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From: "Ed Anderson" <eanderson@carolina.rr.com>
To: "Rotary motors in aircraft" <flyrotary@lancaironline.net>
References: <list-1902577@logan.com>
Subject: Re: [FlyRotary] Re: Hard landing damage
Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2007 12:43:59 -0500
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Hi Bob,

Thanks for the re-assessment - however, hard they may be to swallow - in 
hind sight - they are important to understanding the actual facts behind any 
incident.  While my incident turned out not to be one - but, it was highly 
embarrassing to say the least.   I glided 12 miles engine-out, fortunately 
to a safe landing on an airport - thinking I had a plugged fuel line, when 
all I would have had to done - was what ever instructor I ever had always 
said when the engine sputters - switch tanks!!

I let my "astute" problem solving mentality get in the way of the correct 
action - it wasn't a plugged fuel line and switching tanks would have save 
me a seat cushion and several years off my life.

Can't really tell from the photo - but it looks repairable from the head on 
angle.  Good luck - what ever way you decide to go.

Ed


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bob White" <rlwhite@comcast.net>
To: "Rotary motors in aircraft" <flyrotary@lancaironline.net>
Sent: Monday, March 05, 2007 11:21 AM
Subject: [FlyRotary] Re: Hard landing damage


> Hi George,
>
> Yours is the latest message I've received expressing your thankfulness
> that I wasn't seriously hurt so I will reply all of them here.
>
> First, thanks to all of you.  This list is a great community and
> provides a tremendous amount of support.  And a special thanks to Lynn
> for the encouraging words about repairing the BD-4.
>
> I spent several hours talking to the nice man from the FAA yesterday,
> then several hours trying to get an airplane with no mains on a flat
> bed trailer.  Didn't sleep much Saturday night either.
>
> I have found that my perception of what I was doing didn't match the
> reality.  The primary problem was that I misjudged the flare on my
> landing and bounced pretty hard 2 or 3 times.  I then turned what was
> going to be a really bad landing into something that may be an incident
> or may be an accident.  They will tell me later.  I did this by
> deciding the landing was really coming out bad and I would be better
> off going around.  So, I applied full power.  My perception was that I
> was flying in ground effect just off the runway.  In fact, I think the
> wheels were on the ground most of the time.  The plane left the runway
> on the north side (RWY 26) and I steered back to the left.  The ground
> slopes off on the south side of the runway and I thought if I had
> another couple of feet of air under me I had a better chance of getting
> back to flying speed.
>
> Yesterday, I was looking over the path I had taken to where the plane
> came to a stop.  There were tire tracks in the weeds and I followed
> them back all the way to the runway.  So the reality was that for that
> whole time the wheels were on the ground.  I could have pulled power
> and done a lot less damage.
>
> I will wait a few days before making any firm decision about rebuilding
> the plane.  If I do, I think I will make it a tricycle gear again.
> That will give me one less problem while I rebuild my piloting skills.
>
> Attached is a photo of my wheels up landing.  Can I log some retract
> time!  Probably not.
>
> Bob W.
>
>
> On Sun, 4 Mar 2007 22:33:46 -0800 (PST)
> George Graham <rx7ez@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>> My heart goes out to Mr White, to suffer such a catastrophy.
>>
>> I had a similar landing many years ago, on our first New York to Florida 
>> trip.
>> The winds in South Carolina were severe, and I didn't add enough speed to 
>> my landing, my bird really fell from the sky bouncing hard, I didn't 
>> think fast enough to go around, and pushed the nose down instead. The 
>> second bounce was worse than the first, and the nose gear linkage broke 
>> collapsing the nose gear.  The main gear legs spread so much that the 
>> brake bleeders were ground off the calipers.  The main gear attach bolts 
>> were bent. My wife had black and blue marks from the shoulder harness. 
>> That landing was on a Saturday, and we ddn't get the bird home until the 
>> next Saturday.
>>
>> But then I read about a similar landing in Southern Ontario, that 
>> airplane had a fuel tank in front of the instrument panel, and the nose 
>> gear linkage punctured it. Both persons on board perished in the fire.
>>
>> How lucky we were to be alive and able to repair the damage.
>>
>>
>> George Graham
>> Sarasota Florida
>> Mazda RX7 EZ
>>
>> ---------------------------------
>> Don't pick lemons.
>> See all the new 2007 cars at Yahoo! Autos.
>
>
> -- 
> N93BD - Rotary Powered BD-4 - http://www.bob-white.com
> First Flight:  11/23/2006 7:50AM - 3.3 Hours Total Time
> Cables for your rotary installation - http://www.roblinphoto.com/shop/
>


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