My Thorough Pre-Flight Saved my A#* today!

VWGhiaBob

VWGhiaBob

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VWGhiaBob
How many times do we go through pre-flights routinely, maybe not paying as much attention as we should?

Today, I was reminded just how important they are. Upon pushing the rudder to make sure it was operational, it just didn't feel right...a bit too easy to move. But someone had just flown the plane with no problem.

Being the overly cautious guy I am, I decided I didn't like it, so I did some more testing, including the foot pedals.

Turns out the rental plane had a rudder that the controls would push left, but not right. The cable and spring were all messed up. :hairraise:

This reminds me of how important each and every step of a preflight is, and how we must give our full attention every time.

Would I have made it down with an erratic, one-direction rudder? Maybe, but who knows how controllable the plane would have been.

I squawked the rental plane, went home, and resolved to accelerate my own purchase...and to continue REALLY paying attention to the details during preflight!
 
I used to have a picture of a flight instructor taxiing back after a lesson with a student in a 152 with the rudder gust lock secured firmly in place lol.
 
It's possible it broke while being pushed into parking, especially if the towbar was forced into the stop. I suspect you would have discovered the problem during taxi, as only differential brake steering would have worked. But you definitely found it the easy way.
 
VWGhiaBob said:
How many times do we go through pre-flights routinely, maybe not paying as much attention as we should?

Today, I was reminded just how important they are. Upon pushing the rudder to make sure it was operational, it just didn't feel right...a bit too easy to move. But someone had just flown the plane with no problem.

Being the overly cautious guy I am, I decided I didn't like it, so I did some more testing, including the foot pedals.

Turns out the rental plane had a rudder that the controls would push left, but not right. The cable and spring were all messed up. :hairraise:

This reminds me of how important each and every step of a preflight is, and how we must give our full attention every time.

Would I have made it down with an erratic, one-direction rudder? Maybe, but who knows how controllable the plane would have been.

I squawked the rental plane, went home, and resolved to accelerate my own purchase...and to continue REALLY paying attention to the details during preflight!
Click to expand...
Once again, the purpose behind doing the preflight checklist completely. A lesson well learned and relearned.
 
Good job, even with your own plane it pays to do a thorough pre flight every time.
 
Tuesday morning a pilot climbed into a C-172 and started the engine and was preparing to taxi out. A mechanic ran across the tarmac to get in front of him, waving frantically. The pilot had missed the fact that the inspection covers on the passenger side of the plane were missing, and the sign that said "Do not fly".
I wonder what tune all those open holes would have whistled, had he gotten airborne.
 
Shepherd said:
Tuesday morning a pilot climbed into a C-172 and started the engine and was preparing to taxi out. A mechanic ran across the tarmac to get in front of him, waving frantically. The pilot had missed the fact that the inspection covers on the passenger side of the plane were missing, and the sign that said "Do not fly".
I wonder what tune all those open holes would have whistled, had he gotten airborne.
Click to expand...

It's a good thing the oil wasn't drained or half the spark plugs removed....
 
Henning said:
If half the spark plugs were removed, it wouldn't have ran.
Click to expand...

And it would have made an interesting racket and thrown a few flames before that was determined.

And you CAN idle a four cylinder engine on two cylinders. Not well, but it's possible.
 
Speaking of control surface cable problems, this is something I've wondered about, even before I start training for my PPL...

Has anybody had a cable or rod fail or break in flight? How common is that?

Do linkages (which I'm assuming aren't easy to check because they're hidden) get worn to the point a pre-flight wouldn't catch them, and then they fail in flight?
 
Uncommon, but it happens. Fortunately there are multiple ways to keep control, for instance rudder backs up aileron and vice versa and you can control elevator functions with power and trim. It might not be pretty, but if you keep your wits about you, you can get down safely.
 
Yes, it happens. On a 172, excuse my rudeness, the mechanism looks pretty darn flimsy. For a scary example of this happening on an aging 172, go to http://www.dangerousflights.ca/ (I believe it's the first episode).
 
Complacency kills! Good job.

This one time at moody afb an HH60 taxied still hooked to power. The FE sits right on top of where the unit is hooked.
 
Henning said:
Uncommon, but it happens. Fortunately there are multiple ways to keep control, for instance rudder backs up aileron and vice versa and you can control elevator functions with power and trim. It might not be pretty, but if you keep your wits about you, you can get down safely.
Click to expand...
In my training for private in a 152 we did a few patterns all the way to landing using just power and trim for pitch control and opening both doors pushing on one or the other to turn right or left.
 
Henning said:
I used to have a picture of a flight instructor taxiing back after a lesson with a student in a 152 with the rudder gust lock secured firmly in place lol.
Click to expand...
well yea, but

http://www.purpleboard.net/forums/showthread.php?t=35519

Luke Schiada, senior air safety investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board’s office of aviation safety, said the investigation into the crash has revealed a still-engaged gust lock on the aircraft’s rudder may be at least partially to blame.

