Jammed Ailerons!!!
The Original Whirly
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Jammed Ailerons!!!
Don't expect too exciting a thread - it happened on the ground, thankfully.
It was meant to be a pleasant, non-eventful flight today from Sleap to Kemble for lunch. And it was...except we didn't make it back by the same means, which had been the plan. I took off, did a couple of circuits at Sleap, then took us to Kemble. The most exciting thing was nearly landing at deserted Aston Down, before realising my mistake, zooming up to 2000 ft again, and landing safely at Kemble.
After lunch we went out to the aircraft again, and I settled down to navigate while Paul did his pre-flight checks. I was just about to say jokingly, "That's not a very thorough full and free, is it", when I realised he actually couldn't move the ailerons. They were completely jammed!
Well, we found some maintenance men, and three of them worked on 'KF', trying to find out what was wrong, since we had less than two hours before we needed to leave if we were to make it back before dark. It soon became clear that it wasn't anything obvious, so we phoned a couple of flying schools there, and asked around, hoping to get an aerial lift back. We couldn't, and in the end it was three trains plus a taxi, getting us back to a deserted Sleap and our cars at 8.30 pm. The people at Kemble were wonderful, sorting out trains for us, and giving us a lift to the station. It's a great place, and the food is fantastic. But poor little KF is still at Kemble, and we're wondering what caused it.
Actually we were both pretty shaken up, thinking about what might have happened. It's not an emergency we've ever practised, or even heard of. I know what to do in theory - use secondary effects of rudder, and try to land on a nice long wide runway - but I've never tried it in anger and don't want to. We were so, so lucky it happened on the ground, not during my circuits at Sleap, or - worst of all - turning final at Kemble.
It was the unexpectedness of it all that shook us up. You kind of vaguely expect engine failure, or electrical failure, some day, but not this!!!!
Anyway, any thoughts as to what caused it? Someone suggested ice, as KF lives outside. I can't see it myself - we'd flown for an hour and a half, and she'd sat outside in the sun at Kemble for about the same length of time. She got back from her Annual fairly recently (three hours flying ago); could something have got detached or caught on a cable? Any other ideas? Hopefully we'll know in a day or two, but meanwhile....I think I'm just happy to be alive, with an aircraft that's still in one piece, even if presently unflyable.
It was meant to be a pleasant, non-eventful flight today from Sleap to Kemble for lunch. And it was...except we didn't make it back by the same means, which had been the plan. I took off, did a couple of circuits at Sleap, then took us to Kemble. The most exciting thing was nearly landing at deserted Aston Down, before realising my mistake, zooming up to 2000 ft again, and landing safely at Kemble.
After lunch we went out to the aircraft again, and I settled down to navigate while Paul did his pre-flight checks. I was just about to say jokingly, "That's not a very thorough full and free, is it", when I realised he actually couldn't move the ailerons. They were completely jammed!
Well, we found some maintenance men, and three of them worked on 'KF', trying to find out what was wrong, since we had less than two hours before we needed to leave if we were to make it back before dark. It soon became clear that it wasn't anything obvious, so we phoned a couple of flying schools there, and asked around, hoping to get an aerial lift back. We couldn't, and in the end it was three trains plus a taxi, getting us back to a deserted Sleap and our cars at 8.30 pm. The people at Kemble were wonderful, sorting out trains for us, and giving us a lift to the station. It's a great place, and the food is fantastic. But poor little KF is still at Kemble, and we're wondering what caused it.
Actually we were both pretty shaken up, thinking about what might have happened. It's not an emergency we've ever practised, or even heard of. I know what to do in theory - use secondary effects of rudder, and try to land on a nice long wide runway - but I've never tried it in anger and don't want to. We were so, so lucky it happened on the ground, not during my circuits at Sleap, or - worst of all - turning final at Kemble.
It was the unexpectedness of it all that shook us up. You kind of vaguely expect engine failure, or electrical failure, some day, but not this!!!!Anyway, any thoughts as to what caused it? Someone suggested ice, as KF lives outside. I can't see it myself - we'd flown for an hour and a half, and she'd sat outside in the sun at Kemble for about the same length of time. She got back from her Annual fairly recently (three hours flying ago); could something have got detached or caught on a cable? Any other ideas? Hopefully we'll know in a day or two, but meanwhile....I think I'm just happy to be alive, with an aircraft that's still in one piece, even if presently unflyable.
