Comments on: The basics matter

By: Mr. Sweetie

Mr. Sweetie — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 22:31:22 +0000

Jack Roush made that mistake for the benefit of all of us, pilots and aviators alike. The pilots will look at it and presume to understand why it happened and discount the possibility of it ever happening to them. Aviators, on the other hand, do see the possiblity of it happening to them and take the unfortunate incident as a reminder to do some slow flight maneuvering close to Vso with the “stuff out” and a couple of practice stalls next time up.

By: James R. Kadlec

James R. Kadlec — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 21:32:26 +0000

I dislike stalls. Period. However the stalls if thought of in a training manner, they are nothing more than an approach to a landing. Botched of course allowing the go-around procedure to be performed. I prefer the altitude for safety and stall awareness, but ground effect provides a sense of security not discovered at several thousand feet. I personally got yelled at for performing a go-around by an instructor. As a student I corrected him that a PIC can perform a go-around at any time. As the check airmen grumbled, it was the right decision and has saved my bacon by err’ing to the safe side. Shame this plane may become scrap.
Jim
Fly Safe

By: Tony Johnstone

Tony Johnstone — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 19:27:56 +0000

I have a sign on the wall of my hangar where I base my aerobatic school. “We can teach you to fly better, however, the laws of gravity and physics will still apply.” Accidents like this usually occur because some pilot is trying to make the airplane do something outside the limits of the flight envelope. Understanding stalls, spins, and slow flight will improve basic piloting skills, but most importantly, will allow one to recognize when the edge of the envelope is upon you. Don’t paint yourself into this corner, if you overshoot the base-to-final turn at low speed and low altitude, make the decision to go around IMMEDIATELY!

By: Scott Wilson

Scott Wilson — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 09:34:30 +0000

One pilot I talked to at OSH who saw the whole accident from the warbirds area just north and lined up with runway 18, says Roush cut his base to final turn late and was in at least a 60 degree bank trying to get back lined up with the runway before stalling and crashing. I know sometimes eyewitness accounts can be wrong, but this guy seemed pretty certain. I guess we’ll have to wait and see what the official report says, but guys I know who are NASCAR fans all say Roush has a reputation of being supremely arrogant. Arrogance in a go-around situation can get you killed (the old “I don’t need to go around, I can make this work” attitude). I’ll be looking forward to the final report, to find out what really happened.

By: Steve Kittel

Steve Kittel — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 16:56:59 +0000

Just my student pilot observations (and a 13 yr DOD mechanic on Navy fixed and rotary wing aircraft), there doesnt seem to be the necessary separation of jet and prop aircraft. There are multiple runways at that field. Jets are inherently heavier and faster, not to mention the response time required for the turbine to spool up and reach the requested power. Whatever the cause, it is the PIC’s responsibility to stay ahead of the aircraft and go-around. Regardless of Right-of-Way rules, I never try to make assumptions of what the person in front of me is going to do, and err on the side of caution. I had a twin cut directly in front of me to base leg (guess he assumed his plane was faster) while I was on downwind…watched him the entire way of my right wing. I adjusted my downwind speed accordingly…better he ding his own aircraft, than take me with him…

By: Keith Mendoza

Keith Mendoza — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 15:31:51 +0000

Ah finally, finally someone willing to point out that stalls isn’t something to be feared, it just need to be taught and learned properly. I don’t have specific examples but I have observed that aviation articles (even from AOPA’s two magazines) and books that the authors give an impression that stalls are just very bad things; yet, a good landing will include a stall just as the mains touches the ground.

I fly out of KSNA and on more than one occasion I have to choose between slow flight in the pattern or climb because the guy in front of me is going to extend downwind all the way to the former Marine base up ahead for no apparent reason. I personally prefer to slow flight it because I know from training that it’s the best bet I have should the engine quit. However; that doesn’t mean I don’t climb when I know that my “slow” won’t be slow enough for that guy who just got called by ATC to turn around because they’re about to exit the 5-mile inner ring of the Class C airspace (yes, this has actually happened on more than one occasion) sadly enough that flight is a training flight with a student learning landings for the first time–which in my opinion the 15-degree offset requirement on 19L at KSNA is not the best condition to do it in.

I’m sure I’ll get admonition for this, so I’m going to explain myself: I’m confident doing this because I’m confident that I can tell when the aircraft is about to stall–and basically fly it in that state. I also know what an entry to spin looks like–and be able to stay out of it. If I stalled or spun at about 800′ AGL I can confidently say that I’m not going to recover because of man-made terrain around the airport.