VanHorck
No restrictions from insurer. Just arranging a funeral for tomorrow (someone else!) so not time before now to engage in chat. Life goes on - fortunately. Vince
mad jock
no lean, no carb heat, Rotax 912. I applied short bursts of light power throughout the descent to keep it warm, and was motoring at decent revs when I began turn.
Will speak to Inspector on Monday and have completed the AAIB form, but waiting for some flight records still in Dundee. Vince
Fisbangwollop - From where I am standing I'd prefer the Beano, but pleased to give y'all some pleasure in life! Vince
crash one. Be fair - I only chose the tree after all other options looked dangerous. Vince
Thanks Sinky for the advice. But how do I sue anonymous slanderers? Even if I wanted to? "Vince slagging off" looks a great sport anyway, I just get a bit concerned when anonymous commentators of undisclosed provenance get quoted as "professional pilots" in the Press! Surely the rumpour mill should be treated as such. Were the AAIB to come out with a critical report this will be reported in the Press - but it would be based on fact, not guesswork and vivid imaginations. Vince
Munnyspinner. Yes the Rotax uses either or both Mogas and Avgas and I was putting down (on the advice of the experts at Barrow) at Dundee. If I had known how hostile the surrounding territory (not the people who were great) was I'd probably have gone somewhere else. But Dundee was the planned divert so I went there. Approaching from the North had me looking at high rise office blocks, an oil rig, a high mast and the Tay bridge. Pooleys (in cockpit) did not really help with this, the chart was not very helpful either and the satnav just showed the outline of the town - which I kept outside. Vince
Pace - further to your comment re arrogance. It is sometimes hard to differentiate between confidence and arrogance. Surely you need to be confident of yourself, your knowledge and your ability to be able to fly at all. If you are confident you know what you did and why, then let the Inspector decide. But is this arrogance? After all I am responding to a bunch of anonymous guys who for all I know may not have ever flown solo, nor even at all. Some are clearly experienced and making valuable points, but others just seem to me to be unkind. Vince
Van Horck. If you really want to know why 70 knots with zero flap (normal is negative 12 degrees on CT), you need airspeed to execute a "pancake". Too slow and throwing the plane at the tree bottom first would not work. One of the golfers described how I dived at the course before impact. Very observant. See the Burma ops manual referred to above (I haven't) cos it would be good to know how it was supposed to be done!!
My pal who navigated Mosquitos in the war said that many pancakes were attempted over forests in Europe, but the pilot and navigator were usually killed anyway because of the light construction (ply and balsa sandwich) and speed.
Full marks to the CT - the carbon shell protected me just as it is designed to do in the event of difficulties. It is a very safe aircraft.
What do you fly?
Vince