Free Flight Video Magazine

I have been collecting my essays, articles and blog-posts into a single volume to see if it would read well as a book. This is the introduction: how I ended up studying for my Private Pilot’s Licence out of a grudge rather than actual interest. It didn’t take long before I was hooked!

It might help if you read the previous posts in the series for context: “You don’t need a real licence” and The Reluctant Pilot.

When I was small, we lived in Inglewood, spitting distance from Hollywood. In the movies, I would have jumped into the Cessna and flown my heart out until I became the best pilot of the group. Then the other students would have begged me to help them improve their skills and the RAF airman would have declared his undying astonishment at my natural flying abilities and then I would have flown the little 6-seater plane into the sunset.

That’s not quite how it happened. From the beginning, I lagged behind the other students. I forced myself back into the plane but the fear stayed with me.

In the afternoons, when a combination of heat and gusting wind made in-the-air instruction impossible, Oliver and his companions told horror stories of their worst students: a teenager who played “Ace Pilot” video games and was sure he knew it all, a young student whose mum insisted he couldn’t get in the plane unless she could sit in the back and help, a business man who regularly fell asleep at the controls.

It was clear that despite my misgivings, there were actually people who were less suited to flying than I was. And so I felt more comfortable with my role: The instructors saw me as a challenge. They were used to fixing mistakes, it was their job to remain on guard and ready to take control. They weren’t going to allow me to kill myself. This gave me enough peace of mind to continue.

We fell into a routine. I didn’t like the early flights; I’ve never been a morning person. I arrived with the others and retreated to the dark bar where Juan wordlessly handed me a café solo. By lunchtime the place would be full of ancient aviators sitting at the oak table, watching the Spanish news on at full blast but at this time of the morning it was quiet. By the time it was my turn to fly, taking whichever Cessna came free first, I felt awake and almost competent. Often the previous occupant had seen to the fuel for me, so I simply walked around the plane to make sure the wings were still attached and then hopped in with Oliver for my hour in the air.

I had a detailed checklist which I referred to for my every move. It somehow felt like cheating, I should be memorising the steps. But Oliver assured me that no, every competent pilot used a list and mentally checked off each items, even the man who flew the Concorde. So I got out the laminated sheet and went through the steps needed to get started.

Check the meter on the passenger side of the plane – the Hobbs they called it but it had nothing to do with Calvin and – note the starting number. At the end of the flight, I would note the new number and work out the elapsed time: this allowed me to track my flight time for my logbook. Make sure the control wheel lock isn’t attached (that would be embarrassing) and check that I have the ignition key with me. Verify that the radio is switched off and then turn the master switch on. Check the fuel quantity. Check the doors are closed and seatbelts on. Put my feet firmly on the brakes (readjust stolen cushion as appropriate) and tug the flight controls to make sure they are moving freely, extra points for knocking the too-tall instructor in the knees in the process. Set the fuel tank selector to both and set the trim to the Takeoff setting. Now take a deep breath and think about starting the engine.

I loved the list and I especially loved the fact that no one was going to take it away from me and give me a pop quiz. Everything that needed to be done inside the plane was itemised up to the point of taking off from the runway.

My heart still skipped a beat as we pulled away from the ground but these days I had no time for peering out of windows. Oliver gave me non-stop instructions, taking us out to sea for general handling or circling the airfield for circuits.

By the end of the hour, my arms ached and my head felt full of cotton wool. Once everyone was on the ground, we sat in the small wooden chairs which had small tablets attached to make for simple desks. I regularly fought off juvenile urges to carve my initials into the laminate and throw spitballs. Here, I learned about angles of attack and chord lines and drag: it wasn’t simply magic that kept the plane aloft.

Opening those doors, we walked into total darkness. After the bright glare of the sun, it was impossible to see anything except the dull flicker of the black-and-white television in the corner. After a few minutes, the long room would come into focus. First the television lit up the ancient wooden cabinet pushed against the wall. Then the men would come into focus, leaning on the long old oak dining table. Beyond them, the bar with a few bottle of spirits, a fridge full of beer and water and a coffee machine.

Behind the bar was the door to the office. A few minutes after we entered, Juan would walk through the door behind the bar that led to the offices. He always walked through as we entered, as if he was aware of our every step on the airfield. Someone would buy a round of ice-cold Lanjarón, the local bottled water. We’d discuss the day’s lesson while Juan stood behind the bar, ready to do anything required of him as long as he didn’t have to talk.

It was a comfortable routine, I felt a part of the aviation world. As the days went on, I forgot my panic and carried on flying with Oliver, learning the controls and memorizing the words. I knew for a fact that the one-ton plane was capable of hanging in the air in a way that my car could not. I readily accepted that the wings made one hell of a difference. I felt happy with that, secure that people with better brains than mine understood it – in the same way that pilots with better skills than mine flew the plane.

And that was all fine, until the day Oliver told me he wanted me to take the plane up on my own.

