RRRRRRRough River 2023! (2I3 4/21/2023 - 4/23/2023)

Closing ceremonies…

https://youtube.com/shorts/7ew-pQnhAJQ?feature=share


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Another successful Rough River in the books. Even with the bizarre weather, people made it in safely from all directions. I hope everyone had as much fun as I did....seeing old friends, making a few new ones, and not getting arrested. Thanks to EVERYONE who brought any and all 'stuff' that made the weekend successful....chairs, food, games, chainsaws, favorite beverages, lighters, area 51 aliens, etc....the trip can't be as successful as it has been without everyone's contributions, so THANK YOU! Also a big thanks as always to the people with cars who help shuttle folks around, you are life savers!

I think Sue summed it up perfectly, Rough River is great because everyone is so nice (even Rick!). It really is so much fun for me to catch up with folks I don't get to see often, sometimes only once a year. My liver may not agree with me, but it's true.

From my point of view, it looked like the ladies were having fun as well, unless they were faking it which, well, you know, we won't go there. I know it can get boring listening to us talk planes all weekend, so thanks for putting up with us and hopefully we didn't go overboard with that.

To the peeps who couldn't make it this year, we missed you and hope you can make it back soon.

Also thanks for respecting the party cabin and everyone doing their best to clean up and make it easy for the lucky one that gets that cabin. It's the right thing to do, to leave that place cleaner than we found it.

Now let the pic/video posting begin (where's that outdoor group photo?)!

I know I'm missing something, not thanking someone I should be thanking, but I'm pretty exhausted right now.

Oh no wait, I remember now...........




BURGERS AND PU__Y !

Hope to see you all at RR24!!

 

Home, had to fly under some icing till ATL, severe clear after that. Good to meet all you guys and gals.

 

I don’t think I can ever watch a Harry Potter movie again.

 

Thanks so much @eman1200 for organizing this. Looks like it was a fantastic trip. Hopefully the weather and work allows me to make it next year.

 

I do have the group picture - but I let Dana have the honor to post it.

Thank you, Eman, for putting the fly-in together! It’s always fun to meet new and old friends!

 

So, who had the honor of taking home the Blow up Doll this year?

 

BTDT. Never again lol

 

Ouch……


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I’ll throw out a line and tow you

 

"Hendricks Co traffic Archer 4984R on a 128 mile Straight in approach runway 36 full stop, Hendricks”

Can I have the trophy for the longest final approach? LOL


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I got you by 4nm. Made a fuel stop at H88 and then flew to Gastons and landed straight in. 132nm.

 

I surrender!!


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2I0 - KUIN straight in for rwy 31. 236nm

 

It was a fantastic time! Thank you @crash7 for the ride and use of your 12v outlet! Thank you @ArrowFlyer86 for his First Officer duties on the approach into I93. I really enjoyed seeing everyone again.

Keg nicely secured for the ride to the airport


'Toga loaded up


Arrival into I93 (thanks @N4984R!)


Nothing to see here


Fantastic turn out this year!


@ktup-flyer doing donuts before parking

 

Liked and subscribed!

My first landing was better

2i3 can be hard to find



I found it faster than some people though

 

Looks like a glider was in the area, thermally for altitude!

 

Great time meeting old and new friends. See you at Oshkosh this year or RR next year or someplace else.

Thanks eman for all the pre work and everything else.

Drove the I65/I71/I75/I675/US35 approach into I19.

Cheers

 

Almost the whole gang

 

great pic.

 

and before anyone asks, from left to right:

back/middle row: JEM68, ktup, Mrs. JEM68, ArrowFlyer86, RDUPilot, cowman, Jim K, masloki, N4984R, kaiser, Sue (Mrs. Lance), kayoh190, Lance, Erica, EdFred, April, skyrys62

front row: German Guy, Skywalker, Hang4, eman, Mrs. Cowman (Tessa), Mrs. Jim K (Teresa), Rich Holt, x3 Skier, Jenny, Melodie (Mrs. Dave Theisen), Dave Theisen, Mrs. crash7 (Jill) crash7


learning that you can turn the phone landscape to fit everyone in the pic: Mrs. masloki (Daiva)
missing: Sharon, RyanB (well I guess if you never show you can't technically be 'missing')......anyone else I forgot?

 

The awesome 9 turn approach Dave T flew to set up my landing on Friday was due to a total lack of 3 green down lights after the gear was selected down. For some inexplicable reason the gear did clunk down, and I did get three green lights just as I started downwind. The landing was uneventful, we had a really fun weekend, and we flew home with the gear down. This morning my shop opened things up and found a very sad picture. The bracket for the nose gear retraction/extension rod bearing is totally failed and took a couple of other structural pieces with it. No idea as to cause of the failure. And no idea yet whether the parts necessary for repair are going to be available. Quite the miracle that there wasn't a 6500 # Twin Cessna sitting gear up in the middle of the runway messing up everyone's RR weekend.

 

Oh damn. Here's hoping you can get her fixed up quick Lance.

 

dayum.

 

WOW! Hope repairs are successful.

 

Any idea what would cause that? Dropping gear above Vg? Some rando event? Years of wear and tear?

 

This is a common failure in 300/400 series Cessnas. Because the area this is located is hard to access, the rigging and lubrication check gets overlooked.

 

Could the bearing seize up so bad and the motor + pushrod be strong enough that it could rip through that much aluminum? Man.. That's an impressive failure.

 

It appears the tube from the motor was pulling, retracting the nose gear to cause the damage. Vle and Vlo are both 140 kts CAS, and I'm quite sure I haven't exceeded this. Won't know if the bearing was seized until it comes apart. It's a needle roller bearing. There is no grease fitting, and I haven't found anything in the maintenance manual regarding lubricating it. No moving parts look to be broken or bent. I am surprised that the motor circuit breaker didn't pop. I just hope the parts are available to fix this.

 

It's not necesarily a frozen bearing (although that makes it worse), but it has to do with rigging of the tubes.

Cessna has a fairly legnthy procedure for gear alignment check in the MM. The area of the nose gear tube is hard to reach, and is often ignored resulting in the damage that you see in your airplane. Typically this results in a gear collapse.

My suggestion is once the new parts go in, have someone familiar with rigging Twin Cessna landing gear do a comprehensive rig of the whole system, then make sure at each maintenenace interval the rigging is done IAW the MM (along with the proper lubrication).

 

Crazy. Hope it doesn't ground you for the whole summer. I know you and family like to partake in some beachin' this time of year.

 

I'm well aware of this and thought I was doing the right thing. I work with a shop that's pretty knowledgeable of twin Cessnas. The Twin Cessna Flyers has produced a document called "Rig It Right" in conjunction with TAS one of the leading Twin Cessna shops in the US. Supposedly my shop followed this procedure at my last annual. Certainly possible they missed something. The service manual (which I'm reviewing now) has in bold print at the beginning of the landing gear section "WARNING: Anytime a landing gear retraction or extension system component has been removed, replaced or the tension on the downlocks adjusted, the entire landing gear system must be re-rigged." This will be done.

 

This failure did not happen due to being missed once. It is cumulative and worsens over time.

This failure has wiped out several 300/400 series Cessnas.

I still have the TAS gear rigging video somewhere in a closet.

Best of luck with it.