I Understand Aviate, Navigate, Communicate but...

[ClimbnSink]

Again the ELT remote switch will do more then talking. Shut up and fly the plane you'll live longer.

 

[MAKG1]

Again the ELT remote switch will do more then talking. Shut up and fly the plane you'll live longer.

If you HAVE a remote switch, and if you turn it on.

If you wait for it to happen automatically, a crash is rather likely to rip your antenna off or consume the ELT in a fire.

 

[ClimbnSink]

You are more likely to crash if you divert mental energy to babbling. This ain't marriage counseling you can't talk your way out of trouble.

 

[FastEddieB]

If you HAVE a remote switch...

My Sky Arrow was delivered with an AmeriKing EFT but no remote.

After all, the ELT is under the pilot's seat, with the switch in easy reach.

But...

When I did my conversion to Experimental, one thing the DAR caught was that the installation manual for that ELT mandated a remote be installed. He insisted I install one.

My dealer had one lying around (!) and sent it to me at no charge. My plane had an almost perfectly sized hole in the panel, where a rudder trim indicator would go, so the install was pretty straightforward.

 

[MAKG1]

You are more likely to crash if you divert mental energy to babbling. This ain't marriage counseling you can't talk your way out of trouble.

It's not babbling. You're just as dead if you die from exposure rather than blunt trauma. It's just a much nastier, longer death.

And just about every 152 I've seen has the ELT switch in the tailcone. Good luck turning that on.

Just how low are you flying that you have a second or two before you hit the ground? Even at 1000 AGL, you have two minutes, and it's enough time to communicate your position.

That is, unless you're flying with blinders on and you don't know your position. But lack of situational awareness is another problem.

 

[Shawn]

Again the ELT remote switch will do more then talking.

Assuming a non fatal crash, I couldn't disagree more. I just flew a 250nm trip for New Year's vacation and spent an entire leg with Oakland Center on radio with them trying to locate an ELT that had been activated by asking pilots who could hear it and at what strength. No idea if it was a crash or random activation...but the process seemed worse than finding a needle in a haystack.

If they know you are going down they can get help rolling a lot faster than a random ELT going off somewhere which may or may not be an emergency.

The ELT will help them find you, the call will let them know you need to be found!

 

[brcase]

A friend of mine was a right seater in A6's during Vietnam. He tells of them launching off the carrier and as they launched an engine caught fire. As they circled back to the carrier the fire spread to the other engine and they realized they weren't going to make it back to the carrier. He had been around long enough to hear the panicked screaming radio calls of other pilots announcing they were ejecting. So he calmly pushed the PTT and slowly announced they were ejecting.

Once back on the carrier he got to listen to the recording of his radio call, it sounded just like every other panicked screaming pilot he had heard before, funny what adrenalin does to you....

Brian

 

[ClimbnSink]

Need to add I mean a remote tripped 406 ELT. If you are counting on a 121.5 version for anything more then legal compliance you are an idiot.

 

[MAKG1]

Need to add I mean a remote tripped 406 ELT. If you are counting on a 121.5 version for anything more then legal compliance you are an idiot.

406's aren't perfect either. Not nearly as failsafe as you think.

If the antenna is broken off in the crash, it will do nothing.

If the unit is consumed in a fire, you might send one position report. Or not.

If you crash into the trees, nothing will hear.

Satellites are 30-60 deg above the horizon in the lower 48, and there are many places where the terrain is higher than that. It's much worse in Alaska.

So, you have to use your brain cells to flip the switch manually, while still high above the terrain. To save using your brain cells to say "Mayday" on the radio.

 

[ClimbnSink]

Mayday to who from where? You seem to think some omniscient power will hear your call. Stop crying and fly the plane.

 

[MAKG1]

Mayday to who from where? You seem to think some omniscient power will hear your call. Stop crying and fly the plane.

I spend enough time monitoring 121.5 to know the answer to that.

If you're in contact with ATC already, your answer is truly easy. If you're not, you are legally required to monitor 121.5. So, push the damn PTT and speak. Real easy if you are flying legally. If you're not, well, you need to fix that.

It's not crying to make it possible for rescuers to find you. Great attitude, there.

 

[ClimbnSink]

I keep the local cap squad on speed dial. I'll just ring them up from the ground, they'll be there in seconds, with donuts.

 

[Geico266]

When my ROTAX got very rough over sparsely populated central GA, I first found the least bad spot and turned towards it.

When not talking to anyone else, I follow the NOTAM and keep my one radio tuned to 121.5.

HUGE advantage in a case like this. All I had to do was mash my PTT and a say "PAHN PAHN"!*

Anyway, not having to fumble with the radio was a big help.

Engine did regain power, but I was glad Atlanta Approach knew I was having issues. Again, spoke with someone after landing, gave details and contact info and no report was requested.


*Seriously, I think I just said my number and "Emergency".

Carb icing?

 

[FastEddieB]

Carb icing?

Don't think so - onset was way too sudden.

Working hypothesis?

I had used a tiny bit of silicone gasket goop to hold my carb bowl gaskets in place.

Found out later that's a no-no - gas turns the stuff into jelly.

What I found:

So, maybe some got unto my main jet on one side, causing the momentary roughness. Eventually got sucked through.

Never recurred.

Anyway, lesson was to use grease to hold the gaskets in place - it just dissolves in gas.

 

[MAKG1]

It's best to put nothing on your gaskets in contact with gasoline if you can. Anything you put on them can distort them (or make them respond to heat wrong) and make them leak.

My low tech technique is to place the gasket on the lower surface and carefully place the upper surface on it, lined up with bolt holes. For a sideways or not very accessible surface, you can place the bolts in the two holes in order to hold them in place. Tighten just short of finger tight (not enough to compress the gasket), then adjust if needed, then torque.

Is that a rubber gasket? That's a no-no in direct contact with fuel, too.

 

[Henning]

While that's true, searchers do occasionally find a live one.

CAP had a recent save in the high Sierra in August, that would have been a still-ongoing recovery mission if the pilot hadn't made DANG sure people could find him.

That guy did everything right but inspect his prop sufficiently prior to takeoff (and it's not clear if that was possible), and fly over some really bad terrain near Mt. Whitney. August is sufficiently late in the season there to have to deal with below-freezing temperatures at night.

Let people know where you are or you turn the possibility of nasty death into a much more certain prospect, even if you survive the crash. This guy almost certainly would have been unable to walk out, as he had multiple broken bones. I'm amazed he was able to get out of the aircraft, but I guess adrenaline will work for a short time.

The best way to do that is to activate your 406 G/PLB or ELT before you go in. Then every SAR resource in the world is at your disposal.