Scary Takeoff

[Ed Guthrie]

Ed,
I dont see how i could alowed such a drift without corrective messures. most every takeoff in my mooney requires a stiff kick of right rudder to keep the plane on centerline. If your assesment is correct, amybe not having a visual reference such as a centerline may have contributed. However, again, I dont see how that much of a drift could have gotten that far out of controll. what i really think is at play here is the camera angle in which you are seeing a drift, which is in fact the planes movement in contrast with the cameramans position. of course i woud like to blame it on a "bump" not pilot error.

Michael

Michael, I took the camera angle shifts into account, which is why I focused on the light reflection off the rudder. I thought I saw a slight twitch and release, but no significant change. I don't know about you, but the Mooney interconnect (aileron & rudder) causes me to develop a horrible case of lazy feet. As a result, every time I jump into a vintage taildragger I get a severe humbling experience for the first 15 minutes or so.

I think your comment about absent centerline was probably a factor. I think a high deck angle (full aft elevator and low speed lift off) would compound that issue.

All things considered I don't think there was really much to discuss--all in all I thought it was a good job.

 

[Anthony]

All things considered I don't think there was really much to discuss--all in all I thought it was a good job.

Ed. Who are you to talk. M20J/201 at Smoketown, 2,400 ft., all those Amish lurkin' about. C'mon? My ex-Grandfather-in-laws metal plant adjacent... Bad Joojoo.

 

[bbchien]

What's an indictment? Michael posted the video and Michael knows he ended up pointed at the trees so anything I might write isn't going to come as a particular surprise to him. I simply noted what I saw as a somewhat experienced Mooney pilot & CFI. No slam intended, but I'd hate to see somewhat lay the left turn onto the "bump" and fail to notice the actual cause. YMMV.

I would not have done ANTHING but a co-ordinated genteel turn in the correction direction, as you did. Last thing you need is a slip just after a low n slow liftoff.

I think the flying was fine. I think that grass strip skills are scarce in our current GA pilot compliment. Gastons is one of the few grass strips from which I operated, (WITH distinguished passengers), in which I had not walked the strip previously. I let three do it for me prior, the last one in before being Dave Taylor (thank you, Dave) who landed just before me. I was watching. I did walk it before departure.

It's the whole package. Live and learn, and thanks for this entire string.

 

[drhunt]

IMHO when I look at the video, it appears that after the bump, the right main and nose wheels bounce off the ground while the left remains in contact which would cause drag and pivot the nose to the left. So it appears that rotating just prior to the bump set this up for a little excitement which was nicely recovered. I'm no expert, don't play one on TV and didn't stay in a motel last night

 

[glpilot]

And the FAA is known to grow trees in the darndest places....................

I hate trees. LOL

Mike, that what doesnt kill you only puts another knotch of experience in your aviation belt.

 

[Bob Bement]

Experience is a great teacher, as the saying goes. But, the TEST comes first, and the lesson comes later. We only hope that we can pass the test.

 

[bbchien]

Experience is a great teacher, as the saying goes. But, the TEST comes first, and the lesson comes later. We only hope that we can pass the test.

Amen! This is a key step is acquiring judgement, whatever that really is.

 

[Michael]

what is that saying...Experiance is something you gain just after you needeed it. or something to that effect.

 

[poadeleted20]

But I also am enough of a learner to have watched Cap'n Ron and Fran depart, and watch carefully. Also to have taken advantage of being #4 for the runway inbound and watching all the way to the end (there is some value in 360s). Ron and Fran took the ENTIRE runway, all the way back to the edge of the grass. He had a bump but it wasn't much of one. He went RIGHT. Sure enough on foot, the "hump" is more prominent on the north edge of the strip. I suspect Ron walked the strip, too....separately.

Actually, I took MORE than the entire runway. I pulled onto the blacktop road at the west end (with Chip, IIRC, guarding the road for vehicles) to set the brakes and run up. If there hadn't been a 1-inch lip on the other side of the road, I'd've used the 200 feet or so of open space by the tennis courts, too. You won't see me leaving unused runway behind me if there's any doubt whatsoever. BTW, we also short-fueled to keep weight down.

 

[drhunt]

Another version is:

"Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement."

 

[T Bone]

IMHO when I look at the video, it appears that after the bump, the right main and nose wheels bounce off the ground while the left remains in contact which would cause drag and pivot the nose to the left. So it appears that rotating just prior to the bump set this up for a little excitement which was nicely recovered. I'm no expert, don't play one on TV and didn't stay in a motel last night

Actually, have one more look. Here's what I see. He rotated before the bump. At the bump, the left main actually comes up first, then hits the ground as the right main catches the bump and goes up. That appears to have yawed the airplane left.

Great recovery Michael, looks proper to me. I'll bet next time at Gastons, everyone will go to the right side of the field~!

{also not what he's not, never acted on TV and haven't been in a motel for a looong time} B)

 

[Henning]

Someone posted a while back about the scariest thing you have encountered while flying. Bob sent me this video from gastons, while I have to admit, it looked a lot worse from inside the plane, its still not pretty. This goes up on my top10 list of scariest things I've done in an airplane.
At first I thought that the wet grass had me sliding towards the trees, but after watching the video, it appears that my nosewheel was off the ground and I hit a bump in the turf that caused me to turn towards the trees. Luckily I managed to turn, ever so slightly in order to keep the wing from striking the ground. in time to save the takeoff. Im glad i was the only one in the plane at the time, the empty weight was the only thing that saved me. If I had been heavy, theres no way i wouldve gotten airborne in time.

Link to video here.

Michael

What was scary?

 

[Greg Bockelman]

What was scary?

Should have seen it in person.

 

[Henning]

Should have seen it in person.

I guess I have a different perspective on scary. Scary is TO & landings on levees with a x-wind.

 

[gismo]

I guess I have a different perspective on scary. Scary is TO & landings on levees with a x-wind.

I suppose when you're dusting a field borderd with trees, you can't cover the last swath without getting a little green on the wingtips.

 

[Henning]

I suppose when you're dusting a field borderd with trees, you can't cover the last swath without getting a little green on the wingtips.

I never tag wingtips, I have however been known to bring branches home in the gear.