Tasair Wheels Up

[Mr.Buzzy]

Hey I remember JVD at Execs!! Didn't know it was still around.

[The Green Goblin]

Now GG please explain, why would you put the gear down and then pull the gear up to do a circling approach?

Poor old JVD, John Weymouths flagship from Executive Airlines days in Darwin.

From memory it was traffic related after an approach and rather than hit the soup for another go, I climbed to the circling minima and circled for a reland.

That company I would for required it anyway, as you could remain off boost with the gear retracted, but would have to set a higher power setting with the gear and flaps extended to circle, wasting careful descent planning and cooling.

There are many ways to skin a cat.

[Duck Pilot]

To be quite honest,why are we still flying around in old piston engine aircraft single pilot on RPT services ? This question isn't directed purely at Tasair,but to the industry as a whole. There are a lot better alternatives available. It doesn't even happen now days in a lot of third world countries. Is Australia missing something here,especially with the value of the dollar at the moment ?

[Bankstown Boy]

Gotta agree with GG that there are many ways to skin a cat but if you're flying around with alternately a wing tip or the top of the tail nudging the soup and real close to the ground, I for one, don't want all of that drag dangling out. In addition if you have to go missed, a PA31 will climb a little better and faster with it up than in transit.

I was always taught " hope for the best - plan for the worst"

I have simple question.

If you lost a donk at 300' AGL (above the highest obstacle etc etc etc - for the inevitable flaming otherwise), in a 25 degree bank - would you rather the gear was up or down?

[The Green Goblin]

For the record I was flying a PA31 at the time.

And to answer your question BB, the wheels up of course

[Tmbstory]

Wheels up.

I managed to get through my flying career, thankfully, without having the gear up proplem.

The mind set that I used was to not intercept final without the flaps set to approach/land position and the gear down and checked. If it was a long straight in approach then that action was taken upon glide slope interception.

I recall some pilots having problems in PA 23 Apache / Aztec aircraft in bright sunlight checking the greens when the day / night switch was in the wrong position.

Tmb

[Wally Mk2]

Okay what's done is done here. In aviation we always learn AFTER the event, like most things in life. No lives lost so all good (enough) at the end of the day.
All the training in the world won't stop this sort of event CFIT happens to the most experienced crews in the most sophisticated machines in the world! Humans err, it's more about when they err that has the 'impact' on us:-)

But to pose another thought here what about the aircraft's performance power wise with the gear still up just prior to landing? Like a lot of us here I've got an hr or 2 on the old PA31's & like all other high performance A/C certain power setting you get used to setting & seeing the results on the dials at any stage of flight. With the gear still up in a loaded Chieftan on approach I would have thought the pilot could/must have had the power back further than usual & the dials not in there normal position for a normal Ldg. Like a cars Temp gauge for Eg. who really knows what the numbers are we see the same dial/needle position day after day year after year it's when that gauge position changes that we think hang on somethings not right here, same goes for an A/C's gauges, well to me anyway.

PUF I reckon is the simplest & best Chk just before touchdown, still do it even today in jets, but you didn't hear me say that:-)


Wmk2

[Josh Cox]

It's a silly mistake, but we are all capable of doing exactly what he has done, even today.

Good for him in having the stones to own his mistake, with a mature attitude like that, he will go far, good luck bloke.

[Mach E Avelli]

And in the meantime, how about an airworthiness directive from CASA requiring gear warning horns to be very loud and set at a sensible power lever angle above idle? Some of these pissy little squeaking devices are not exactly attention-getters, and a bit useless if they wait to the flare to activate.
What, no horn? Well fit one - it will pay for itself the 1st time it wakes a pilot up in time to get the gear down.
Ditto with pressurization warnings - it should be a requirement to be loud enough to make your ears bleed. Lights alone are often useless in a bright sunny cockpit.

[Waghi Warrior]

Off the topic a bit.

I heard a funny story of an RAAF Mirage pilot landing at Melbourne airport many years ago and forgot do dangle the Dunlops. After the aircraft came to an abrupt stop on it's guts,the tower controller questioned the pilot as to why he didn't respond to their calls advising him that his gear was still up. The pilot's response was,"I couldn't hear the radio as a bloody warning horn was blaring in the cockpit".

Don't know if the story was indeed true or not,however it did sound possible.

This may have even been the reason why the RAAF aircraft now have the tone come over the radio when their gear is down and locked.

[desmotronic]

[Capt Claret]

I'm in the there are those who've done it, and there are those who are going to camp.

I don't see this as meaning that all pilots are going to make a wheels-up landing, rather a recognition that even if one hasn't done it yet but there is no guarantee that one won't. Humans are fallible.

[Capt Fathom]

there are those who've done it, and there are those who are going to

I though this referred to the front door of a baron

[Tankengine]

I like the "I heard a buzzing but thought it was my hearing aid playing up"

[Captain Nomad]

Guys, guys... You are just missing the last half of that oft repeated saying:

"The trick is to POSTPONE IT UNTIL YOU ARE 120 YEARS OLD"

Comisserations to those who haven't...

[ForkTailedDrKiller]

I like the "I heard a buzzing but thought it was my hearing aid playing up"

..... and then there was "I heard a warning horn, but thought it was the GPS telling me that I had arrived at my destination"!

Dr

PS: No, I haven't!

[beaver_rotate]

Have ya Claret?

[Capt Claret]

Nup.

And I do FUC checks every approach.

[Exaviator]

Some years ago I sold my Mooney aircraft to a somewhat rural aviator and undertook the task of giving him a type rating on it as part of the sale.

He had good handling skills but lacked discipline and attention to detail.

As he had never flown a retractable, or V.P. aircraft and refused to use a check list I drummed into his head the need to carry out a CUP (Cowl Flaps, Undercarriage & Pitch) passing 300ft on finals.

A few months later he flew into my local strip, and on wandering over to have a chat and a look at the aircraft I noticed a tin mug hanging from the instrument panel.

When I asked the reason for it, the reply was, "It's a reminder to do the Cup Check",

To this day he hasn't landed with the wheels up ....................

[Jabiman]

ATSB says there will be NO enquiry:
No action against pilot who forgot landing gear / General News - Efficient Farming : Your one stop Agricultural Portal