Post by El Sid on Jul 24, 2003 5:53:35 GMT -5
I was clearing out my office the other day, in preparation of the normal "Spring" cleaning of course, and came across my old Pilot's Flying Log Book. I thought of a scary moment during training. Hence the topic "Frightening Moments" Should you have any of these scary moments you wish to tell us about, post them here.
This is the Piper Tomahawk PA38-112 ZS-KFV on which I recieved my training.
And for a larger image try this link.
www.slservices.co.za/pics/Flight-a/q-KFV.jpg
Incidentally, I believe this aircraft was written off in an accident not so long ago.
And this is the PE Airport. Runway 08 is the one starting in the bottom right corner.
It was late in '82 and the weather in Port Elizabeth was absolutely perfect for flying. Not a breath of wind, cool temperature and not many aircraft around. Perfect conditions for practising "Circuits and Bumps". These I could do as Pilot in Command to build up some "solo" hours.
The PE Airport was then still named "Verwoerd", after that other character. (Fortunately, it no longer is) So after the pre-flight checks are done I get into "Tommy" and get positioned for what would be quite a scary event. Brakes on. Set the trim, mixture fully rich, pitch is fixed anyway, fuel pump on and primed, flaps OK. Find keys on dash-board, swing the motor, it fires up. Electrics OK. Instruments OK. Gills & gyro's? - stuff that, there are none anyway. Hatches & harnesses - click! I'm safely belted up and the door closed and latched.
"Verwoerd, this is Kilo-Foxtrot-Victor on one, one eight decimal one; how do you read?" - the standard opening gambit.
"Reading you loud & clear KFV, go ahead."
Then I ask for taxi clearance for practising circuits & landings which they duly give and there I go, off to the holding point of runway 08. Once there, and having gone through all the checks once more I hit the tower once again on 118.1 requesting take-off clearance. Great. "KFV, you are cleared for take-off, wind still, report on right-hand down wind"
OK, so we move onto the runway proper, one notch of flaps, set the compass on 08, push the throttle fully open, gather speed and then back on the controls slightly and next thing you're in the air. Smooth as a baby's bum. A bit back on the trim wheel, maintain 500ft/min ascent. Then, at about 500ft above the ground, forward with the controls slightly, re-adust trim for straight and level and turn-out right on the cross-wind leg. Then on for about 1km before turning right on to the down-wind leg. About half-way down the down-wind leg and almost direcly opposite the tower you report: "Verwoerd, this is KFV right-hand down-wind for run-way 08" and the reply by saying you should report on final approach and so on. Then once past the beginning of 08 you turn right onto the base leg and prepare for the descent. Controls slightly forward, adjust the trim, start turning in for final & report: "Verwoerd, this is KFV turning final for 08, touch and go." So they give due reckognition and clear you for landing and take-off, repeating the whole procedure.
So it goes on. Over and over. Very nice stuff.
Then - on the down-wind leg - the tower gets onto me via the radio: "KFV, extend your down-wind leg ............." saying that that an inbound 737 from Cape Town has preference over my activities and I would be slotted in after the 737. Now, compared to a 737, a 747 is huge. Compared to Tommy, a 737 is even hugerer! So I check out for the 737 and, yay! there it is. I see it land. I see it travel the full length of the runway and I see it turning off the runway and I see it taxi'ing back towards the Airport buildings. A few minutes (seconds?) had passed. So I turn base leg. Go through the whole rig-ma-roll and as I reach for the microphone to report on finals, it hits me. A huge, but huge blast of turbulent air! Wham, the microphone hits the roof! WTF! FULL THROTTLE! LITTLE POWER! TURN OUT OF IT! BOUNCE, BUMP, BOUNCE!
So when I finally get the plane into stable air, I find that the runway was now considerably far off course. Then the ATC (I knew the bugger too) comes over the radio: "hehehe... KFV, where are you now?, will you please switch on your landing light." So, not quite trembling yet, I report back that the landing light was on and he says "yep!, I see you." So I, from a complete dog-leg position I ask for another "touch and go" sequence which he OK's. So, landing about half-way down 08 and taking and completing the next round I once again hit finals. Only that this time it was FULL STOP and back to the hangar and club-house for a
It's amazing just how quickly one gets pissed after a fright and only 1
This is the Piper Tomahawk PA38-112 ZS-KFV on which I recieved my training.
