up. Walk up to the plane. Get everyone settled in, and walk around to the right hand side door so that I could check the seat belt on the toddler sitting in the back. Mind on other things, I walk straight into the wing!

Bl**dy hell! It hurt! C172 flaps are painful. It knocked me over backwards and dazed, I sat on frozen grass wondering why there were more things flying now than there were a few minutes ago. :eek:

After a couple of minutes I stand up, watching what I am doing this time! Draw myself up to my full height and try to gather any remaining shreds of dignity, I turn and see one of our club C152s next to me, and some amused club members enjoying the scene.

Deciding that I am OK, we set off to go back over the mountains. Oops, no can do, ear ache in the back. So back we go, round the coast at low level. Get back, the C152 is home before us and has amused everyone with my wing walking escapade.

That was my first flight of 2003! And it was still fantastic. Wouldn't have swapped it for anything. :D

Get a huge sore spot on my head though. :(

[AerBabe]

Been there, done that... Took my friend flying while he was writing up his PhD thesis. He'd never been up before either, so we opted for a local jolly in the C152. Did some low flying, some steep turns, then climbed up to show him the sea. The usual things.

Got back and it was getting dark, so I asked him for some help putting the cover on the aeroplane. He knelt down to pass me the strap under the tail, and when he stood up he knocked his head on the flap. I laughed heartily, then checked he was okay... then promptly walked into the flap on my side. He did the right thing and laughed back. Then I walked round the other side of the aeroplane to check the cover, and straight into the other wing. I had two very interesting shaped bruises on my forehead for days. :rolleyes: :D

The worst one was after my first solo, when I climbed out and stood straight up, forgetting how low the wing is. I too saw lots of pretty flying things, low level, high speed. ;)

[big.al]

Show me a 'high-wing' aeroplane driver who claims they have never bumped their head on the wing, and I'll show you a liar.... except perhaps BAe146 drivers, who might not be quite that tall...:D

Once did it twice in one day (think it was the same pre-flight check) - I just wish it had knocked some sense into me....

[PPPPP]

I reckon that's the real reason C172 flaps have diamond ridges in them , so people can say "I know exactly how you got that bruise..." For extra street-cred, people like me who are, shall we say, a little thin in the hair department wear the marks across the top as well:)

[javelin]

Parachute insructor I used to work for got out of the 206 and went forward. Loud THUNK followed by cursing and swearing. He reappeared with neat diamonds stamped into his forehead from the trailing edge. I fell out of my seat and nearly pished myself. Had to offer sympathy 'cos he would have killed me in my sleep later...hush hush, ex company.

[Ian_Wannabe]

And I thought I was just stupid!

Twice in one pre-flight at the beginning of my training on the 172 :p :p - Glad I'm not the only one ;)

[EI_Sparks]

*remembers being slagged off by certain ppruners when he said he'd like to be able to wear a helmet around C150s*

:)

[Kermit 180]

Amazingly, having done most of my flying in high wing Cessna's, I have not yet bumped my head on a wing or flap. I have, however, had students do so. Nothing hurts more, or causes more damage both to head and to pride, than a lowered flap and the victim gets up under it after picking something up or checking a rivet line. :eek: Now that hurts, and yes, the diamond shaped corrugations in the flaps sure do leave a mark.

I include a warning about this as part of my pax/student briefing.

Be careful out there.


Kermie ;)

[MLS-12D]

I was in Queensland last year when a pax walked into a 172's elevator and cut her head open. We had to wait several hours while she went into town to get stitched up, so the RFDS museum was closed by the time we got to Cloncurry. :(

I can confirm that there is little to see and do at lovely Winton aerodrome ... :p

[Prof Denzil Dexter]

Top that!

I've fallen off an Antonov AN-2 twice!

Fell off the wing after trying to remove the pitot cover when it was raining! Shoes with 'cleated soles' dont work on wet alloy. Then found out that white leather flying gloves soak up blood from grazed hands very efficiently.

Also slipped and fell out of the cabin door . Wet steps + dodgy soles on the shoes=biggest bruise you ever saw on an ar$e.

[pilotwolf]

Bl**dy hell! It hurt! C172 flaps are painful. It knocked me over backwards and dazed, I sat on frozen grass wondering why there were more things flying now than there were a few minutes ago.

