Confession time - Who has had a prang?!
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My GF has no problem with the red Transair plastic bottle and the Lady Jane attachment, as a "solution" for long trips, but unsuprisingly she doesn't exactly like it. OTOH women tend to have huge bladders compared to men, especially older men 
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Sep 66 - in sole charge of C172 G-ARLU, pride of the Royal Artillery, landing at Lympne prior to crossing the Channel on route to Grimbergen. Instructed to use the tarmac runway which had a stonking x-wind, instead of the grass runway with the wind more or less straight down it, and decided not to argue; after all, with nearly 100 hours I could do anything.
Result, a very bent nosewheel and severe embarassment, to say nothing of the cost of paying someone to come from Redhill (I thinik it was) to fix it.
Result, a very bent nosewheel and severe embarassment, to say nothing of the cost of paying someone to come from Redhill (I thinik it was) to fix it.
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If you are looking for comfort that you are not the only one you are in good company. I've never pranged but I put that down to being very very lucky and possibly too cautious ( is that possible???).
Having said that of all the prangs I have seen you generally seem to have to be very very experienced to prang , either an instructor ( taxied a tailwheel into a 172) or a cfi (ground looped a piper cub) or a well known airline pilot (force landed after a dodgy weather decision).
Overall there are two kinds of pilots, those that have crashed and those that are about to......
Having said that of all the prangs I have seen you generally seem to have to be very very experienced to prang , either an instructor ( taxied a tailwheel into a 172) or a cfi (ground looped a piper cub) or a well known airline pilot (force landed after a dodgy weather decision).
Overall there are two kinds of pilots, those that have crashed and those that are about to......
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Glad i'm not the only one who has rudder and speed issues on landing!
I'd learned on C150 from a grass strip and bought a share in the Jodel post PPL. Done about 30 Hrs in it all from and to grass strips. Very successful and way too confident. One day the idea of going to an airshow near a big airport came up. No problem I said to my passenger who'd never been in a light aircraft, we'll land there and get a cab.
I had never landed on a hard runway, either training or post PPL. How hard could it be?
I found out as the poor little Jodel swung viciously one way and then the other has I over corrected, and then the air was full of pieces of driftwood that had once been a propeller. In those days you could block the only runway at a major airport and walk away without paying compensation for all those CAT that have to go somewhere else.
Last month and 1500 Hrs later I landed my PA28 at a single runway International airport in a 20G30 90 deg crosswind and thought of the lesson I learnt in that poor little Jodel all those years ago. Think ahead! Anticipate! The PA28 really wanted to weathercock into wind during the rollout and one reason that it didn't (apart from luck) was what happened to that Jodel.
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and possibly too cautious ( is that possible???).
No, that's perfect especially for those flying once a month. I've seen many gung-ho people create themselves issues by going in marginal wx, x-winds > club rules etc...
If you're a prof pilot it's a different story (although a few airline pilots seem very unsuited to GA), but for weekend pilots we should remind ourselves that it's inherently bloody dangerous, and it's done for enjoyment not because we're paid to take an aircraft with the latest whizz-bang technology from A to B.
That said, at least these prangs only hurt pride!
No, that's perfect especially for those flying once a month. I've seen many gung-ho people create themselves issues by going in marginal wx, x-winds > club rules etc...
If you're a prof pilot it's a different story (although a few airline pilots seem very unsuited to GA), but for weekend pilots we should remind ourselves that it's inherently bloody dangerous, and it's done for enjoyment not because we're paid to take an aircraft with the latest whizz-bang technology from A to B.
That said, at least these prangs only hurt pride!
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Sensible precaution -
It costs so little, and it can mean so much. You are far more likely to have a heavy landing than a mid-air. And an impact cushion will save more than your butt; it could keep you from spending the rest of your career in a wheelchair.
I'm talking about that special impact foam as used in racing cars. It doesn't weigh a lot. If you own a plane, get one and a spare, if you rent, buy your own cushion and don't apologise for using it, from the start of your training and afterwards.
Crash protection is built into every car these days, not just racing cars. Most aircraft were designed long before this became the norm.
I'm talking about that special impact foam as used in racing cars. It doesn't weigh a lot. If you own a plane, get one and a spare, if you rent, buy your own cushion and don't apologise for using it, from the start of your training and afterwards.
Crash protection is built into every car these days, not just racing cars. Most aircraft were designed long before this became the norm.
At risk of drawing the thread slightly off-topic, how common is it for private pilots to give up flying, not exactly through fear but rather through a gradual realisation that to fly is to tempt fate to a greater or lesser degree?
