Was the Nomad really that bad?
Stationar8, a Nomad N24 was used by Executive Airlines/H.C.Sleigh Airlines out of Launceston under Reg203 ops to Flinders and King Islands over the summer season in the late 1970's.
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Was The Nomad Really that bad.
As one who watched the Nomad at Kota Kinabalu enter a spin and crash killing all crew and passengers I must say that in my opinion the title is correct.
If I remember correctly all the passengers were members of the (then) Sabah State Government.
It was a tragic day.
Tmb
If I remember correctly all the passengers were members of the (then) Sabah State Government.
It was a tragic day.
Tmb
6th of June 1976, 9M-ATZ on board Tun Haji Mohammad Fuad Stephens Chief Minister for the State of Sabah. During approach to land the aircraft 'lost control'. I don't know the results of this investigation but have always understood that it was a loading problem, aft C of G. If this is correct it cannot be the fault of the aeroplane. I remember a Twin-Commanche on Mornington island in the early seventies with a load of fan-belts on the back seats. Same result, the only bad design fault was the pilot.
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Even now from what I hear the guys at Sabah are fairly conscious about the Nomad issues. I have not dealt with them much only a couple of passing convo's when I have been around but their nomad looks worse for wear.
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"As one who watched the Nomad at Kota Kinabalu enter a spin and crash killing all crew and passengers I must say that in my opinion the title is correct."
There are a number of reasons, none of which are necessarily the fault of the aeroplane, that could have caused this event.\
To put the blame solely on the aircraft without any factual statement as to the method of operation, in particular, as has been mentioned, an aft C of G problem is of no value at all.
I have quite a few hundred hours operating the N22 in a variety of roles, and if it was handled as per the manual it carried out its tasks quite adequately. The aft C of G being one problem that had to be avoided with adequate oversight of loading requirements.
There are a number of reasons, none of which are necessarily the fault of the aeroplane, that could have caused this event.\
To put the blame solely on the aircraft without any factual statement as to the method of operation, in particular, as has been mentioned, an aft C of G problem is of no value at all.
I have quite a few hundred hours operating the N22 in a variety of roles, and if it was handled as per the manual it carried out its tasks quite adequately. The aft C of G being one problem that had to be avoided with adequate oversight of loading requirements.
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With around 1000hrs on N22 I agree with Prospector, You have to check your load and trim. Example: Took off once out of Wewak (PNG ) with a full load of American tourists and no luggage ( nose and rear cargo compt empty ) As soon I was Airborne I had the flight control yoke against the Instrument panel, I was out of trim . On the return leg I put the biggest bloke out of the lot sitting in the right seat and it made a big difference. Nevertheless I think that the nomad was a poorly designed Aircraft, Underpowered and unstable in turbulence. The only things that was positive was its STOl capabilities and great visibility.
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It seems like most of the nomads that are used outside the military are used around Kota Kinabalu? i think there are four of them around that area.
At kamman tafe in melbourne there where two teachers talking about the nomad one was bagging it the other siad that if a twinotter crashed in PNG it was pilot error. if it was a nomad if was the aircrafts fault.
Paul
At kamman tafe in melbourne there where two teachers talking about the nomad one was bagging it the other siad that if a twinotter crashed in PNG it was pilot error. if it was a nomad if was the aircrafts fault.
Paul
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Shafs, there are a few nomads in malaysia at the moment, 2 with Layang Lanyang and one with Sabah. There is also one in Subang which is i think OY rego'd but they are trying to get onto the 9m register but after years of abuse in the netherlands the N24's gearbox is gone in the right engine. seems as if the CP of Layang has alot to do with it but they will be using it 
as a medivac for some KL company.
as a medivac for some KL company.
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Thanks startingout OY could of been one of airsafari's NZ nomads at one time.
There is also a N24/cn42 Parked stored at a place called Peenemunde an WW2 airfield.
ex gum air out of south america,
Photos: GAF N-24A Nomad Aircraft Pictures | Airliners.net
There is also a N24/cn42 Parked stored at a place called Peenemunde an WW2 airfield.
ex gum air out of south america,
Photos: GAF N-24A Nomad Aircraft Pictures | Airliners.net
Nomad out of trim
The all flying tail on the nomad did result in some control issues, particularly with TO flap. At low speeds and power with flap, and the CG aft, there wasn't much control travel left to push the nose over (especially if it was pitching up already). Using the trimmer to try to fix this problem on the all flying tail didn't help, because it just replaces pilot force with tab deflection, and the tailplane stays more or less in the same position. A trimmable tailplane with a conventional elevator is much better, since you can swap elevator authority for tailplane position - mind you that works both ways, and electric trim runaways in trimmable tailplanes are historically bad. MOD 211 was introduced on Nomad during N24 certification and increased nose down pitch control authority (essentially stick forward movement) by a large margin. CG abuse trials were not part of certification test flying in 1976. The baggage handlers at Sabah always reckoned that the nose wheel was scrubbing as he taxied out which suggests a CG well aft.
