Nice Comanche. I still like to think that once I had the field made (with a long runway), that I'd pull the mixture and get the engine stopped before touchdown to save the engine teardown. But that may just be an armchair quarterback position. When actually faced with it, the order of priorities for things to save is always "Skin, Tin, Ticket".
I found the comment " If I don't make it tell my wife I love her" interesting. It was a gear up. I guess I should search if there have been any gear up fatals where the plane landed on a runway.
I found the comment " If I don't make it tell my wife I love her" interesting. It was a gear up. I guess I should search if there have been any gear up fatals where the plane landed on a runway.
Maybe he was just trying to make brownie points!
Screw the engine. I'd rather be ready in case of a go-around. Besides, insurance will buy me a shiny new one.
I think they buy a shiny new one and then you have to pay for the difference. Or they find you a used one with similar times.
If your plane is at TBO I don't think they just buy you a brand new motor. I could be wrong.
He may have saved the prop/engine by shutting down the engine and clicking the starter to line up horizontal the prop. Belly damage cost is minimal when compared to prop and engine, specially when there is no insurance to call.
José
I doubt that killing the engine would stop the prop rotation in the slip stream. Most planes you need to practically stall the plane to stop the prop. Not a good thing to try for the first time on final., even with a controllable pitch prop.
Try it some time AT ALTITUDE and see what it takes. Most single engine are not designed for full feather, like a twin. Then see how good you are at bumping the prop to the position you want.
I try to touchdown almost at stall speed. Even if you knick the prop you would have the sudden shutdown that causes the crank damage.
Nice Comanche. I still like to think that once I had the field made (with a long runway), that I'd pull the mixture and get the engine stopped before touchdown to save the engine teardown. But that may just be an armchair quarterback position. When actually faced with it, the order of priorities for things to save is always "Skin, Tin, Ticket".
Both single and twin Comanches have an electric motor that drives the gear. The design is very different from the PA28R and PA32R design.Anybody care to comment what's the deal with the PA-24 gear? How does it differ from the PA-28R gear? I thought Pipers were supposed to fail into the down position, at least the ones which use hydraulic as a medium.
If the motor had a lot of hours I might have fire wall it just before touch down.
I found the comment " If I don't make it tell my wife I love her" interesting. It was a gear up. I guess I should search if there have been any gear up fatals where the plane landed on a runway.
Always nice to add a little drama I guess.
That or the guy is a complete idiot.
Nice Comanche. I still like to think that once I had the field made (with a long runway), that I'd pull the mixture and get the engine stopped before touchdown to save the engine teardown. But that may just be an armchair quarterback position. When actually faced with it, the order of priorities for things to save is always "Skin, Tin, Ticket".
Any time the prop touches, it requires a tear down, so firewalling it won't really help the situation much.
No flaps?
Because of all those inexpensive swing gear annuals. Didn't ya know? All that fuel saved!
Swing gear ownership...
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I guess you and I are the only one to notice that. The idea on a gear up is to get it slowed down as much as possible at touch down. A gear up on asphalt really doesn't do much damage..
speaking of nice landing under pressure. Check this out.
http://hypervocal.com/news/2011/watch-this-iran-air-pilot-stick-the-landing-with-no-front-wheels/
There's a couple of reasons why the gear wont come down during a manual gear extension in a Comanche. One reasons is that the gear could be incorrectly adjusted with the gear set so that the transmission travels to far and is binding at the up limit point. Another cause could be that the spring that lifts the transmission up clear of the shaft and linkage is either missing or broken. Another cause of improper manual gear extension is not slowing down enough ( below 100 mph) to over come the air load and push thru the over center locks. This will normally result in a gear collapse or partial deployment, still resulting in gear collapse. The Comanche landing gear system is very functional and robust, however it needs the proper maintenance and understanding of the theory behind it, just like any other high performance or complex aircraft.
I found the comment " If I don't make it tell my wife I love her" interesting. It was a gear up. I guess I should search if there have been any gear up fatals where the plane landed on a runway.
At least he didn't confess his love for his girlfriend! Maybe he was just trying to make brownie points!
That's what I thought too !Maybe if he'd had the pax quickly run to the rear of the cabin right after touchdown....
That or the guy is a complete idiot.