Sterling SilverMarch 27, 2015, 8:08pm
The family business was down for the evening and it was time for my brother-in-law to take his second solo flight in his Robertson B1RD.
I was trying to break even as a Robertson ultra light dealer, mostly for fun, and to date, my brother-in-law was my only paying customer. I had given him instruction in Dad’s Cessna 170 until we had shot several normal landings, then we flew the B2RD until he was ready to solo.
Ronnie’s B1RD had the beautiful rainbow sails and mine was red and black, which happened to be the colors for our local high school. The black panels at the wing roots prove applicable later.
It was almost 7 P.M. on this warm, clear summer afternoon on the edge of the Texas Coastal Plains. We flew from my 100ft. by 1,940ft. grass strip into a calm, beautiful sky. It was the first time that I had enjoyed the chance to fly my B1RD with someone else. Both of us had strobes on our ARV’s, as the Feds called them at the time, but I gave Ronnie lots of room while he practiced and got used to doing his own B1RDing.
I could take off in 75 feet (measured) and land in 100 feet. The gear was wide enough that within the confines of the width of my strip, I could turn the B1RD around within 100 feet of touch down – no brakes. I frequently flew in and out of the parking lot in front of our office/shop because farm equipment was parked between the shop and the air strip.
The sun was getting very close to the horizon and the other B1RD was a silhouette against a light orange sky. The shadows were long on the ground and I hoped that Ronnie would notice before it was dark on the runway.
I decided to land in the parking lot, the reason escapes me now.
I usually landed there from the southeast and taxied on around the north end of the shop to park on the west side of our implement shed where the B1RD’s were kept. This evening I decided to approach from the northeast; I think it might have been for better lighting.
At any rate, I made a right-hand pattern and was on short final to touch down right on the drive from the highway to the parking lot on the west side of FM 770. I was watching for traffic on the state highway which was sometimes busy with oilfield traffic. As I came even with the little convenience store on the east side of 770 I noticed a vacuum truck waiting to pull out and turn south, which would give me a beautiful approach right into the side of his 4,200 gallon trailer. The approach was going beautifully, if slowly, at 20mph. One eye on the truck, one eye on the driveway – no traffic – driveway stationary in the windshield – truck staying put.
At this point I thought, “I’ve never been able to touch down on the driveway before.”
I jerk forward!!! Flash of blue to my right!!! Everything is completely black!!!!!
All I can see in front of me is dirt!!!!!!
“Oh shit, this is going to break at least one leg, maybe both!!!!”
UMPH!!!
Everything was dark, but at least it was still.
Nothing hurt.
“What in the world?”
Then I remembered – the power lines to Doris’s, the convenience store. That’s why I had never touched down on the driveway. “Dumb***”
I removed the seat belt/shoulder harness and climbed out from under the right wing. I took my helmet off and surveyed my poor, broken B1RD. Some stuff would have to be replaced.
I had hit the top of two electrical service wires. The wire was caught by the down tubes and the right down tube had bent. The B1RD pitched nose down and that’s when the black sail panels blocked what little sunlight there was and my world went black. The wire broke and the B1RD fell about 18 ft. straight down, making a one point landing on the prop hub. Parts of the letters of CUYUNA were visible in the round impression in the dirt.
To me, even sadder than the sight of my broken B1RD was this; my wife was washing dishes when the lights went off. She immediately said to my son, “Gil, come on, your dad has done something and we’d better go see if he’s alright.” We had only been married about 16 years or so at that time and she just had no respect. It’s now about 49 yr. and no improvement.
Well, we hauled the B1RD to the vet in the implement shed and replaced the prop, both down tubes, the vertical tube behind the seat, the main fuselage tube and one trailing edge tube. The little CUYUNA UL II ran like a top for many hours after the dirt was cleaned out of the cooling fins. I had the turned up piece on the forward end of the keel tube welded back in place since it was not a structural part. The hole in the right sail where the down tube went through had to be repaired and my B1RD was flying again.
What, in this story, is applicable to you flyers of airplanes? You might see many things, but allow me to point out a couple.
I had operated in and out of the parking lot many times, in high winds and calm air, but this could be considered an edgy operation.
I had landed with fading light several times on the 1,940 ft. airstrip with no problem, but an edgy situation?
Mistake #1 – I was tired. Not the best condition to take on edgy operation.
Mistake #2 – I combined an edgy operation with an edgy situation.
Mistake #3 – I was distracted. When I flew into the parking lot I always picked a certain touchdown point and concentrated on that point and my air speed. On this evening I was watching the vacuum truck.
You might see other errors; I will not argue the point. I will answer questions, if I remember the answer.
The kids and I still tease my mild-mannered, proper English speaking wife about her lecture when she got to the scene and before she slammed her car door and drove away.
I hope this might help one of you avoid breaking your airplane.
There are something like 6 billion people in this world, lots and lots of people. There aren’t many Air Bikes or Maxes, whether Mini or Hi, or combined. Please don't break your plane.