The lock is typically removed prior to takeoff so the plane can steer while in flight. Dupont said it’s possible the lock came loose and jammed between the rudder and the tail, forcing the plane into what Shiada described as a “gradual right turn,” before it hit the ground and burst into flames.
Click to expand...
 
LoneAspen said:
Has anybody had a cable or rod fail or break in flight? How common is that?
Click to expand...

A year ago a guy from Taos flew a new glider that he just bought from Germany for "kajillion bucks" (more like $150k really), when a rudder cable snapped. Apparently the opposing spring pushed the rudder over, so he had to slip constantly, his glide deteriorated, and he was unable to reach the airport. When he figured it out, he bailed (glider pilots often wear parachutes).
 
Kudos Bob,

Experiences like this make us all better pilots.


VWGhiaBob said:
How many times do we go through pre-flights routinely, maybe not paying as much attention as we should?

Today, I was reminded just how important they are. Upon pushing the rudder to make sure it was operational, it just didn't feel right...a bit too easy to move. But someone had just flown the plane with no problem.

Being the overly cautious guy I am, I decided I didn't like it, so I did some more testing, including the foot pedals.

Turns out the rental plane had a rudder that the controls would push left, but not right. The cable and spring were all messed up. :hairraise:

This reminds me of how important each and every step of a preflight is, and how we must give our full attention every time.

Would I have made it down with an erratic, one-direction rudder? Maybe, but who knows how controllable the plane would have been.

I squawked the rental plane, went home, and resolved to accelerate my own purchase...and to continue REALLY paying attention to the details during preflight!
Click to expand...
 
zaitcev said:
A year ago a guy from Taos flew a new glider that he just bought from Germany for "kajillion bucks" (more like $150k really), when a rudder cable snapped. Apparently the opposing spring pushed the rudder over, so he had to slip constantly, his glide deteriorated, and he was unable to reach the airport. When he figured it out, he bailed (glider pilots often wear parachutes).
Click to expand...

It was actually a South African glider, but yea, everything else is basically spot on.
 
Henning said:
I used to have a picture of a flight instructor taxiing back after a lesson with a student in a 152 with the rudder gust lock secured firmly in place lol.
Click to expand...

There is a smoking hole at a Massachusetts airport from a Champ that had the rudder lock on at takeoff.
 
LoneAspen said:
Speaking of control surface cable problems, this is something I've wondered about, even before I start training for my PPL...

Has anybody had a cable or rod fail or break in flight? How common is that?

Do linkages (which I'm assuming aren't easy to check because they're hidden) get worn to the point a pre-flight wouldn't catch them, and then they fail in flight?
Click to expand...

We had an aileron cable fail in flight. Pilot was able to elevator/rudder to a straight ahead landing in the desert. and walked away.

A newly installed cable, crimped fitting on one end failed. Mechanic failed to use proper methods, fired from servicing club aircraft and received a letter from FSDO in his FAA folder.
 
Henning said:
I used to have a picture of a flight instructor taxiing back after a lesson with a student in a 152 with the rudder gust lock secured firmly in place lol.
Click to expand...

ElyiCv5.jpg
 
Since we're on topic, I once met a guy who landed a Quicksilver with elevator push-pull disconnected in front of my eyes. The bolt connecting the fork and the tube fell out. He landed by using throttle for pitch control. Frankly I think it was entirely his fault. Either he did not even preflight right and took off without elevator control, or did not secure the nut on the bolt and it fell out in flight. It was the first flight after assembling the aircraft.

The attached picture is him taxiing. When I took the picture I had no idea that something was wrong, so I didn't zoom and the resolution is not great.
 

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zaitcev said:
Since we're on topic, I once met a guy who landed a Quicksilver with elevator push-pull disconnected in front of my eyes. The bolt connecting the fork and the tube fell out. He landed by using throttle for pitch control. Frankly I think it was entirely his fault. Either he did not even preflight right and took off without elevator control, or did not secure the nut on the bolt and it fell out in flight. It was the first flight after assembling the aircraft.

The attached picture is him taxiing. When I took the picture I had no idea that something was wrong, so I didn't zoom and the resolution is not great.
Click to expand...

It does say a lot for Eiper's designs though.
 
Henning said:
It does say a lot for Eiper's designs though.
Click to expand...
No doubt. I haven't flown it, but apparently quick lowers the nose when throttled. I once saw a video of an experimental design that lowered nose on throttle open, so the pilot had to pull on stick on takeoff. In one flight it lost power at about 5 meters off the ground and immediately pitched up into a stall. The pilot was injured. He was an pro test pilot who agreed to test-flight that thing. Quicksilver has this very important basic quality right, but it's not always the case.
 
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