Where you really sensible or safe to fly after this incident? May be it was minor and had no nasty consequences but what if you had caused a serious injury?

Maybe I am over reacting but I think it was irresponsible to fly, especially with pax, after this. :( :(

[GoneWest]

Ahhhh - all the stories from the good olde days.

Anybody doing that now would sue Cessna for $40,000,000 for not putting up a big sign saying "Do not walk into diamond pattern. It hurts"

Cynical?? Moi??

[Kolibear]

I took my sister up for her first ever flight in a smal aircraft and afterward when we'd parked and shut the aircraft down, she got out and walked round the front to my side.

BOOIINNNGGGG !! Straight in to the (fortunately stationary) prop! Big red mark on the forehead!

Another time, I was shuffling around under the wing, (its a very low wing), checking the flaps when I turned and head-butted the open end of the pitot tube. I ended up with a perfect red circle in the centre of my forehead.
You'll no doubt be pleased to know that there was no damage to the pitot head.

[AerBabe]

I used to work with someone who broke his hip falling off a C172 after checking the fuel...

[Rallye Driver]

When I was learning to fly about this time of year, the field got very boggy and of course the inevitable happened one day and the C152 got stuck while taxying.

I had to get out and push on a strut while the instructor stayed inside to give it some welly.

Got the aircraft moving but forgot about the tailplane, which caught me smartly in the back and deposited me flat on my face in the mud.

Then had to get back in and do Exercises 12 & 13 for 45 minutes before I could clean myself up.

I learnt something about flying from that - if you get bogged down, let the other bloke do the pushing!

RD

[pulse1]

Last summer I managed to impress all the hordes of grockles in the public enclosure at Compton Abbas.

I think my C172 was the first arrival of the day, due to low cloud, and I had just parked ready to alight before all the admiring public. Somehow I managed to fall out of the door and landed flat on my back with my feet still in the cockpit.

Fortunately the grass was quite soft and the only damage was to my pride. The amusing speculation over coffee was about the possible witness statements if we crashed on the way home.

[LowNSlow]

I thought that all flying instructors had to have the diamonds tattooed on their foreheads until I did it myself :(

[the wizard of auz]

I have about 2500hrs in the C172 and still manage to scrape a big groove outa my sweede on the bleedingdoor catch on the bottom of the wing........ about once a week.

I used to fly a C206 on floats and on one occasion, after briefing the pax to stay on the float untill I got around the other side to assist them, onbe bloke decided he didnt require my help and jumped of the rear of the float. Well the tail caught him right in mid flight about the bridge of his nose and he landed flat on his back in about two feet of water bleeding profusly, his bikini clad lady friends (god I loved that job) were less than impressed with his egress and proceeded to tell him hat a goose he was, in front of every one. (most were rolling around in the sand with sore ribs by this stage)

[PFLsAgain]

Well I did wonder if someone was going to ask if it was sensible to carry on. If I had lost consciousness or been really stunned, then no, I wouldn't have. I did give it some serious thought. I felt fine, (foolish, but fine!), but did get a second opinion from my laughing spectators. It really was a minor injury to me, but a major one to my pride :o :o

[Lowtimer]

Not all these injuries as from Cessnas. I have a very derring-do scar under what remains of my hairline caused by gouging out a line of scalp on the sharp back edge of a Warrior pitot blade. The occasion was mid pre-flight, demonstrating upon request to my instructor that I knew where the static vent was, then trying to move forward out from under the wing.

It bled buckets for hours!! I should probably have had it stitched up but was out at Old Buck miles from anywhere, and opted for several pints of tea and a full-fat fry-up over the next few hours while clamping various bits of first aid kit to my head with my spare hand. Didn't go flying that day :-)

[Go-Around]

Whilst working as a refueller one very sunny Saturday afternoon last summer I was filling up a Europa, and whilst attaching the earthing wire to the exhaust I managed to smack my face on the rather sharp trailing edge of a new 3-blade prop.
Cue stars flying around my face and a neat inch long cut down my eyebrow, closely followed by 3 hours in casualty waiting to get fixed up, 3 days of a black eye about a month of p*** taking from my course mates.:o :o :o
The owner was more concerned about his prop, which was now decorated with quite a few of my eyebrow hairs.

[FaPoGai]

For PLFSAgain et al.
The moral of the story is ---- always wear your flying helmet!
Rgds.