And for a larger image try this link.
www.slservices.co.za/pics/Flight-a/q-KFV.jpg
Incidentally, I believe this aircraft was written off in an accident not so long ago.
And this is the PE Airport. Runway 08 is the one starting in the bottom right corner.
It was late in '82 and the weather in Port Elizabeth was absolutely perfect for flying. Not a breath of wind, cool temperature and not many aircraft around. Perfect conditions for practising "Circuits and Bumps". These I could do as Pilot in Command to build up some "solo" hours.
The PE Airport was then still named "Verwoerd", after that other character. (Fortunately, it no longer is) So after the pre-flight checks are done I get into "Tommy" and get positioned for what would be quite a scary event. Brakes on. Set the trim, mixture fully rich, pitch is fixed anyway, fuel pump on and primed, flaps OK. Find keys on dash-board, swing the motor, it fires up. Electrics OK. Instruments OK. Gills & gyro's? - stuff that, there are none anyway. Hatches & harnesses - click! I'm safely belted up and the door closed and latched.
"Verwoerd, this is Kilo-Foxtrot-Victor on one, one eight decimal one; how do you read?" - the standard opening gambit.
"Reading you loud & clear KFV, go ahead."
Then I ask for taxi clearance for practising circuits & landings which they duly give and there I go, off to the holding point of runway 08. Once there, and having gone through all the checks once more I hit the tower once again on 118.1 requesting take-off clearance. Great. "KFV, you are cleared for take-off, wind still, report on right-hand down wind"
OK, so we move onto the runway proper, one notch of flaps, set the compass on 08, push the throttle fully open, gather speed and then back on the controls slightly and next thing you're in the air. Smooth as a baby's bum. A bit back on the trim wheel, maintain 500ft/min ascent. Then, at about 500ft above the ground, forward with the controls slightly, re-adust trim for straight and level and turn-out right on the cross-wind leg. Then on for about 1km before turning right on to the down-wind leg. About half-way down the down-wind leg and almost direcly opposite the tower you report: "Verwoerd, this is KFV right-hand down-wind for run-way 08" and the reply by saying you should report on final approach and so on. Then once past the beginning of 08 you turn right onto the base leg and prepare for the descent. Controls slightly forward, adjust the trim, start turning in for final & report: "Verwoerd, this is KFV turning final for 08, touch and go." So they give due reckognition and clear you for landing and take-off, repeating the whole procedure.
So it goes on. Over and over. Very nice stuff.
Then - on the down-wind leg - the tower gets onto me via the radio: "KFV, extend your down-wind leg ............." saying that that an inbound 737 from Cape Town has preference over my activities and I would be slotted in after the 737. Now, compared to a 737, a 747 is huge. Compared to Tommy, a 737 is even hugerer! So I check out for the 737 and, yay! there it is. I see it land. I see it travel the full length of the runway and I see it turning off the runway and I see it taxi'ing back towards the Airport buildings. A few minutes (seconds?) had passed. So I turn base leg. Go through the whole rig-ma-roll and as I reach for the microphone to report on finals, it hits me. A huge, but huge blast of turbulent air! Wham, the microphone hits the roof! WTF! FULL THROTTLE! LITTLE POWER! TURN OUT OF IT! BOUNCE, BUMP, BOUNCE!
So when I finally get the plane into stable air, I find that the runway was now considerably far off course. Then the ATC (I knew the bugger too) comes over the radio: "hehehe... KFV, where are you now?, will you please switch on your landing light." So, not quite trembling yet, I report back that the landing light was on and he says "yep!, I see you." So I, from a complete dog-leg position I ask for another "touch and go" sequence which he OK's. So, landing about half-way down 08 and taking and completing the next round I once again hit finals. Only that this time it was FULL STOP and back to the hangar and club-house for a
It's amazing just how quickly one gets pissed after a fright and only 1
Don't Die Before You Live...
I wish I could fly