Spoon PPRuNerist & Mad Inistrator
Whirly, I'm soooo much happier reading about it from your post than from the AAIB site 
Just shows the importance of the "full and free" check! And not forgetting the "operating in the correct sense" check.
Since you invited speculation
I would surmise that a small piece of metal (hinge, bolt, fastener, rivet) has worked loose and lodged in an irritating location. Not saying you had a heavy landing, but perhaps the touchdown / taxying caused sufficient bumping / vibration to finally dislodge a loosening component?
You were probably wise not to try taxying it all the way back to Sleap 
Just shows the importance of the "full and free" check! And not forgetting the "operating in the correct sense" check.
Since you invited speculation
I would surmise that a small piece of metal (hinge, bolt, fastener, rivet) has worked loose and lodged in an irritating location. Not saying you had a heavy landing, but perhaps the touchdown / taxying caused sufficient bumping / vibration to finally dislodge a loosening component?
three trains plus a taxi
The Original Whirly
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Well, the maintenance men couldn't find anything inside the wings, and were about to remove the seats to take out the floor when we left. So if something had worked loose, it was well hidden. And I have been known to have heavy landings (just occasionally ) but this one was practically a greaser. So it's still a mystery. But speculation still invited, and thanks.
So if something had worked loose, it was well hidden. And I have been known to have heavy landings (just occasionally ) but this one was practically a greaser. So it's still a mystery. But speculation still invited, and thanks.
My guess is either FoD (it does happen to the best looked after aeroplanes), or ice - it's that time of year and it sometimes forms in strange places and strange ways - even if you think it was warming up. If nothing is found and the aeroplane is fine next time - it was probably the latter. Unnerving of-course, because you can never be absolutely sure!
Should you ever meet this in the air (deities forbid) it is actually reasonably easy to fly most light aircraft with any single primary control lost (although it can be much nastier if it fails offset, or close to the ground where you've very little time to adapt). As a general rule...
Failed ailerons - use the rudder
Failed rudder - just don't use it
Failed elevator - use the pitch trimmer.
The aeroplane should then be flyable, badly uncomfortably and inelegantly - using the controls very gingerly, avoiding anything more than 15° of bank, using a very wide circuit, to a messy but totally survivable landing.
Anyhow, this is pure conjecture and rambling on my part. Let us know what gets found out - there's almost certainly a sage lesson in this for all of us. (In fact there's already been one- to do with pre-take-off checks!).
G
Should you ever meet this in the air (deities forbid) it is actually reasonably easy to fly most light aircraft with any single primary control lost (although it can be much nastier if it fails offset, or close to the ground where you've very little time to adapt). As a general rule...
Failed ailerons - use the rudder
Failed rudder - just don't use it
Failed elevator - use the pitch trimmer.
The aeroplane should then be flyable, badly uncomfortably and inelegantly - using the controls very gingerly, avoiding anything more than 15° of bank, using a very wide circuit, to a messy but totally survivable landing.
Anyhow, this is pure conjecture and rambling on my part. Let us know what gets found out - there's almost certainly a sage lesson in this for all of us. (In fact there's already been one- to do with pre-take-off checks!).
G
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Total and sustained jamming occurring during lunch doesn't sound like ice to me.
I suspect that one of the cables has come off the pulleys, or a cable has frayed to the point of fouling. As others have written, another possibility is a component failure during landing or taxiing that has fouled the cables.
Given the recency of the annual, cables off pulleys would be my prime candidate
2D
I suspect that one of the cables has come off the pulleys, or a cable has frayed to the point of fouling. As others have written, another possibility is a component failure during landing or taxiing that has fouled the cables.
Given the recency of the annual, cables off pulleys would be my prime candidate
2D
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Let us know what gets found out - there's almost certainly a sage lesson in this for all of us.
Genghis, er....what's FoD?
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Whirly,
When I first started learningto fly,as we were doing the final full and free on the controls the instructor said
" your last chance to find that spanner!"
A rather chilling comment and I've always remembered that.
We will all be interested to find out what the prob was.
Lister
When I first started learningto fly,as we were doing the final full and free on the controls the instructor said
" your last chance to find that spanner!"
A rather chilling comment and I've always remembered that.
We will all be interested to find out what the prob was.
Lister
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Hundreds of years ago in a former life, I was a young RAF Officer "holding" on an illustrious Vulcan squadron.
