BeechTalk - BT

Username Protected · **Posted:** 16 Jun 2009, 08:12

Username Protected wrote:

I asked some flight schools in Homer about their training of getting a float plane rating but no response yet..why is everything soooooo slow ... pffff i hate it when i wanna buy and i have to waaaaiiiit....

If you called when the tide was out then the entire town was out clam digging. Gvie it a minute, they run at a different pace up there.

Username Protected · **Posted:** 04 Feb 2010, 15:12

[youtube]http://youtu.be/YVwlodvWh7w[/youtube]

From the poster on YouTube...

Quote:

This is a video of the deHavilland beaver plane crash at Lake Hood in Anchorage AK, on June 7, 2009. My father and I were videotaping planes at Lake Hood taking off and landing when the wind kicked up and sent the Beaver taking off right at us.
The wing was less than 5 feet over our heads, and the radial engine was less than 8 feet to my left. No exaggeration!! The Slow motion at the end gives a little better look at how close it was. Everyone onboard was in pristine condition, 2 adults, 2 children and 2 dogs

Username Protected · **Posted:** 04 Feb 2010, 15:17

[youtube]http://youtu.be/-Jw7gMrB7ok[/youtube]

Username Protected · **Posted:** 04 Feb 2010, 15:32

Each time I watch that I ask myself if the pilot had considered where was his "abort point" before he started the takeoff run. He just keeps on and on, even when the outcome is clearly in doubt. He could have shut it down 200 yards before reaching shore and saved it.

It's a worthwhile question for anyone. Before pushing the throttle(s) up, do you have a firm place where you know you'll shut down if you have not reached a certain airspeed?

One rule of thumb is to reach 70 percent of your takeoff speed by the time you reach half way down the runway. Otherwise, yank the power and jump on the breaks -- hard.

Any other ideas or rules of thumb?

Username Protected · **Posted:** 04 Feb 2010, 16:39

Username Protected wrote:

....
Any other ideas or rules of thumb?

Knowing where the runway is, and conditions.
Whether it's ice, snow, puddles, snowbanks....
This guy did not run out of runway, he lost directional control from the X-wind.
http://www.beechtalk.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=4036&p=51931&hilit=+hood#p51931

Username Protected · **Posted:** 04 Feb 2010, 16:47

Whoops, didn't know it was already posted. :hide:

(I merged the threads).

Username Protected · **Posted:** 04 Feb 2010, 17:04

The entire event is certainly a demonstration of poor judgment and poor technique...just a $500k + mistake.

Here's my opinion of the event:

Judgment: Downwind takeoff on a lake that is 1.3 miles long...could have made a long taxi and taken off into the wind.
Technique: Not enough wind to turn the plane that much...poor use of the rudder.

Username Protected · **Posted:** 04 Feb 2010, 17:45

Username Protected wrote:

.....
Technique: Not enough wind to turn the plane that much...poor use of the rudder.

...and lack of aileron. Digging in the downwind float is a BAD thing to let happen..... and there is the video to show it.

Username Protected · **Posted:** 04 Feb 2010, 18:29

are we sure that this isn't just some fancy camera work in action here?

maybe what we saw and what really happened are two different things!
:hide:

Username Protected · **Posted:** 04 Feb 2010, 18:34

Username Protected wrote:

are we sure that this isn't just some fancy camera work in action here?

maybe what we saw and what really happened are two different things!
:hide:

Stop

ing.

Username Protected · **Posted:** 04 Feb 2010, 18:50

that did not sound like it was developing full power

Username Protected · **Posted:** 04 Feb 2010, 22:34

I just stopped for lunch, turned on the tv and there was this exact crash on Discovery Channel, Destryed in 60 Seconds or something like that.

Username Protected · **Posted:** 05 Feb 2010, 21:40

You know, when I read the title of this thread, somehow I did not think of airplanes at first...

Username Protected · **Posted:** 05 Feb 2010, 21:50

Username Protected wrote:

Each time I watch that I ask myself if the pilot had considered where was his "abort point" before he started the takeoff run. He just keeps on and on, even when the outcome is clearly in doubt. He could have shut it down 200 yards before reaching shore and saved it.

It's a worthwhile question for anyone. Before pushing the throttle(s) up, do you have a firm place where you know you'll shut down if you have not reached a certain airspeed?

One rule of thumb is to reach 70 percent of your takeoff speed by the time you reach half way down the runway. Otherwise, yank the power and jump on the breaks -- hard.

Any other ideas or rules of thumb?

No additional ideas, but you make an excellent point Tom. I was thinking something very similar as I watched the video, even when he was first lifting off the lake (obviously way too late) if he and simply pulled the power at that point, he would have likely stopped prior to the shore. At the very least, the damage would have been far less.

I won't get down on the pilot, but I will try to learn from him!

Username Protected · **Posted:** 05 Feb 2010, 23:15

Video has been floating around for a year or so..

Someone wrote the Beaver was given as a gift to the husband from his wife.
Husband is a pominent DOCTER (oh no!) in Anchorage.

Just passin along old comments.

How to ruin a perfectly good beaver