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Chipmunk nearly didn't have a wing or a prayer

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Chipmunk nearly didn't have a wing or a prayer

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Old 6th Nov 2022, 11:46
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Gnome de PPRuNe
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Chipmunk nearly didn't have a wing or a prayer




https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/300562
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Old 6th Nov 2022, 13:39
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Wow. That’s a strong aeroplane but you don’t get much closer to dying.
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Old 6th Nov 2022, 14:13
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The crowd didn't look like they were expecting an aerial display ...
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Old 6th Nov 2022, 14:38
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He is obviously de master pilot locally...
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Old 6th Nov 2022, 15:07
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To be fair that mast was probably difficult to see, unlike the big red and white control caravan hit by a fellow Chipmunk student on landing at Middle Wallop in 1983 during an Army Air Corps pilot’s course!
No serious injuries. I do recall saying to my instructor…….. no wonder I’m crap at landing I didn’t realise that caravan was the aiming point!
ironically it’s where the instructor stood in to watch you do your first solo…… I think mine watched me do my first solo from one of the old air raid shelters….😹😹
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Old 6th Nov 2022, 18:54
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Hopefully the spectator injuries weren't too serious, presumably from falling debris...

In terms of the 'plane it looked to me as if there was quite significant deformation at the rhs wing root? I don't suppose it'd be easy to find any subsequent repair detail, but the engineer in me would like to know more about the extent and nature of the damage.

Otherwise I did wonder if perhaps it was part of a new upcoming Star Wars prequel, given that "The aircraft force landed safely. "

luckyrat well told story 👍
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Old 6th Nov 2022, 20:10
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Seems he missed the aerial and caught a guy wire from underneath. Very lucky it wasn't worse... wonder what the Argentine authorities will have to say?
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Old 6th Nov 2022, 22:29
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When I scroll back and forth at the moment of contact, I see the wing connecting with the antenna itself - a VERY short distance from the top of the mast.

A few inches separated joy and despair. A shorter mast, more altitude, or a steeper bank and this fly-past would not have been a story.

I wonder whether that was a permanent mast or a temporary event broadcast fixture.
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Old 7th Nov 2022, 00:27
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If right aileron was destroyed/vanished how he managed to turn and return safe to the field?
Or did he landed right ahead?
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Old 7th Nov 2022, 03:53
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In these pics you can see the forward wing attachment bolt has failed.

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Old 7th Nov 2022, 05:27
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I am amazed that wing stayed on. Given the damage to the right aileron, I wonder if the pilot had any primary roll control or did he have to use the rudder?
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Old 7th Nov 2022, 06:51
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Originally Posted by India Four Two
I am amazed that wing stayed on. Given the damage to the right aileron, I wonder if the pilot had any primary roll control or did he have to use the rudder?

Guys need to go buy themselves a beer for that one. The aileron and wing loss, the roll would have been to the right from the area, but the wreckage of the wing tip is adding a left roll moment, as a fluke of the failure. These guys would have had a sick aircraft but probably not like a certain IDF F-15 without a RH wing. That RH wing on the hippie is not far away from failing completely, some days are luckier than others.
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Old 7th Nov 2022, 07:29
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I managed to find the information from the caravan incident to which I referred in my previous post.
It was actually the instructor flying it as a demonstration flight with a student on board….. 🙀
I still think the original plan was to land on the grass near the caravan, not actually on it……..😹


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Old 7th Nov 2022, 08:04
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In the video clip you can see the whole wing deflect rearwards at the point of impact, I suggest the rear spar structure collapsed under compression at that moment while the forward spar carry through has deformed back, the wing then stayed like that hence the gap at the leading edge fuselage junction.
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Old 7th Nov 2022, 11:13
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Worst pole dance I ever seen
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Old 7th Nov 2022, 11:48
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Anyone any idea what the original reg number was,as it may have been ex-RAF,as it was the oldest Chippy flying...?
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Old 7th Nov 2022, 11:54
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Sycamore, it's the third off DHC's production line at Downsview in 1946. Hatfield production started in '49.
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Old 7th Nov 2022, 12:07
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Originally Posted by luckyrat
I managed to find the information from the caravan incident to which I referred in my previous post.
It was actually the instructor flying it as a demonstration flight with a student on board….. 🙀
I still think the original plan was to land on the grass near the caravan, not actually on it……..😹

possibly what actually happened that day ?




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Old 8th Nov 2022, 03:38
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Wing failure as experienced by Neil Williams in a Zlin, wing folded up so rolled inverted to keep the wing in place, flew approach inverted and rolled upright at the last moment.

https://www.orlita.net/hangar/GAWAR.pdf
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Old 8th Nov 2022, 07:56
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Here’s a picture of the left wing and fairing from an RCAF Maintenance Manual:



You can see the two-bolt mainspar attachment (A - enlarged at the top left) and the drag fitting (5,6,7,8) towards the end of the D nose.

I assume 33 is the rear spar attachment.

Last edited by India Four Two; 8th Nov 2022 at 08:03. Reason: Added higher resolution image.
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