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Oops, darn it...

Hmm? There seems to be TOO many of us who know of a crash caused by reversed controls. :evil: The original owner of my airport (Cranland) test flew a Swift with the ailerons reversed upside down into a sand pit. Fortunately for him he only broke a collar bone. That happened almost 60 years ago and made a big impression upon me. Every airplane which goes back together gets repeated control checks. And I still worry.
 
Decades back an IA I almost worked with, he was frustrated about a plane he was putting back together, he kept saying the elevator cables were the wrong length. He was so frustrated to the point when I stopped by and near instantly I said the cables were crossed, rigged backwards. After a few tries he was amendment the cables were NOT CROSSED!
I could not get him to understand the cables themselves did need to cross each other to be rigged right, he claimed they had to be parallel.
I never did visit him again nor do any projects with him. I think he either finally figured it out or someone got through to him since I never heard about it again.
 
Speaking of reversed controls. When I went thru my 69 c-180, I removed all of the bell cranks in the tail for the flight controls. I machined some new bushings for some of them. I was VERY careful to verify the correct movement of the elevator and rudder after reassembly. During taxi tests the plane was a beast to handle. It finally dawned on me that the tailwheel steering was reversed. That will happen if you put the bell crank in rotated 180 degrees. My IA didn't find it but he is pretty much useful only for signing off my work. When I re-installed the bell cranks, it handled like a dream as the tailwheel was not fighting the rudder. Feces occurs!
 
In the mid '80's, I was a Pterodactyl ultralight dealer, trainer, pilot, you name it. I had segued into the 'dac as before it came along I was a Manta hang glider dealer, trainer, etc., and the 'dac used the same exact wing, an innovative rigid wing, that folded for transport...., the best of both worlds. One farmer customer wanted one with the control stick on the right, and throttle on the left. The exact opposite of all the others (about 35 at that point) I had built and test flown. He was adamant, and as there was no extra hardware involved or extra labor to set it up that way I built it up the way he wanted and delivered it to his small town rural airport.

My method of operation back then, was to deliver the fully assembled ultralight to my customer, and then test fly it for the first time in front of them, and also start their training. The stick being on the right wouldn't be any problem for me, I told him, a few seconds before the first liftoff and immediate pilot induced pitch oscillations combined with rapid throttle excursions. The damage to the landing gear was easily repaired, my customer relations took longer, he just couldn't understand how I could screw up that bad, knowing full well it would be opposite of what I was used to. This is something I think about any time I get anywhere near the flight controls (and I have major aileron mod coming up), once was enough.
 
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/08/us/gender-reveal-plane-crash.html how to fix stupid.jpg
 

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mike mcs repair said:
https://www.alaskapublic.org/2019/1...h-the-aircraft-landed-amid-unfavorable-winds/
Click to expand...

And Alaska Airlines still spins it as an incident (https://blog.alaskaair.com/alaska-airlines/operations/penair-flight-3296/)

"Nearly one month ago, PenAir Flight 3296 was involved in an incident when the aircraft overran the runway at Dutch Harbor, Alaska, which resulted in a loss of life and injuries to others onboard. Our thoughts remain with the those affected by this incident."

Gary
 
Me thinks, they've been allowed to get too big. RAVN, Penair, Haglund, Frontier? Too big for their britches and FAA oversight. They should be shut down with an accident record as they have...16 accidents in the last 10-15years? Some with fatalities? Come on!!! But...they're too big and they service all the villages.It would just be crazy if there was no operator to haul the food, the peeps, etc. They've gotten too big...Years ago, before Neil Burke carved up the mail, to anyone that had a certificate, there was only one operator out of Bethel...That was SEAIR...we had all the work...and I don't remember an accident record such as this. We had 13 twin otters, a sky van and some turbo beavers and other stuff.. we got the job done and with no bent metal or....
mike mcs repair said:
good read



https://www.adn.com/opinions/2019/1...-crashes-by-alaskas-biggest-rural-air-carrier
Click to expand...
 
Ohhh, you're cracking me up...AIA bad bad outfit...lots of good pilots came from there though...the ones that survived...
StalledOut said:
I quit flying on Ravn. I probably averaged 40 flights a year with them for several years.

I figured after all those flights incident free my time was up.

No worse then AIA was with the twatters though.
Click to expand...
 
Checklist item: Are the controls free and CORRECT? In the heavy metal, some planes you can't see the ailerons, hence there are gauges to check for proper movement. All other airplanes it is visual...Don't just wiggle the controls without looking...Years ago, there were two beavers that took off in one week. One on floats, one on wheels. That winter there'd been an AD the operators had to inspect for with the ailerons...both pilots in the spring, Controls free and CORRECT? They obviously just wiggled the controls without looking...both died...
mike mcs repair said:
The main thing that will kill you on one is reversed elevator cables. Triple check the movement against flying examples


Sent from my iPhone using SuperCub.Org mobile app
Click to expand...
 
flywhatever said:
Me thinks, they've been allowed to get too big. RAVN, Penair, Haglund, Frontier? Too big for their britches and FAA oversight. They should be shut down with an accident record as they have...16 accidents in the last 10-15years? Some with fatalities? Come on!!! But...they're too big and they service all the villages.It would just be crazy if there was no operator to haul the food, the peeps, etc. They've gotten too big...Years ago, before Neil Burke carved up the mail, to anyone that had a certificate, there was only one operator out of Bethel...That was SEAIR...we had all the work...and I don't remember an accident record such as this. We had 13 twin otters, a sky van and some turbo beavers and other stuff.. we got the job done and with no bent metal or....[/QUOT

SEAIR......Al Gay........”The Pilots Pal”...
Click to expand...
 
From the way I read it charter flights are not restricted. I am sure many companies would like to cash in on this.
 
-12 ailerons are different maybe giving that illusion? The wings do look funny from that angle in the picture. Then again, any airplane trapped in wires and hanging upside down looks a little strange!
 
KevinJ said:
-12 ailerons are different maybe giving that illusion? The wings do look funny from that angle in the picture. Then again, any airplane trapped in wires and hanging upside down looks a little strange!
Click to expand...
I bet his face did as well when He was getting ready to release is harness.
 
Sorry in advance if this is a soap box moment... Since I retired from my career fixed wing job, I have taken a part time (180 hours in 3 months ��) helicopter job in New England. I flew helicopters for years way back when, and have kept my hand in it. Anyway, we do a lot of power line patrol and inspection and were required to take a course called “Flying in the Wire Environment”. Part of the presentation is showing stills and videos of the same power lines from different angles and in different light at various times of the year. It is eye opening to watch those lines completely disappear under certain conditions. We all enjoy flying low down rivers and over what appear to be open areas. Just please be very careful and aware when your out there - look for structures, and if you can’t see the wires always cross at the structure.. all done.
 
Amen, mam90. I learned a little about wires 40 odd years ago when I was a kid cropdusting. Those were lessons that tend to stay with you.
 
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