(That’s irony for you humor challenged readers. )
I was trying to break even as a Robertson ultra light dealer, mostly for fun, and to date, my brother-in-law was my only paying customer. I had given him instruction in Dad’s Cessna 170 until we had shot several normal landings, then we flew the B2RD until he was ready to solo.
Ronnie’s B1RD had the beautiful rainbow sails and mine was red and black, which happened to be the colors for our local high school. The black panels at the wing roots prove applicable later.
It was almost 7 P.M. on this warm, clear summer afternoon on the edge of the Texas Coastal Plains. We flew from my 100ft. by 1,940ft. grass strip into a calm, beautiful sky. It was the first time that I had enjoyed the chance to fly my B1RD with someone else. Both of us had strobes on our ARV’s, as the Feds called them at the time, but I gave Ronnie lots of room while he practiced and got used to doing his own B1RDing.
I could take off in 75 feet (measured) and land in 100 feet. The gear was wide enough that within the confines of the width of my strip, I could turn the B1RD around within 100 feet of touch down – no brakes. I frequently flew in and out of the parking lot in front of our office/shop because farm equipment was parked between the shop and the air strip.
The sun was getting very close to the horizon and the other B1RD was a silhouette against a light orange sky. The shadows were long on the ground and I hoped that Ronnie would notice before it was dark on the runway.
I decided to land in the parking lot, the reason escapes me now.
I usually landed there from the southeast and taxied on around the north end of the shop to park on the west side of our implement shed where the B1RD’s were kept. This evening I decided to approach from the northeast; I think it might have been for better lighting.
At any rate, I made a right-hand pattern and was on short final to touch down right on the drive from the highway to the parking lot on the west side of FM 770. I was watching for traffic on the state highway which was sometimes busy with oilfield traffic. As I came even with the little convenience store on the east side of 770 I noticed a vacuum truck waiting to pull out and turn south, which would give me a beautiful approach right into the side of his 4,200 gallon trailer. The approach was going beautifully, if slowly, at 20mph. One eye on the truck, one eye on the driveway – no traffic – driveway stationary in the windshield – truck staying put.
At this point I thought, “I’ve never been able to touch down on the driveway before.”
I jerk forward!!! Flash of blue to my right!!! Everything is completely black!!!!!
All I can see in front of me is dirt!!!!!!
“Oh shit, this is going to break at least one leg, maybe both!!!!”
UMPH!!!
Everything was dark, but at least it was still.
Nothing hurt.
“What in the world?”
Then I remembered – the power lines to Doris’s, the convenience store. That’s why I had never touched down on the driveway. “Dumb***”
I removed the seat belt/shoulder harness and climbed out from under the right wing. I took my helmet off and surveyed my poor, broken B1RD. Some stuff would have to be replaced.
I had hit the top of two electrical service wires. The wire was caught by the down tubes and the right down tube had bent. The B1RD pitched nose down and that’s when the black sail panels blocked what little sunlight there was and my world went black. The wire broke and the B1RD fell about 18 ft. straight down, making a one point landing on the prop hub. Parts of the letters of CUYUNA were visible in the round impression in the dirt.
To me, even sadder than the sight of my broken B1RD was this; my wife was washing dishes when the lights went off. She immediately said to my son, “Gil, come on, your dad has done something and we’d better go see if he’s alright.” We had only been married about 16 years or so at that time and she just had no respect. It’s now about 49 yr. and no improvement.
Well, we hauled the B1RD to the vet in the implement shed and replaced the prop, both down tubes, the vertical tube behind the seat, the main fuselage tube and one trailing edge tube. The little CUYUNA UL II ran like a top for many hours after the dirt was cleaned out of the cooling fins. I had the turned up piece on the forward end of the keel tube welded back in place since it was not a structural part. The hole in the right sail where the down tube went through had to be repaired and my B1RD was flying again.
What, in this story, is applicable to you flyers of airplanes? You might see many things, but allow me to point out a couple.
I had operated in and out of the parking lot many times, in high winds and calm air, but this could be considered an edgy operation.
I had landed with fading light several times on the 1,940 ft. airstrip with no problem, but an edgy situation?
Mistake #1 – I was tired. Not the best condition to take on edgy operation.
Mistake #2 – I combined an edgy operation with an edgy situation.
Mistake #3 – I was distracted. When I flew into the parking lot I always picked a certain touchdown point and concentrated on that point and my air speed. On this evening I was watching the vacuum truck.
You might see other errors; I will not argue the point. I will answer questions, if I remember the answer.
The kids and I still tease my mild-mannered, proper English speaking wife about her lecture when she got to the scene and before she slammed her car door and drove away.
I hope this might help one of you avoid breaking your airplane.
There are something like 6 billion people in this world, lots and lots of people. There aren’t many Air Bikes or Maxes, whether Mini or Hi, or combined. Please don't break your plane.
(That’s irony for you humor challenged readers. )
Bert
