O.M.G.total fog over,0 visual!!!!!

[flyerme]

That happened to me many years ago flying around the old Salt Ash RAAF drop zone. Lucky i was flying an old and slow Stolaero. The fog did indeed appear almost instantly. I was heading back to the 2 square mile of drop zone flying about 50 feet above the swampy tea trees that surrounded the area. What do you do? Not much experience at the time. The old Hall ASI jams up with moisture so my main instrument was unreliable. My other only instrument was a ribbon for slip and skid. Crash comics were my main diet back then and all the stories i was recalling ended up in grief. Scared? You bet i was. Only thing i could think of was to select a power setting to keep the Stolaero in hands off trim, keep light on the stick and rudder and hope i was still headed toward the centre of that drop zone. No compass. Half mile to go would take a minute or so then go a bit more before slowly pulling power and decend with eyes wide open. Picked up the grass at about ten feet and put it down, switched off and thought about it. 10 minutes later the fog cleared and i found i was almost in the centre of the drop zone. Rule 1, don't panic. Rule 2, use fear for motivation, Rule 3, put bucket of luck in esky before leaving home. IE Sh#t happens. deal with it

ha You sound exactly like my good friend and cfi who fav saying is "deal with it" and funny whilst happened I was constantly saying "Don't panic just keep flying...scary stuff

 

 

[Louis Moore]

ha You sound exactly like my good friend and cfi who fav saying is "deal with it" and funny whilst happened I was constantly saying "Don't panic just keep flying...scary stuff

They do say panicing is best left till you're on the ground again!

 

 

[Guest davidh10]

That happened to me many years ago flying around the old Salt Ash RAAF drop zone. Lucky i was flying an old and slow Stolaero. The fog did indeed appear almost instantly. I was heading back to the 2 square mile of drop zone flying about 50 feet above the swampy tea trees that surrounded the area. What do you do? Not much experience at the time. The old Hall ASI jams up with moisture so my main instrument was unreliable. My other only instrument was a ribbon for slip and skid. Crash comics were my main diet back then and all the stories i was recalling ended up in grief. Scared? You bet i was. Only thing i could think of was to select a power setting to keep the Stolaero in hands off trim, keep light on the stick and rudder and hope i was still headed toward the centre of that drop zone. No compass. Half mile to go would take a minute or so then go a bit more before slowly pulling power and decend with eyes wide open. Picked up the grass at about ten feet and put it down, switched off and thought about it. 10 minutes later the fog cleared and i found i was almost in the centre of the drop zone. Rule 1, don't panic. Rule 2, use fear for motivation, Rule 3, put bucket of luck in esky before leaving home. IE Sh#t happens. deal with it

Good story, Ozzie.

Tell me; With only a slip / skid indication and no horizon, how did you know you weren't in a slowly increasing bank?

 

 

[flyerme]

Been a couple years and couple hundred more flying hours plus 2 new aircraft,

 

So I thought I'd update this particular thread.

 

So the fog over still occurs here.

 

Conditions for it to occur are cold morning ( when breathing produces a mist, NO visible fog)with sun out , at around 50-100 ft agl the outside air temp is considerably warmer than the ground layer under 50-100 ft agl, So when the cold windscreen hits the considerably warmer air it fogs over(on the outside) It only ever lasts 1-2 minutes. Generally during early winter and early spring.

 

In the lightwing only the front wind screen fogs over leaving the side windows clear.

 

I have a pre flight PAX brief I added to make my PAX aware of this.

 

I discovered in the nieuport my goggles do it ( quick wipe with my gloves did the trick ).

 

I am yet to find any notes in any aviation info on this particular occurrence .

 

Would be very interested to know if it happens elsewhere?,as I'm yet to have it happen any where else but here and pa's ( 7 nm est of me but situated same distant at bottom of Marmon range(600 ft agl we at bottom)

 

Not sure if I posted what I found in regards to combating the occurrence? So I'll update anyway.

 

After much experimenting in the bathroom with hot shower and fogged mirror using every thing ( rainx , vinegar,mirror anti-fog, bees wax, dish washing solution to name a few) I found a winner!

 

Dish washing solution hands down was most affective. Simply apply to clean dry cloth and smear a film - note- just a light film! I once went overboard and found I had a cabury's aero bar ( soap bubbles) for a windscreen .