When I was into hang gliding, the majority of people gave up sooner or later. That went for both dabblers and people with real experience - instructors and the like. When asked, they would often be a bit cagey about what the reason was - my reading was that they looked back on their hang-gliding days fondly and so didn't like to discourage us youngsters, yet had come to a conclusion that they'd had their fill. I remember an ex-instructor who happened to be passing by, was offered a flight. He winched up a few hundred feet, flew a very small circuit, then landed. Wouldn't he like another go? A proper flight - we could get you up to 1000 feet... No, that was plenty for today, thank-you.
Quite a few professional aviators seem to have made the same decision:
After his licence was taken away, Burt Rutan said he felt a great sense of relief at the realisation that now he wouldn't be likely to die in a GA accident.
Alex Henshaw gave up flying a few years after WWII and never piloted an aircraft again.
Ernest K Gann wrote about giving up flying in 'Fate is the hunter' - though I understand that he never quite did so.
One ex-airline pilot I knew gave up GA partly for this reason, and partly because he found it very frustrating to fly so slowly.
I'd be interested to know whether a high proportion of private pilots give up for the same reason?
When I was into hang gliding, the majority of people gave up sooner or later. That went for both dabblers and people with real experience - instructors and the like. When asked, they would often be a bit cagey about what the reason was - my reading was that they looked back on their hang-gliding days fondly and so didn't like to discourage us youngsters, yet had come to a conclusion that they'd had their fill. I remember an ex-instructor who happened to be passing by, was offered a flight. He winched up a few hundred feet, flew a very small circuit, then landed. Wouldn't he like another go? A proper flight - we could get you up to 1000 feet... No, that was plenty for today, thank-you.
Quite a few professional aviators seem to have made the same decision:
After his licence was taken away, Burt Rutan said he felt a great sense of relief at the realisation that now he wouldn't be likely to die in a GA accident.
Alex Henshaw gave up flying a few years after WWII and never piloted an aircraft again.
Ernest K Gann wrote about giving up flying in 'Fate is the hunter' - though I understand that he never quite did so.
One ex-airline pilot I knew gave up GA partly for this reason, and partly because he found it very frustrating to fly so slowly.
I'd be interested to know whether a high proportion of private pilots give up for the same reason?
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mmmmm, if this thread has changed to the dark and maudling side, I think as one who has just started their flying after many years dreaming of doing so, loving every minute, full of enthusiasm for one of the best sports in the world...don't think i'll read it any more!
Please, on behalf of other students and for those who haven't had their fill of flying, if you are going to have this topic, please make it a new thread with a health warning..."those who still enjoy flying look away now" or something to that effect!!!
Please, on behalf of other students and for those who haven't had their fill of flying, if you are going to have this topic, please make it a new thread with a health warning..."those who still enjoy flying look away now" or something to that effect!!!
Pompey till I die
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Not yet
Have not yet had a prang but have come close to pragning the wings against another aircraft whilst taxi'ing back to parking.
One of (many) the oddities about the PPL. I still find parking the hardest part of the flight, wish it was part of the syllabus. Taxi & parking.
One of (many) the oddities about the PPL. I still find parking the hardest part of the flight, wish it was part of the syllabus. Taxi & parking.
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EEEK! Don't let the CAA hear you say that Pompey...not until I have my licence at any rate! Ever tried to taxi and park a Grob...sure their undercarriage was modelled on a supermarket trolley!
Although taxiing is one thing I have got under control...
Although taxiing is one thing I have got under control...
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One of (many) the oddities about the PPL. I still find parking the hardest part of the flight, wish it was part of the syllabus. Taxi & parking.
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I was a new Private Pilot and had wandered by the FBO to see if they had anything free to rent. Their C-150 had just come out of maintenance and was available. Preflight and takeoff was normal and I flew to a nearby field to do some touch and go landings. Over the touchdown zone on the first landing, with full flaps and throttle closed, the wheel hit the aft stops as I was flaring for landing and the nose was still fairly well down. A quick burst of power got the nose up and I landed and full stopped to investigate.
I found that the elevator bellcrank was installed upside down so that I had much more nose down authority than I was supposed to and much less nose up authority. Knowing what the issue was, I flew the aircraft back to home base and made a no flap landing.
I credit having learned to fly in tail draggers for the power burst response that saved the first landing. I learned to make sure I had full control authority, not just movement in the proper direction on my preflights.
I have yet to prang a flying machine, and as a now old and bold pilot with almost 50 yrs experience, I might just finish with a perfect record. Of course, I might have scared myself a few times getting there.
I found that the elevator bellcrank was installed upside down so that I had much more nose down authority than I was supposed to and much less nose up authority. Knowing what the issue was, I flew the aircraft back to home base and made a no flap landing.