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Flying electric RC model planes is like having freshmen luck every time you fly. The first remote control airplane I ever bought was electrically powered, I had no flying expertise in any way, and I nonetheless managed to fly it completely with out even crashing. Why you ask? As a result of electric RC planes like the one I had are so easy, they only have two control options, power and steering. You go as fast, or slow as you need and simply select your direction.

Now sure, there are electric RC planes that you can buy or build, which have many control channels and all the works, like flaps, ailerons, etc. These kinds of electric airplanes are mainly made for superior flyers who do not like the mess that comes with the use of fuel. Most hobbyist start with an electrically powered plane, then move onto fuel powered ones as soon as they have mastered it. But like I mentioned, some individuals simply do not like the mess and added expense that comes with a fuel powered engine, so that they persist with electric motors. Fine, do whatever makes you cheerful, but I’m simply going to talk about getting a superb electric RC plane for a beginner pilot.

Now first off it is best to word that electric airplanes can come in just a few completely different types. Basically there are only park flyers, slow flyers, common electric planes and superior electrically powered RC airplanes.

Park flyers are mainly for parks and small areas similar to that outdoors. Gradual flyers are simply the other, since they move slower they are for indoors. These may be nice for the winter or when it’s simply plain to windy outdoors to fly.

A daily electric RC airplane is the perfect for freshmen and is strictly what I flew as my first RC airplane. Normally these planes are priced round $50 and they have simply two controls, so it’s very best for beginners. Such a airplane is often fabricated from Styrofoam, and very little metal, so it is advisable to watch out when flying it. Even when you do crash and injury one thing, often a little bit duct tape will fix anything on it. I kid you not, I nonetheless have my first electric RC plane, which I broke the wing twice on, and it nonetheless fly’s!

An advanced electric RC airplane is good for superior pilots who do not like the mess of fuel, like I mentioned before, but additionally it is nice for areas where noise is a priority and you continue to need the total experience. Advanced electric R/C airplanes are more full bodied then common ones, often fabricated from all plastic and balsa wooden, plus in addition they have round 5 or 6 channels of control.

All in all, buy a park flyer when you simply need a fast little flight every as soon as in awhile, get a slow flyer if you want to fly indoors, buy a regular electric RC plane if you want to get into the RC airplane passion critically, but are just a beginner. Last but not least, when you master an electrical RC plane, move onto a more superior nitro methane fuel powered one, or an advanced electrically powered plane.

Source: Model Man

On the 30th of March 2008 a Cessna Citation 500 took off from Biggin Hill. Shortly after take-off, one of the pilots reported engine vibration and declared their intent to return to Biggin Hill. They never made it to the airfield. The Citation crashed into a house and the two pilots and three passengers died on impact.

In May 2010, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch released a formal report on the accident. It makes for chilling reading.

The flight was cleared to take off from Runway 21 at 13:32. The first transmission after take-off was their intent to return to the airfield.

13:34:25 (1,560 feet amsl):
AND VICTOR PAP BRAVO GOLF ECHO ER WE’RE MAKING AN IMMEDIATE TURN TO RETURN TO THE AIRPORT IMMEDIATE TURN TO THE AIRPORT

13:34:32:
VICTOR GOLF ECHO JOIN DOWNWIND RIGHT HAND RUNWAY TWO ONE THE BIGGIN HILL QNH ONE THOUSAND THRESHOLD ELEVATION’S FIVE ONE SEVEN FEET WHAT’S THE NATURE OF YOUR PROBLEM

13:34:39 (1,540 feet amsl):
ER WE DON’T KNOW SIR WE’RE GETTING ER ENGINE VIBRATION WE’LL COME STRAIGHT BACK

The AAIB were unable to find any issues with the engines that could cause such a vibration. The report concludes that the vibrations the pilots reported felt were not caused by an engine at all. The air cycle machine (ACM), part of the Citation’s pressurisation system, was the likely culprit.

The damage observed on the ACM fan bearing cage confirmed that it had operated after failure of the cage. Operation in this condition would result in the relative position of the rollers around the shaft changing, allowing increased lateral movement and vibration of the shaft and the fan attached to it.
[...]
It follows that, in the event that the shaft was vibrating, any change of thrust on either engine would result in a change in the characteristics of the vibration being produced. These shafts run at high speed so any vibration would be similar to an engine vibration frequency. The investigation concluded that vibration of the ACM shaft and inlet fan was the most probable source of vibration that the pilots described as “ENGINE VIBRATION”.

At this point, the pilots are likely to be attempting to work out which engine is causing the vibration. The instruments are no help because both engines were actually fine. However, reducing the power to either engine would have changed the vibration which, the AAIB state, could have allowed the pilots to misidentify the engine as being the source of the vibration.

Having “identified” the engine with the problem, the pilots could well have decided to shut it down.

13:34:43:
VICTOR GOLF ECHO THAT IS UNDERSTOOD THE CIRCUIT IS CLEAR REPORT ON FINAL YOU ARE NUMBER ONE AND ANY RUNWAY AVAILABLE IF REQUIRED

13:34:50 (1,690 feet amsl):
ERRRR WE’LL COME STRAIGHT ROUND ON TWO ONE SIR WE’LL COME STRAIGHT IN.

