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Ever do something Stupid?

M

Mike Fouts

Registered User
I am flying low and having fun over one of my favorite rivers but going the opposite direction as usual. I usually come in from the south high about 1000 feet over some large power lines then descend down on the river. I have done this many times and have become complacent with my technique. Now I am coming in from the north very low having fun as usual until it comes time time to fly over the rather large power lines. They are well marked with big red balls all along the BOTTOM wires. I had never taken the time to study these wire before because I had never been that low over them. Now I am having to get enough altitude to cross 4 more wires that are at least 30 to 35 feet higher than the marker balls. Thank god I had enough speed and energy to pull up and over. This was so damn stupid of me, I can't beat myself up enough. It doesn't matter that the wires were not marked correctly I was wrong. I can sit here now and think of numerous things I did wrong. Are you hearing me? Complacency will kill you why it didn't kill me I don't know, I can only tell you I have had my WAKE UP CALL.

Mike
 
Safety is always a priority but usually plays a role as a silent partner until it needs to speak up. What I am saying is that the condition of complacency is never noticed until its too late, even in your case. The only difference is that you are writing about your mistake instead of us. We all should feel the compunction to tell others about our errors if it can keep us safer. Thanks for mentioning it.
 
I started counting and ran out of fingers and toes.

Stupid gets us into situations. Smarts gets us out. Don't under rate yourself.

Stewart
 
Mike, thanks for sharing! I agree with Grant, I wish more people would post their "wake up calls" :eek: so that we might learn and and have reminders of the dangers of complacency.
 
Stupid is a label given retrospectively. None of us intentionally does something stupid.

Complacency works the same way.

SB
 
wires

Mike , where were you when this happened ? I don't want to meet you going the other way some day .....Best...RC
 
Mike Fouts said:
I am flying low and having fun over one of my favorite rivers but going the opposite direction as usual. I usually come in from the south high about 1000 feet over some large power lines then descend down on the river. I have done this many times and have become complacent with my technique. Now I am coming in from the north very low having fun as usual until it comes time time to fly over the rather large power lines. They are well marked with big red balls all along the BOTTOM wires. I had never taken the time to study these wire before because I had never been that low over them. Now I am having to get enough altitude to cross 4 more wires that are at least 30 to 35 feet higher than the marker balls. Thank god I had enough speed and energy to pull up and over. This was so damn stupid of me, I can't beat myself up enough. It doesn't matter that the wires were not marked correctly I was wrong. I can sit here now and think of numerous things I did wrong. Are you hearing me? Complacency will kill you why it didn't kill me I don't know, I can only tell you I have had my WAKE UP CALL.

Mike
Click to expand...

You know what, that is really stupid............ :lol: glad you're still around to learn from it and that you recognize it as a learning experience.

I know a person whos dog used to belong this gal, who in turn knew this guy that had a plane. Anyway, this guy that had a plane thought he was pretty smart. He had some learning experiences in his first few hundred hours of flying, but had never done anything FLAT STUPID :bad-words:
Every spring he would experience a problem with his plane in that little birds would migrate to the area and begin nesting everywhere. The little birds especially liked the nose of his airplane. At first the guy simply checked under the cowling every day to clean out any nest building that had occured, after a foiled attempt or two usually the offending bird would go nest in some other plane. Eventually the guy (the one the girl that used to have the cat.....err no, dog! knew) decided that a simple solution would be to make sticky covers out of duct tape to cover the inlet holes to the pressure cowl. This kept the birds out and since this guy wasn't stupid(!) and always did a thorough preflight there was no way he would ever start the motor without removing them.

Anyway, word on the street is that some time later after talking to another pilot/plane owner and examining the damage that had occured to the other pilots plane only a day earlier when a car hit it, said guy went on down the ramp to preflight and head out for a quick bit of landing practice. All the while as he went through run-up etc. he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong ("oh that's nice the oil temp is off the peg already") but he shuffled it off into the back of his thoughts along with the distracting thoughts about smashed planes and that girl with the dog.

When he noticed the little flap of duct tape flapping just barely in view around the front edge of the cowl, he did in fact nearly shit his pants as the numbers receeded behind his plane and he realized that in fact he was fully capable of doing something FLAT STUPID :bad-words:

They say he learned a lot of humility from that incident, tries to never ignore that nagging sensation that something is wrong, and always pauses a moment during his preflights to do that one final walk-around :morning:
 
You mean something stupid like making a hard landing and busting the boxing wires in the middle of nowhere, 100's of miles from home in another country? Yea I'm guilty, humble, and pay more attention to glassy water, heavy loads, and even God himself :D

IMG_2211.jpg
 
Scout!!

I'm (we're) interested in what you did next...
Did ya patch it up with a couple jackpines, haywire & duct tape?
You didn't just call a 'copter, did'ja?
Did you check if the fish were biting that day?

"Any story worth tellin' is worth enhancin'!"
 
Yup, we’ve all done stupid things.
The best part of the lesson is when we are writing about it.
The worst is when FlipFlop is writing about it.
 
One of these days I'll recant the story of how I ran out of fuel over Rockford, Ill. at night ! No doubt the stupidest thing I've ever done.
 