I credit having learned to fly in tail draggers for the power burst response that saved the first landing. I learned to make sure I had full control authority, not just movement in the proper direction on my preflights.
I have yet to prang a flying machine, and as a now old and bold pilot with almost 50 yrs experience, I might just finish with a perfect record. Of course, I might have scared myself a few times getting there.
mmmmm, if this thread has changed to the dark and maudling side, I think as one who has just started their flying after many years dreaming of doing so, loving every minute, full of enthusiasm for one of the best sports in the world...don't think i'll read it any more!
I found learning to hang-glide was a very formative experience. I learned that I could make decisions under pressure, and I loved the fact that after I'd launched I was responsible for every decision I made, all the way to the bottom. But most of all I learned to stand on the top of the hill and think about everything I had to lose, then decide to pick the glider up and run just the same.
Personally, I don't regret a minute of my hang gliding days. The reason I stopped was more to do with the amount of time it took to take to stay current. However, had I reached a stage where I was able to do long cross-country flights I think I may eventually have decided that I'd achieved everything I'd set out to.
The point about posting as a separate thread though, is a good one.
but then again there is a near zero chance of a lady being at a GA airfield!
My first (and I hope last 
) accident was when I was instructing a low hours PPL student for the muti-rating on the schools Seneca. We had finished our upper airwork and were on final for the briefed full stop when I looked at my watch and saw we we still had a bit of time in our booking, so I told the student to do a touch and go instead of a full stop. The tower was quite busy so we were only re-cleared at the last moment but told us to expedite as there was crossing traffic. As soon as the wheels touched I said "lets go" and the student raised the gear instead of the flaps
This accident was entirely my fault, first as I was the PIC, but more importantly because I failed to treat the operation of a complex aircraft with the respect and the discipline it deserved. The student was devastated, but fortunately continued on and is still flying.
There is an amusing side to this story. After shutting down and vacating the aircraft, hastened by the big pool of fuel spreading under the wings, I waited for the crash trucks (it happened at a medium size commercial airport). After about 5 minutes
the trucks finally showed with a very red faced fire chief. It seems they were doing a major dog and pony show for the big wigs and could not come and rescue me until they had put out all the demonstration fires they had set 
) accident was when I was instructing a low hours PPL student for the muti-rating on the schools Seneca. We had finished our upper airwork and were on final for the briefed full stop when I looked at my watch and saw we we still had a bit of time in our booking, so I told the student to do a touch and go instead of a full stop. The tower was quite busy so we were only re-cleared at the last moment but told us to expedite as there was crossing traffic. As soon as the wheels touched I said "lets go" and the student raised the gear instead of the flapsThis accident was entirely my fault, first as I was the PIC, but more importantly because I failed to treat the operation of a complex aircraft with the respect and the discipline it deserved. The student was devastated, but fortunately continued on and is still flying.
There is an amusing side to this story. After shutting down and vacating the aircraft, hastened by the big pool of fuel spreading under the wings, I waited for the crash trucks (it happened at a medium size commercial airport). After about 5 minutes
the trucks finally showed with a very red faced fire chief. It seems they were doing a major dog and pony show for the big wigs and could not come and rescue me until they had put out all the demonstration fires they had set
I haven't yet, but came close once.
At my (then) homefield, not too long soloed on the type, I was training an engine out landing, misjudged, and had to make the last turn impossibly close. Instead of simply applying full power, getting the bird level, gain speed and go around, no, I absolutely HAD to complete the exercise. Thinking back on it, I still don't understand how she didn't slip, perhaps I did have the good sense to push the nose down to keep up the airspeed even though I was quite close to the ground. Luckily the Rans S6 is one sturdy and forgiving plane.
It is in all the textbooks and I lived it verbatim: the more things go wrong, the more focused we become on our first intention, and plans B and C are driven off our mind. Tunnel vision is what they call it, I think.
At my (then) homefield, not too long soloed on the type, I was training an engine out landing, misjudged, and had to make the last turn impossibly close. Instead of simply applying full power, getting the bird level, gain speed and go around, no, I absolutely HAD to complete the exercise. Thinking back on it, I still don't understand how she didn't slip, perhaps I did have the good sense to push the nose down to keep up the airspeed even though I was quite close to the ground. Luckily the Rans S6 is one sturdy and forgiving plane.
It is in all the textbooks and I lived it verbatim: the more things go wrong, the more focused we become on our first intention, and plans B and C are driven off our mind. Tunnel vision is what they call it, I think.
Last edited by Jan Olieslagers; 9th Oct 2011 at 22:58.