One December morning I was in the Ops room when in walked the Squadron JENGO (junior engineering officer) carrying a 3 legged milking stool. The stool had been found in the back of a Vulcan, in the tail-cone. It had obviously been there for a very long time. It was determined that when the tail cone had been rivetted on (either during construction or later at a deep inspection) the chap who had bucked the rivets had used it to sit on. When he worked his way forward he'd left the stool in the tail cone!
Tools do get left behind!
Very recently I lost a chum in a YAK52 when a screwdriver had become wedged in the aileron circuit.
Stik
One December morning I was in the Ops room when in walked the Squadron JENGO (junior engineering officer) carrying a 3 legged milking stool. The stool had been found in the back of a Vulcan, in the tail-cone. It had obviously been there for a very long time. It was determined that when the tail cone had been rivetted on (either during construction or later at a deep inspection) the chap who had bucked the rivets had used it to sit on. When he worked his way forward he'd left the stool in the tail cone!
Tools do get left behind!
Very recently I lost a chum in a YAK52 when a screwdriver had become wedged in the aileron circuit.
Stik
What sort of aircraft is it?
Once had this happen in a C152 aerobat with a student during an aerobatic detail.
A very determined yank to one side got it free and us the right way up again, the engineers later discovered that one of the hoses to the AH had come loose and fouled the bicycle chain that links the yokes together.
Once had this happen in a C152 aerobat with a student during an aerobatic detail.
A very determined yank to one side got it free and us the right way up again, the engineers later discovered that one of the hoses to the AH had come loose and fouled the bicycle chain that links the yokes together.
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When I was undergoing aeros instruction in the Chippy many years ago, we'd often transit out to the aerobatic area and back without using the stick. Just rudder, power, and trimmer. We did this for practice, and reverted to use of the stick once in the circuit.
It was quite possible to fly the aeroplane like that, albeit not very accurately or elegantly, and I'm not sure how successful a landing would be especially in turbulent winds. It's certainly not something I'd like to do for real.
I'll be very interested to know what the engineers find, Whirls.
SSD
It was quite possible to fly the aeroplane like that, albeit not very accurately or elegantly, and I'm not sure how successful a landing would be especially in turbulent winds. It's certainly not something I'd like to do for real.
I'll be very interested to know what the engineers find, Whirls.
SSD
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The port aileron bell crank had seized! However, the engineer doesn't know why, and refuses to release the aircraft without further investigations...a very professional attitude. I'll let you know when we find out any more.
Next time I fly I'm going to practise flying without using the ailerons.
Next time I fly I'm going to practise flying without using the ailerons.
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Following my flying training my instructor demonstrated a circuit using only rudder and trim and power settings (in a Cessna 150) to simulate aileron and elevator failure. I wouldn't like to try it myself, but it certainly showed me that such failures would be survivable so long as you identify them early enough and keep a cool head. I guess much depends on the plane though - I'm not sure I'd want to be spinning the overhead trim in order to flare a Cherokee, for instance.
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This thing about simulating elevator failure and using just trim.
Do you lock the stick fore and aft simulating it has jammed or do you let it flop about simulating a linkage failure?
Always wondered.
Do you lock the stick fore and aft simulating it has jammed or do you let it flop about simulating a linkage failure?
Always wondered.
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If the elevator linkage is broken, the trim should work as normal.
If the elevator is jammed whole so it can't move, the trim works the opposite way to normal.
Very worrying to read about Whirly's experience. It would likely be fatal on departure (I think we have all seen that video of the big twin turboprop doing it) but once airborne one should be able to steer with just the rudder. Using the rudder is fairly standard for lazy pilots (like me) flying long distances and doing small corrections.
It's also handy if you have the notorious Honeywell KFC225 autopilot and your 6th (no kidding) roll servo has just gone up in smoke, so vertical control still works but, whenever the AP is engaged, the ailerons are dead and jammed solid. So, you fly along, with the flight director on, and doing small heading adjustments with the rudder....
If the elevator is jammed whole so it can't move, the trim works the opposite way to normal.
Very worrying to read about Whirly's experience. It would likely be fatal on departure (I think we have all seen that video of the big twin turboprop doing it) but once airborne one should be able to steer with just the rudder. Using the rudder is fairly standard for lazy pilots (like me) flying long distances and doing small corrections.
It's also handy if you have the notorious Honeywell KFC225 autopilot and your 6th (no kidding) roll servo has just gone up in smoke, so vertical control still works but, whenever the AP is engaged, the ailerons are dead and jammed solid. So, you fly along, with the flight director on, and doing small heading adjustments with the rudder....