kilowatt
09-03-2005, 01:14 PM
Dear Friends of American Spirit PPC,
As much as I hate to write this, I feel that I must. Yesterday afternoon I
wanted to fly my Outlaw in the thermals and mid day winds.
The winds were blowing 10-12 mph and a bit gusty and shifty. First I made a
good takeoff and was off the ground in about 30' using the winds to inflate
the wing. The thermals were a little wild, but thermals do not bother me
very much. I flew for 30 minutes and landed to make a slight torque
adjustment.
The second takeoff went very well also, but as I was aloft the winds picked
up so I decided to land again and call it a day. Please don't take what I am
about to say the wrong way. I take full responsibility for what happened
next as pilot error.
As I was making my approach the winds were strong from the NE and that is 45
degrees to all of my runways. I crabbed in to simulate what I will have to
do on a narrow strip, and as I touched down I steered into the wind, but at
that same moment the winds got very strong and went to 90 degrees cross to
the runway and beyond to even be a quartering downwind.
The plane turned, and the wing tried, but the winds were too strong and
pushed the wing over. My ground speed was very fast at that moment and I
felt like I was going to roll over. I had a decision to make and I made the
wrong one. I could have killed the engine and let it roll, but instead I
attempted to power out of it. I kicked out full rudder on the windy side and
the wing started back up as I went throttle up.
The next thing I knew the wing was back over to the left side, I was just
getting airborne, and I was already at full rudder on the right. The left
main touched the ground and then the cart went over and spun around leaving
me facing the opposite direction, upside down, with the engine at full
power.
I took a hard hit on my left shoulder and almost blacked out from the pain,
but fought it off and reached up to kill the engine. Then I unbuckled the
seatbelt and rolled out from under the wreckage. There was a slight bit of
gas coming out of the overflow tube so I mustered the strength to roll the
frame back upright even though my left shoulder was hurting terribly.
After a few minutes of calming down and recouping a bit, I was concerned
about the wing inflating and causing me more grief, so I managed to get the
line socks out of the storage box and secured them on the lines. I tried to
pack the wing, but found that I could not stand the pain of trying to squat
and bend over.
Next I called my wife at work and asked her to come home and give me a ride
to the hospital because I was fairly sure that I had a broken arm or
shoulder. When she arrived I instructed her about how to pack the wing up.
We got the plane pushed back into the shop and then went to the hospital.
After 4 hours in the emergency room and a few x-rays I found out that I
broke cleanly the outside part of my shoulder where the muscles and
ligaments attach, and have a crack across the top of the main arm bone. Of
course with this being a holiday weekend they sent me home with some pain
meds and said to see a bone specialist next week and it may require surgery.
The outlaw is totaled as far as I am concerned. It could be straightened and
some parts replaced, but I would rather just replace the entire frame. The
wing and lines were untouched and the prop only has some minor damage on the
blade tips. The airframe however is bent at almost every tube.
As for the immediate future I will not be flying. I will rebuild the Outlaw
with a new frame and continue to build new PPCs for at least a while. With
more time to think about things I may or may not continue to build and fly
PPCs. This was the first time that I have really been hurt in any of my
accidents, and now I must give it a lot of thought and reevaluate. My wife
says that looking at the wreckage that I am very lucky that I just broke my
shoulder and arm, and not my neck.
I wrote this with one hand so it took a bit of doing. :) I will send an
update when I have had time to ponder the situation a bit more.
Until then........Have a good one!
Steve Thomas
Have a good one!
Steve Thomas
www.americanspiritppc.com
270-293-5909
steve@...
As much as I hate to write this, I feel that I must. Yesterday afternoon I
wanted to fly my Outlaw in the thermals and mid day winds.
The winds were blowing 10-12 mph and a bit gusty and shifty. First I made a
good takeoff and was off the ground in about 30' using the winds to inflate
the wing. The thermals were a little wild, but thermals do not bother me
very much. I flew for 30 minutes and landed to make a slight torque
adjustment.
The second takeoff went very well also, but as I was aloft the winds picked
up so I decided to land again and call it a day. Please don't take what I am
about to say the wrong way. I take full responsibility for what happened
next as pilot error.
As I was making my approach the winds were strong from the NE and that is 45
degrees to all of my runways. I crabbed in to simulate what I will have to
do on a narrow strip, and as I touched down I steered into the wind, but at
that same moment the winds got very strong and went to 90 degrees cross to
the runway and beyond to even be a quartering downwind.
The plane turned, and the wing tried, but the winds were too strong and
pushed the wing over. My ground speed was very fast at that moment and I
felt like I was going to roll over. I had a decision to make and I made the
wrong one. I could have killed the engine and let it roll, but instead I
attempted to power out of it. I kicked out full rudder on the windy side and
the wing started back up as I went throttle up.
The next thing I knew the wing was back over to the left side, I was just
getting airborne, and I was already at full rudder on the right. The left
main touched the ground and then the cart went over and spun around leaving
me facing the opposite direction, upside down, with the engine at full
power.
I took a hard hit on my left shoulder and almost blacked out from the pain,
but fought it off and reached up to kill the engine. Then I unbuckled the
seatbelt and rolled out from under the wreckage. There was a slight bit of
gas coming out of the overflow tube so I mustered the strength to roll the
frame back upright even though my left shoulder was hurting terribly.
After a few minutes of calming down and recouping a bit, I was concerned
about the wing inflating and causing me more grief, so I managed to get the
line socks out of the storage box and secured them on the lines. I tried to
pack the wing, but found that I could not stand the pain of trying to squat
and bend over.
Next I called my wife at work and asked her to come home and give me a ride
to the hospital because I was fairly sure that I had a broken arm or
shoulder. When she arrived I instructed her about how to pack the wing up.
We got the plane pushed back into the shop and then went to the hospital.
After 4 hours in the emergency room and a few x-rays I found out that I
broke cleanly the outside part of my shoulder where the muscles and
ligaments attach, and have a crack across the top of the main arm bone. Of
course with this being a holiday weekend they sent me home with some pain
meds and said to see a bone specialist next week and it may require surgery.
The outlaw is totaled as far as I am concerned. It could be straightened and
some parts replaced, but I would rather just replace the entire frame. The
wing and lines were untouched and the prop only has some minor damage on the
blade tips. The airframe however is bent at almost every tube.
As for the immediate future I will not be flying. I will rebuild the Outlaw
with a new frame and continue to build new PPCs for at least a while. With
more time to think about things I may or may not continue to build and fly
PPCs. This was the first time that I have really been hurt in any of my
accidents, and now I must give it a lot of thought and reevaluate. My wife
says that looking at the wreckage that I am very lucky that I just broke my
shoulder and arm, and not my neck.
I wrote this with one hand so it took a bit of doing. :) I will send an
update when I have had time to ponder the situation a bit more.
Until then........Have a good one!
Steve Thomas
Have a good one!
Steve Thomas
www.americanspiritppc.com
270-293-5909
steve@...