C210 down in Windhoek
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: UK
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Sadly another pilot has died in a absolutely need less accident! When will people learn that a C210 is not a 6 seater with full tanks during the African summer. A carefull look at the performance manual will show that even off the longer runway at Eros the aircraft does not have the necessary power. I know many of you young guys down there are getting away with it using the longer runway but, the aircrat is simply not certified to get airbourne at those kind of weights when the tempreture is above around 26 degree's C.
Tempretures above 26 will put the density altitude at around 9000ft if you do the performance correctly you will see that a take for a runway at 9000ft above see level is only possible with about half tanks and perhaps 3 pax. Its not just a function of horsepower either the wing simply can't lift the weight.
As someone said earlier in the thred its all down to poor training and a lot of bravado amongst the pilots I know because I have been there before myself. I was once a "kick arse pilot" fortunatly for me the SAAF recognised this maverick tendency in me and kicked me out, however I still got myself into the type of situation this unfortunae young man found himself in, and was lucky enough to survive. I'm now older and much wiser and spend my life trying to educate young men to become old pilots like me, by not doing the crazy stupid things I've done!
The cheap charter market in Africa will always however suffer thses incidents as there is almost no real control in place. Getting your first job is hard keeping it is harder as there is always some kid willing to take riskes that an older wiser head won't. profit before safety is the name of the game in Africa and i for one don't see that changing soon. This is one of the reasons I now work in Europe, greatfull for the experiences of my home land and thankfull that I was one of the licky ones that survived!
My sincere condolences to the young mans family I know the heartbreak you are suffering, I attended many funerals of similar victims.
Tempretures above 26 will put the density altitude at around 9000ft if you do the performance correctly you will see that a take for a runway at 9000ft above see level is only possible with about half tanks and perhaps 3 pax. Its not just a function of horsepower either the wing simply can't lift the weight.
As someone said earlier in the thred its all down to poor training and a lot of bravado amongst the pilots I know because I have been there before myself. I was once a "kick arse pilot" fortunatly for me the SAAF recognised this maverick tendency in me and kicked me out, however I still got myself into the type of situation this unfortunae young man found himself in, and was lucky enough to survive. I'm now older and much wiser and spend my life trying to educate young men to become old pilots like me, by not doing the crazy stupid things I've done!
The cheap charter market in Africa will always however suffer thses incidents as there is almost no real control in place. Getting your first job is hard keeping it is harder as there is always some kid willing to take riskes that an older wiser head won't. profit before safety is the name of the game in Africa and i for one don't see that changing soon. This is one of the reasons I now work in Europe, greatfull for the experiences of my home land and thankfull that I was one of the licky ones that survived!
My sincere condolences to the young mans family I know the heartbreak you are suffering, I attended many funerals of similar victims.
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Florida USA
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Sorry to hear about this accident and my condolences to all concerned.
A trick my boss taught me flying in Zim. If you are worried you are too heavy, take a small load and see how it goes. If you feel you can take more, go around, land and put some more in the plane.
Another tip is to pick a point 3/4 of the way down the runway and make a go / no go decision when you get there on the take off run. You should be able to tell if the plane is going to fly by then and hopefully you'll have enough room to stop if you feel uncomfortable.
The following may not be relevant to this accident but looking up performance charts in a bush flying scenario can be misleading as there are so many factors not considered in the charts. Surface conditions (sandy soil vs compact clay), runway slope, terrain, trees or power lines on climb out etc etc... I remember taking big loads out of short strips where conditions were right and visa versa.
A trick my boss taught me flying in Zim. If you are worried you are too heavy, take a small load and see how it goes. If you feel you can take more, go around, land and put some more in the plane.
Another tip is to pick a point 3/4 of the way down the runway and make a go / no go decision when you get there on the take off run. You should be able to tell if the plane is going to fly by then and hopefully you'll have enough room to stop if you feel uncomfortable.
The following may not be relevant to this accident but looking up performance charts in a bush flying scenario can be misleading as there are so many factors not considered in the charts. Surface conditions (sandy soil vs compact clay), runway slope, terrain, trees or power lines on climb out etc etc... I remember taking big loads out of short strips where conditions were right and visa versa.
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: UK
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My point exactly golfox if there is no data to calculate the performance you are taking on the role of test pilot! Your old boss is exactly the type of character that should not be involved in avaition! That kind of advice is what gets young pilots get killed! "Take a small load and if you feel you can take more try it" absolut B...s..t! Civilian trained piliots with the square root of bug..r all experience are not good test pilots! TIA and sadly will always be so! Until proper standerds are established this type of accident will be a regular thing!
