Take-Off Crash--Snapped Axle

[Farmer Bill]

I'm ready for flight again as soon as temp. permits!! We've been @-24to-36C for 2 wks. On Oct.4-calm,warm,6:35P.M.-was going to get a couple arial photos. I bought a new prebuilt Canadian Phase 1 from the designer. 582-E.S. 2-seater 3blade 500chute-training included !! Ended up self-taught on 1/2 Mi. grass strip-no problem !! I've logged 65Hrs.Anyway after preflight & warm-up was taxiing,chute inflated&steady applied more power-right main wheel lifted a ft.or so(side draft??-didn't think so)applied bit more power & nose wheel came up-right rear now 2ft.off-nose swung left-if I cut power I'm likely to roll !! Left strip in steep left bank-right control full forward-full power.Canopy levelled finally but guess I'd lost too much speed & came down 15-20 ft. nose-low right side down. Right axle(steel) snapped on impact. My son found left wheel 75ft. past impact point. Both axles snapped thru cotter-pin hole inboard of wheels. Seemed very brittle !! I made tougher axles !! and new frame rails-leg has nearly healed !!! Anybody had something like this-I'd like to hear from you !! THANX Farmer Bill !!

[Skypilot]

What was the wind direction and speed compared to your runway? Sounds to me like you had a cross wind from the right and you were trying to fight it. When your right wheel came off the ground you should have steered the nose wheel to the left to get the wheel back on the ground and to get you back centered under the chute. If you didn't have room to steer to the left you should have aborted as soon as the wheel came off while you still had nose steering.

[Farmer Bill]

I've thought many times of what I should've done !! Like I said no cross-wind !! Yes I should have abhorted but before nose came up and swung left.I'd have rolled if power was cut at that attitude !! I have only 2 vertebra (neck) that turn in entire spine so glancing back to check undercarriage isn't an option !! My reason for writing was to alert others of the brittle axles and hopefully hear from other owners. My PPC looks like a carbon copy of Buckeye's Dream Machine except for the seating (& axles !!!) Farmer Bill !!!

[woodyking]

Sounds like maybe you had a line tangle or knot and didn't see it. Or a line-0ver the left side. Or a steering line caught on your outrigger on the left side. Something was causing the left side not to lift as much as the right if there was no crosswind. Buckeyes, and yours is a copy, will hang steering lines at the bolts where the bracket attachs. I added a piece of hard tubing to block the area between the bolt and the arm coming from the crown. Sometimes, in breaking, the axles may have saved YOU from damage. Too rigid isn't good either. Woody

[Farmer Bill]

Hi again Woody !! My concern isn't strength in my axles but should they not be 'tough' so they could bend if strained rather than snap for no aparrent reason ? As far as a line hang-up my craft has hangers on fan guard and I've never had a problem on take-off. I'm anxious to get to the strip so I can spread chute to check all lines. Thanx for reply !!! Farmer Bill

[lowpull]

Check out the Improvements and Modifications section, under 582 Modifications, I think. Indoruwet did some axle modifications that I copied from. I don't have my photos ready to add yet, but I intended to do that so that others can see.

As for my guessing on what happened, (it's a free country, ain't it?), my money is on left side end cells not inflated.

If you can't turn around and see the canopy, then a BIG mirror is the only thing I can think of.

Taxi longer (crashing while still on the ground can be cheaper) and "pump the steering bars" to help pop open any slow opening end cells.

If you are taking off from a field, beware of any twigs or foreign objects that can get into your lines.

Blue Skies

[indoruwet]

Both axles snapped thru cotter-pin hole inboard of wheels. Seemed very brittle !! I made tougher axles !! and new frame rails-leg has nearly healed !!! Anybody had something like this-I'd like to hear from you !!
am a bit confused about how your unit is built.
You state: *snapped through cotter pin hole INBOARD of wheels*.

Why is the cotter pin in-board ?

Can you make a pic or sketch on how your suspension is put together ?

Before I made my *improvements*, I snapped left axle upon landing. Wheel popped off, remaining axle bit into the ground, and thus pulled the rig sharp left.
Wind pulled the chute back and I did one of those very slow motion roll overs.
Checked the broken axle and found some rust in the beak area. Who knows how long that axle had a crack in it ... (bought her used)
Got some new axles from Buckeye which were very dark coloured, did not trust them and checked the heat treat. They were dead soft. Then I made the decision to make my own set-up, the way it should have been done (my opinion) as shown in post mentioned above.
Haven't had any more mishaps since and axles are still in pristine condition, despite some oops hard landings .... once or twice.