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Nomad
Aeromariner:
The thing that stays in my mind is that from the time the Nomad entered the spin on the base leg until the time it hit the ground / water, there was no sign of any recovery such as rotation rate or engine noise, it just kept on spinning.
Tmb
The thing that stays in my mind is that from the time the Nomad entered the spin on the base leg until the time it hit the ground / water, there was no sign of any recovery such as rotation rate or engine noise, it just kept on spinning.
Tmb
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N24A #74, OY-NMH, x ZK-NMH x N870US x PH-HAG x N5579M x VH-PNF. Pretty sure it is as a meat bomber over there., or has Layang got hold of it now? The latter has 2 x N22, #69 and #95. #69 was with RFDS prior.
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Think it was VH-ATO that was here in Hong Kong recently, for the second time in a couple of years. Doing a LIDAR survey for the Government for about 2-3 months.
Understand it took about a month to fly it up here from Tassie!!!
Yes, recall that when I worked in Launy. Seem to also recall a bit of DME aerial trimming one day due to a quick touch and go on the pods. 
You fly the Herons CLX?
Understand it took about a month to fly it up here from Tassie!!!
a Nomad N24 was used by Executive Airlines/H.C.Sleigh Airlines out of Launceston under Reg203 ops to Flinders and King Islands over the summer season in the late 1970's.
You fly the Herons CLX?
nomad tailpane
Tmb
The only thing that might have helped was to pull the power off and retract the flaps the minute the horn sounded. Given the paddle wheel, that takes one hand, and I'm not sure closing the throttles and retracting the flaps would have been intuitive once the horn was sounding . There wasn't a great g break at the stall with power on, even during accelerated stalls and rudder effectiveness would have been marginal. But it would only have taken a few seconds to get deep into the stall with a high rate of descent .....
The only thing that might have helped was to pull the power off and retract the flaps the minute the horn sounded. Given the paddle wheel, that takes one hand, and I'm not sure closing the throttles and retracting the flaps would have been intuitive once the horn was sounding . There wasn't a great g break at the stall with power on, even during accelerated stalls and rudder effectiveness would have been marginal. But it would only have taken a few seconds to get deep into the stall with a high rate of descent .....
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Aviation Art
Acrylic on stretched canvas 40cm x 50cm.
Air Queensland (BPA) operated 2 Nomads.First was the N22 VH-RCC,then this one N24 VH-BRP. They were used on the coastal surveillance contract. Crewed by one pilot & down the back, one observer who could look out of the bubble perspex windows second from the back.
The aircraft were based in Cairns,so I've depicted Green Island resort under the aeroplane.
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My 600 hours in a N22
I flew 600 hours in the N22 in the mountains of Irian Jaya (now called Papua; not PNG). It was a great airplane for our use. In a Cessna 206 we could carry 3 55 gallon drums (44 gallon drums if you're Aussie). But you had to leave the passenger side door open about 3 inches to get them all in. In the N22 we could carry a refrigerator, an upright piano, and 7 55 gallon drums and go to all the same places the C-206 could go.
It had one serious flaw: weak tail feathers. In a static full-power check the tail would waggle and bobble all over the place. We were getting airworthiness directives from GAF all the time to add brackets and otherwise beef up the tail. We didn't think too much of it because we were used to watching the DC-3's do the same thing for decades and they were still going strong.
Then one day it came apart in the air at 13,000 feet. The pilot had just crossed the central highlands and started his descent towards his destination on the South coast of New Guinea. The plane spread itself in a straight line over 2 miles of jungle. The last thing found at the end of the debris field was the pilot still strapped in his seat lodged in the fork of a tree six feet from the ground. Could have been me.
Our own investigation concluded a dynamic vibration in the tail tore it off resulting a violent down pitch. The serial number was in the 20's and it had more airframe hours than other at the time. Except for that, it was great airplane.
It had one serious flaw: weak tail feathers. In a static full-power check the tail would waggle and bobble all over the place. We were getting airworthiness directives from GAF all the time to add brackets and otherwise beef up the tail. We didn't think too much of it because we were used to watching the DC-3's do the same thing for decades and they were still going strong.
Then one day it came apart in the air at 13,000 feet. The pilot had just crossed the central highlands and started his descent towards his destination on the South coast of New Guinea. The plane spread itself in a straight line over 2 miles of jungle. The last thing found at the end of the debris field was the pilot still strapped in his seat lodged in the fork of a tree six feet from the ground. Could have been me.
Our own investigation concluded a dynamic vibration in the tail tore it off resulting a violent down pitch. The serial number was in the 20's and it had more airframe hours than other at the time. Except for that, it was great airplane.
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This accident?
Date: 23 JUL 1979
Type: GAF Nomad N.22B
Operator: Missionary Aviation Fellowship - MAF
Registration: PK-MAJ
C/n / msn: 28
Date: 23 JUL 1979
Type: GAF Nomad N.22B
Operator: Missionary Aviation Fellowship - MAF
Registration: PK-MAJ
C/n / msn: 28