NimpoCub said:
Scout!!

I'm (we're) interested in what you did next...
Did ya patch it up with a couple jackpines, haywire & duct tape

After a perfect day for walleye fishing on a Friday the 13th I asked my father if he wanted to go look for moose before sunset. So off we went towards Pickle Lake and Lake St. Joseph. I had near full fuel and survival gear.

Flew for 40 minutes and came in cross-ways in a channel and spot landed with glassy water. I had a reed line to use for reference but didn't pick it up in time and as the seat of my pants told me to slow the descent I went to full power and hit hard just as the engine wanted to help me out. I bounced in the air and could tell I was crippled. The plane flew like a lung shot Goose. Poorly and not for long. My second landing was straight ahead and gentle and as the plane came to a stop on the lake the wing was collapsing into the water. It was hard getting out. Both boxing wires on one side were broken. The others were fine.

Handling the plane in deep water was difficult. Had 2 boats and we broke the spar attempted to drain the water when shallow water and rocks grounded us. I should have slit the fabric. On shore I built a tripod and got the wing back up. Tied it real good and flew back to the states with other guys.

I made 10 calls to friends with Champs. I beat around the bush talking about weather, and upcoming fall, and then blurted out "can I borrow a wing from your Champ"? I'll make it worth your while :(

I had no takers. I sat down and made another list of Champ owners. I made a last attempt and showed up in person. It felt like a marriage proposal. I was down on one knee and said Randy I gotta have your right wing for a few days. We will tie it down on a bed mattresss and drive to Canada where it will then be lashed to a Norseman using Herc straps and miles of rope. We'll use pillows, boat cushions and carpet to protect it.
He said "you can borrow my dog, my guns, even my woman, but do you realize what you are asking"?

So I got the wing. Flight in was very eventful. A length of carpet came loose and was banging on the pork chops which could be felt on our feet in the old Noorduyn. The pilot kept looking out the side window. After one particular knock and thump his headset came off in one quick swipe so he could hear better. He then banked for the large lake we had passed 1 mile back looking all the time out his window for the catastrophe which I was sure to follow. I was ready to piss down my leg. I could see the headlines in the Thunder Bay Newspaper. "2 PILOTS DEAD/PLANE TRIES TO FLY WITH THREE WINGS". After we figured out the carpet was the cause I relaxed some.

The wing was replaced, 2 new wires, a little tape on the windshield, and a good inspection all around and I was headed for Crane Lake customs. With one blue and one white colored wing a smart ass at the dock says "you are flying a Speck. You know....... A cross between a snow and a blue goose" :D

I got home and the plane was fixed. The borrowed wing never go a ding. I still buy that guy his drinks at the bar.
Click to expand...
 
David J. your Rockford experience reminds me of my Rockford experience. Night. thunderstorms with very heavy rain much lightning a 100 hp citabria and not wanting to disappoint a friend. Discovering there is an EXTREMELY fine line between panic and maintaining self control to FLY the airplane.
 
Pretty much my whole first four or so years between 16 and 20 years old was pretty stupid. I was lucky and quick on the reactions so I made it but frequently I still shake my head and wonder what the hell I was thinking some times! Now, thankfully, it only happens once in a while.
 
Couple years ago I went up to do a maintenance check for leaks on a newly installed oil sump. Looked like I had enought fuel for a quick flight to check the sump for leaks. :)

Was circling the field at 2000 feet when things got real quiet. Hmmmm. Circled down, landed and rolled her off to the side. Empty. 26 years of being a fuel fanantic and the one day I get lazy..... :oops:
 
Medium Pizza to Go

This moron I used to know got a call from his wife to pick up a medium pizza before he left the local airport. He complies and sits it in the back seat...the stick hits the box so he thinks about putting it in the baggage compartment but doesn't.
He decides to hold it on his lap, life is good and a piece of hot pizza enroute to the moron's grass strip reinforces this sense of well being. The pizza box is over the stick and balanced by the arm on the stick and the arm on the throttle.
There is a xwind from the right and as our aviator sets the right tire down and brings the stick to the right with left rudder the box drops and locks the stick full right. The supercub begins a swerve to the right and full left rudder doesn't have much effect as the cub drops a wheel into the steep ditch alongside the strip. Full left brake isn't effective either since the left wheel is still at least a foot in the air and the swerve is getting worse. Ordinarily this pilot would apply power and abort but with the stick locked full right it just didn't seem like a good idea. As the idiot pilot complates what it is going to feel like when the wingtip contacts the opposite slope of the ditch and the cub cartwheels he decides he might as well let go of the stick and dislodge the medium pizza box. The pizza acends, the stick goes left , power, right wheel up and the cub is set back down, rolls out and shakey hands shut down. When the wife comments on the pizza a pale pilot blames the pizza hut for the condition of the box's contents.

Moral of the story: always tell a stupid pilot trick in the third person.
 
During a flight, have you ever noticed that the prop tips need painting ?
 
