Hi! All
Firstly belated but sincere condolences to all the bereaved family and
friends of Cliff and Betty Shaw.
I feel really humble making pronouncements at such an early time and
indeed wonder if with about 600 hours total and only on this type of a/c
I'm qualified to pass an opinion but here goes......
I believe that the cross control thing is really commonly known as a
"side slip"?
Whilst this is a useful phenomenon for rapid loss of height on an
approach I have always been very cautious to not engage in such a
manoeuvre at low air speed and with flaps deployed. Perhaps I never had
to land on a strip with such needs?
However IMHO an important aid to stall warning needs to be associated
with the conditions on both wings hence the use of stall strips on both
wings.
I experienced my first severe wing drop this April whilst doing the
annual flight tests on my a/c but at 5,000ft.
I had for some time been flying on the very edge of the stall with full
buffet being experienced with flaps deployed and power on but with the
a/c quite co-ordinated in control when it suddenly and violently dropped
a port wing like a stone and was clearly entering a spin. I initiated
normal spin recovery ...nose down opposite rudder and cut the throttle,
but I had lost more than a 1000ft in a blink of the eye. It has shown no
previous tendency to this whilst I've flown it.
I applied a lot of thought to the conditions which I'd entered and
realised I had been not only down wind but also slightly across the wind
path so the wings were not likely to have had symmetrical lift
conditions anyway and so were not co-ordinated. I failed to notice the
probability of a slightly different buffet phenomenon with only the one
wing actually entering the dramatic stall but I presume it would have
been less obvious than a fully co-ordinated buffet.
The point I seek to make is that whilst on approach to land all turns
need to be co-ordinated, at an adequate height well above stall speed
and not inclusive of any unusual or violent manoeuvres. IMHO these
approaches can only really be described as "LONG FINALS". Only then can
you afford to allow the airspeed to be anywhere near the stall
conditions.(and no side slips)
In making this statement I don't wish to appear clever but to promote
some more discussion around my particular perception for me to consider
as advice for myself.
This re-enforces the valuable aid of Mark Burtons air speed voice kit in
that it provides a constant read out whilst your eyes are on other
business.
( I don't have that assistance .....yet!)
Personally I never commence the flare at less than 65kts, fully laden or
not, and I seek to maintain no less than 60kts until within a foot of
the runway, only then am I prepared to allow the speed to sink further
(especially in gusty wind or where there's possibility of wind shear.)
Regards
Bob Harrison G-PTAG ....under repair !
-----Original Message-----
[mailto:owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com] On Behalf Of Carl
Pattinson
Sent: 28 July 2006 19:24
<carl@flyers.freeserve.co.uk>
What is wrong with a normal stall warner - the buzzer can be plumbed
onto
the intercom if desired or just placed at head height where the
microphone
will pick up the noise.
Mine goes off 5kts before the stall but if the aircraft was in a turn
and
the wing tip stalled there wouldnt be enough warning.
Some Europas will drop a wing if they are not straight and level prior
to
the stall. This is further complicated if the panel isnt perfectly
aligned
with the wings - dont laugh, ours isnt and it all looks perfectly level
in
the cockpit. The only clue is that the ball sits slightly to the left
when
flying straight and level. If you centre the ball and initiate a stall
there
is a severe wing drop especially with the flaps down. wonder how many
other
Europas have the same characteristic.
It would surprise me that such an experienced pilot would make such a
basic
mistake but then we have all done stupid things when our concentration
has
been disturbed.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, July 28, 2006 5:04 PM
>
> I know some folks may well think that I am trying to profit from the
> recent tragic accident at Oshkosh but my motivation for writing this
> message is not to make money out of that incident but rather to reduce
the
> chance of a similar accident occuring in the future.
>
> As soon as I heard about that accident, it occurred to me that if
Cliff's
> Europa had been fitted with one of my talking ASI units, the accident
may
> have been avoided. Reading the preliminary accident report reinforces
that
> view. I'm not saying it would definitely have turned out differently,
but
> it may have.
>
> One of the main reasons for designing the talking ASI was to make the
> pilot very aware of the airspeed during the later part of the circuit
> without requiring them to have their eyes in the cockpit. The airspeed
is
> "pushed" at the pilot through their headset.
>
> If I was financially well off, I would give a talking ASI to anyone
who
> wanted one because I believe it makes a real contribution to flight
> safety. I can't afford to do that but if you are interested in
obtaining
> one, please visit www.smartavionics.com.
>
>
> Read this topic online here:
>
> http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=50337#50337
>
>
>
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