13:34:58:
VICTOR GOLF ECHO IF YOU COULD JUST ADVISE US TOTAL ON BOARD PLEASE IF YOU COULD.

13:35:03 (1,700 feet amsl):
ER WE HAVE FIVE POB SIR WE’RE COMING STRAIGHT BACK ROUND WE’LL JOIN ERM ** LEFT HAND COMING STRAIGHT ROUND FOR TWO ONE IF THAT’S OKAY.

13:35:12:
VICTOR GOLF ECHO AFFIRM ANY ROUTEING IS FINE AND ER RUNWAY ER IN FACT JUST CONTINUE THE APPROACH THERE’S ONE VACATING SURFACE WIND AT THE MOMENT IS TWO FOUR ZERO DEGREES AT SEVEN KNOTS.

The plane was flying at half power, consistent with one engine being shut down. However, the vibration would have continued.

At this point the flight begins losing height. Based on the AAIB simulation, “the total thrust is calculated to be less than zero which would mean that neither engine was running.”

We can certainly see that the aircraft is losing height faster than one would expect.

13:35:20 (1,440 feet amsl):
THAT’S ALL COPIED THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

The investigation found that there was a missing rivet on the left fuel cut-off lever.

It is conceivable that, with the missing rivet on the left fuel cut-off lever, the action of selecting idle thrust with the left thrust lever may have led to the left thrust lever inadvertently being placed in the fuel shut-off position. If the right engine had previously been shut down as a result of the vibration, the aircraft would then have been left with neither engine running.

The recorded speed of the plane was 130 knots.

13:35:29:
VICTOR GOLF ECHO RUNWAY TWO ONE YOU’RE CLEAR TO LAND TWO FOUR ZERO DEGREES AT SEVEN KNOTS

13:35:34 (1,400 feet amsl):
THAT’S COPIED WE’RE JUST COMING ROUND THIS TIME.

At this point, they need the thrust of one engine, either engine, in order to pull the plane out of the descent.

The relight drills in the manufacturer’s checklist call for the boost pumps to be turned on; the engineering investigation identified that the left boost pump was running at impact. The checklist also calls for the airspeed to be increased to 200 kt, if altitude allows. At the point identified when neither engine was running, the aircraft was at 130 kt and 850 ft agl. Simulator tests revealed that it was not possible to accelerate to 200 kt from 145 kt in the height available (the best glide speed). From 130 kt, this was clearly not possible.

The analysis of the wreckage led the AAIB to the conclusion that the first engine had not completed its start sequence before an attempt was made to start the second engine.

13:35:47:
SURFACE WIND NO NEED TO ACKNOWLEDGE IS TWO FOUR ZERO DEGREES AT SEVEN KNOTS

[13:35:52: OPEN TRANSMISSION FOR THREE SECOND - NO MODULATION - SOURCE UNKNOWN]

The manufacturer’s checklist also states that only one engine should be started at a time. One engine was all they needed but both engines were operating at the point of impact. Trying to relight the second engine before the first engine had reached idle speed appears to have lost them their final chance to prevent the crash.

A sense of urgency due to the proximity of the ground or confusion over the problems they were dealing with might equally have led to a deliberate attempt to start the second engine before the first engine had reached idle speed. The effect of doing this would have been to delay the start of both engines. It is probable that, although both engines were operating at impact, they were in the process of accelerating to their demanded output and unable to provide sufficient thrust for the aircraft to climb away.

13:36:43 (45-145 feet above crash site elevation):
AND ER VICTOR GOLF ECHO WE HAVE A MAJOR POWER PROBLEM A MAJOR POWER PROBLEM IT LOOKS AS THOUGH WE’RE ER GOING IN WE’RE GOING IN

Sulako posted an accident summary based on the report as well as an interesting post with his analysis.

Sulako’s Blog

My take on it is that once they were convinced that it was the right engine that was sick (the left engine would have still been producing enough thrust to keep them climbing, so maybe that’s how they decided it was the right engine), and when pulling the thrust lever back to idle didn’t stop the vibration (again, the vibration was the air cycle machine, which had nothing to do with the engines, and it would have continued as long as either engine was operating), they decided to shut it down completely.

So far, I can see how that would happen.

The vibration continues after the right engine is shut down, the crew goes “unfortunately it appears we shut down the wrong engine” or words to that effect, and they decide to go to plan B.

The big question is: why were the pilots so insistent on shutting down the engines. If they had simply turned around and returned to Biggin Hill without doing anything else, it would have been a trivial incident. Having shut down an engine and discovered the pitch had changed but the vibration hadn’t stopped, they had a further chance to ignore the vibration and concentrate on reaching the airfield.

One commenter on Sulako’s blog asks if perhaps the vibrations were so severe, the pilots thought structural damage might occur if they allowed it to continue. That makes sense to me, the juddering aircraft filling both pilots with the overriding desire to do something.

In this sad case, doing nothing would have been the best solution of all.

Source: Sylvia