Friend was moving a colt to his home hanger about 2 miles from the airport. His home stip is 400ft. He asked me to open the gate at the far end to give him a little overrun. I said ok but give me time to get there cuz I'm gonna watch you take off. He didn't wait--- can't believe how fast 108h.p. can wind up a couple hundred feet of barbed wire. Sad part is he was stopped before the gate then proceeded to taxi into it. :( just as I drove in the driveway :crazyeyes:
 
flynlow said:
Medium Pizza to Go


Moral of the story: always tell a stupid pilot trick in the third person.
Click to expand...

:D
I was thinking you sure knew a lot about the stupid things he did. :D

I wake up in the morning, thus I am destined to do at least one stupid thing that day.
 
Fun and stupid are quite often separated by "oh shit".
Or as I like to say, "yee haw" can turn into "aw shit" in a heartbeat.
 
Checking out a sand bar along the Brazos river yesterday, dragging along to see how much crap I would have to land on and then deciding it was to bad to chance the landing. Eased in the power, slowly retracting the flaps, flying just under tree top level to fly to the next sand bar. A couple of seconds I look to the right and up and notice large power lines crossing over the Brazos. I remember thinking where are the other lines! How could I have done this! I hope the lines are all above me! I was lucky they were. I am still trying to think of some way to punish myself for this. Last week it was the poor judgment with the fog and now this. I have other stupid things that I have done. I have decided to list the top five and make them part of my check list before I fly. This gives me the creeps. Please somebody slap me. teeweed
 
Stupid Stuff

Yes, a guy should keep track of the dump moves he makes. You remind me of another one of mine.

I use to be a whitewater kayaker. I was in West Virginia and knew my buddies were going down the Gauley River, WV. I flew over and found them, so being cautious, I fly down stream a few miles making sure that there were no wires crossing the canyon. There were none, so I dropped down low and started up stream. When I spotted them, I went lower and 'buzzed' over. Ye-haw!

Well there I was doing 120 mph and they were about 6 mph. Their position had hardly changed. Next thing, I am looking at a 800 ft wall were the river made a 90 degree turn and I hadn't looked for wires up stream. It was a fairly high 'G' blind turn into the canyon trying to climb.

Luckily, no wires and once again, Never Again!.
 
I am a bit embarrassed to think of all the stupid things I have done and still here to remember them. I am now 59 and do things a lot slower and always pre-flight with checklist. I seldom take chances and always stay on the cautious side.

1) IFR Flying over airport when my instrument lights start to dim. Think noting of it and push on tell everything goes dark. No flash light. I did land safely but shaken. Should have landed when I had perfect warning of dimming lights over airport.

2) Scud running in IFR conditions until I am forced to land in very muddy corn field.

3) Doing a loop in my Decathlon without my harness on. I fell out of seat and head me head. recovered over tree tops.

4) Forgot to hook harness over back seat of my Decathlon and seat came forward and hooked stick to I could not fly level. Several upside down and Right side up maneuvers tell I discovered problem.

5) Flight in Great Lakes with my friend in front seat. Engine did not start and needed hand proping. Forgot to harness up and began a loop. Realized i was not buckled up when I was 1/4 thru loop and pushed forward to level flight. I landed and thought all day how lucky I was.

6) Did not tie down my airplane and a big storm came up and blew airplane down taxiway missing many tied down airplanes. Ended up in the trees a 1000 feet away with no damage an one all three wheels. Lucky me again.

7) Flying my Stearman with a parachute jumper. When he bailed he caught my rudder lock and locked the rudder. Upon landing in strong cross wind I had no rudder control. Reached down and unlocked it and landed hard but did land without damaging the airplane.

8) Flying my Cessna 210 out of Chicago Midway. I paid for the Gas but never got it. My fuel gages did not work so I did not rely on them. Ran out of fuel in one tank and other I realized was maybe about dry to. Landed in Lacrosse but ran out of fuel taxing to FOB.

9) Forgot to shut off my oil drain valve on My Stearman and flew 7 miles to get gas. Oil was pouring out the drain port at the gas pumps. Turned it off now I have that on my check list.

10) Flying above the clouds in nice weather and needing to get down with tiny opening. Spiraled down over a control tower in IFR weather and asked to permission to land. They were wondering were I came from. I did not realize I was even over a tower until I came out below the clouds.

11) I was with a friend of mine in our 210 in icing conditions. Ice formed on windshield and prop and wings. Landed safely but was shocked at amount of Ice we picked up. Never again will I allow myself or my pilot friend do this.

12) Flying in embedded thunderstorms which turned airplane 90 degrees on its side. Landed at airport right below us. No more flying near thunder storms especially imbeded ones.

13) Landed my embedded on what looked like a real nice grass strip beside a asphalt runway. Grass strip was a ditch near runway. Scrapped my wing causing $5,000 damage. Can not tell ground terrain from the air. I don't do this anymore.

14) I running out of space for the rest.
 
I was taxing on ice, a little to fast, to the other end of the ramp for fuel. The tail started wandering to the left so I corrected! Next thing I knew we were spinning 270 deg. to the right. Luckily I hit a snow bank that left my wingtip one foot from a 182's aileron. I immediately shut down and jumped out to empty my drawers. No damage! Got out of there quick and got gas later. 31's are not quite the same as the studs on the Subaru :lol:

JP
 
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