 

Stay safe and NEVER stop learning aviators, although the " never stop learning" is a given in aviation.

 

 

[pmccarthy]

Many years ago the mine I was working in first introduced safety glasses. There was no commercial defogging agent and they experimented with all sorts of things, settling on egg cream shampoo. We were all issued with a little bottle of that stuff to keep our glasses clear underground.

 

 

[facthunter]

Very dicey situation you are talking about. Study how fog forms. (There are quite a few different forms,). and things like dew point and both humidity designators.. Near the sea and in lowering temperatures , slight winds from near slopes. The more you know the best chance of surviving. Small biplanes are not the best things to be in cloud with. Fog is cloud that goes to ground level often. Prevention better than an uncertain cure. Nev

 

 

[Russ]

Plexus works a treat.....not the other one ( forgot it's name ) apply plexus inside and out,

 

Carefully.

 

Most good marine shops sell it.

 

 

[bexrbetter]

Flyerme, I mentioned once before about using a reversing camera/screen in a forward orientation to "see through" your engine for safe taxi'ing, you would have been able to use it in this situation as well.

 

Many miles on motorcycles, cut a potato in half and rub it over the screens and carry the spud with you. Shampoo, as mentioned above, is pretty good too.

 

 

[Jabiru Phil]

Spuds and apples are excellent for getting rid of the oily film associated with exhaust fumes on motor vehicle windscreens.

 

Doubt their anti fogging qualities though.

 

Phil.

 

 

[Stoney]

When I was a teenager, a mate suggested that putting a spud down your speedos was a great way to impress the girls on the beach.

 

Next week I told him that it didn't work, the girls just laughed and called me names.

 

Turned out he meant to put the spud down the front!

 

 

[facthunter]

One thing to remember in all this is that unless you are trained at IF and in current practice you won't last long in some of the planes we fly particularly things like the Nieuport and Thrusters etc so having plenty of fuel on board will just make a bigger fire when you go in.'

 

Fogging windscreens I haven't found better than the best for full face motorcycle helmets.

 

Fog can form fast if it has a high humidity and your exhaust provides condensation nuclei for the moisture drops to form on, or if two air masses mix slowly , one being very cool and both humid. This can happen near water (coastal) particularly in the afternoon/evening. The most likely time for fog(s) to form is early morning, but as I indicated in .a previous post just after sundown happened to me.

 

You generally don't get fog when the wind is still moving except at altitude .ie Elevated slopes where it is in effect, cloud at ground level. usually on the upwind side of a slope.

 

Don't believe YOU are the ONE pilot who can fly in cloud real easy. Nev

 

 

[microman]

Flyerme - I note you had a Supercat (Bobcat with overwing struts as I recall). I just acquired one that had been sitting in a hangar for 10 years and having tidied it up am about to test fly it. I seem to recall some earlier discussion about Supercats/Bobcats which centered around their longitudinal instability (due to being very short-coupled) - any comment you might care to make could be useful. Mine has a Rotax 503 SCSI (46 hp).

 

 

[flyerme]

Hello, yes correct I had the supercat( strutt braced)

 

I had 447 rotax in it and build was from original plans.

 

The original design is vey short coupled with small tail plane and makes for some exciting flying....meaning it is very pitch sensitive and at times unstable with tendency to oscillate on final and as slippery as an eel.

 

The later built versions (by new plans owner -3rd designer) has longer fuselarge tail section and bigger tail plane giving a stable flight.

 

2nd designer was unfortunatly killed in his modified bobcat.

 

The new plans owner is very helpful and can be found on YAHOO GROUPS " supercat owners"

 

With mine it 3 point landing only- watch the torque roll on take off can bite

 

Note -calm no wind.

 

 

 

[microman]

Thanks for that flyerme - looks like it was a nice late-evening flight. My aircraft is open cockpit - no enclosure - will make sure there are calm conditions when I try it.

 

 

[flyerme]

Keep us posted on your flight test......

 

Open cockpit - cool. I Love my hair flowing in the wind.. And by hair I mean as in 1 strand- that's all that's left.

 

Good luck:helmet:

 

 

[Guernsey]

Keep us posted on your flight test......Open cockpit - cool. I Love my hair flowing in the wind.. And by hair I mean as in 1 strand- that's all that's left.

Good luck:helmet:

Fit a rear view mirror so that you can see the hair and use it as a 'drift indicator'.

 

Alan.