Some forced landings

[Head in the clouds]

Back on topic...

 

I notice no-one mentioned any knowledge about where the first video was filmed although many discussing it have probably flown it. It's Cunningham's Gap where the Highway goes over the range between Boonah/Aratula and Warwick. I've flown it many times and it can be a real worry, I've no idea how folks could mess around low level in that area.

 

Going West, say from Boonah, you start to climb the range and leave any good outlandings well behind you, all I've ever wanted to do was keep climbing so as to be able to glide back to a flat area in case of trouble. There's often a cloudbase that limits you and by the time you cross the gap where the road is it'd be a tense time trying to glide all that way back. Over the Range ahead there's no-where to go for a little while except the road and as you saw that's really too narrow and usually stacked with closely spaced traffic grinding over the top or pulling up with overheating plus the hoardes who stop for a rubberneck.

 

At one stage in the video you can see the one saving grace of the place, a huge flat square lawn that timber-cutters cleared years ago and with a lovely home built on it. It's not really big enough for many planes but with practice you could get down on it I think.

 

It would be a very scary place to have the engine quit over all that rainforest and in the mid 1980s that's exactly what happened to me, right there, I thought I was a goner. I was on the way back from the first (or maybe second) Inglewood Mayday Fly-in in a borrowed Jackeroo/Cricket with a hand started direct drive VW. It was quietly puttering away quite happily but the cloud was only about 1500ft above the gap so I was near cloudbase (500ft below it actually!) and the old 'dub just slowed down and stopped. Everywhere else on the trip you could just about have shut your eyes and landed without hitting anything but for just a minute or two at the top of the range there wasn't anywhere to go, I was a bit south of the road so that, and the big lawn were also out of reach. I established glide and nearly wept with fear, images of the wreckage never being found in the rainforest and impending cracking and crunching flashed about my mind.

 

Back then I'd heard of carby icing but didn't know much about it and the 'dub had a carby in the breeze without heating anyway. The prop was still turning sporadically in a clunk, clunk fashion so I figured an air-start was my only chance. I gave it full throttle and nose down steeply - didn't like that, with the trees rushing up - but if it was ice it must have dislodged because it started without any hesitation and I continued on full power in a bit of a daze for a minute or so. Really enjoyed the cup of coffee at Boonah that day.

 

 

[seb7701]

The only reason I mentioned our police, is that I regularly see them ignore drivers who very obviously incapable.

I will let this thread get back on track, but need to add this - M61A1 - I get that sometimes in driving OR flying you can forsee people being 'naughty' and sometimes you can't. That's goes for anything. Moreso, I would be reserved about what you 'think' you see police doing/ignoring unless you have a full understanding.

 

To the thread....Cunnigham's Gap is a funny one - some awful country, but some life saving opportunities if you have the height. As such, I still say that guy in vid no. 1 should have gotten the hell up and out rather than trying to trim the trees, particularly without any cabin structure to help things even just a little.

 

Ever since my forced landing, I like to keep some distance between myself and mother earth...

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

...i notice no-one mentioned any knowledge about where the first video was filmed although many discussing it have probably flown it. It's Cunningham's Gap where the Highway goes over the range between Boonah/Aratula and Warwick...

A sobering experience, HITC. Since that video Cunningham's Gap seems to have moved to the northern hemisphere. Lots of deciduous trees have taken over and the road looks quite different today.

 

 

[Head in the clouds]

A sobering experience, HITC. Since that video Cunningham's Gap seems to have moved to the northern hemisphere. Lots of deciduous trees have taken over and the road looks quite different today.

Hehe, yes, I didn't pay enough attention did I? And, on a second look there is a lot more development closer in than at Cunninghams, the low aspect got me and object fixation on the big square lawn at the top I suppose!

 

Thanks for pointing it out so nicely, Alan

 

 

[Doug Evans]

well Guy I love my 2 strokes been behind a 582 for more then 12 years and never had a failure , I have just bought another lightwing and will be powering it with enother 582 oil injection unit I think it depends on how u run the engine on start up and making shoure u warm them up probley ,all those video are true ultralight aircraft in the early days from the looks I would not be game to fly any single engine aircraft over some of that terraian but people do ,even todays four bangers do let u down and most times its when u take the risk of flying over tiger country so for me it a warning to all be careful where u fly weather 2 or 4 banger murphys law will bite us when we list expected it , fly safe....

 

 

[rankamateur]

Hehe, yes, I didn't pay enough attention did I? And, on a second look there is a lot more development closer in than at Cunninghams, the low aspect got me and object fixation on the big square lawn at the top I suppose! Thanks for pointing it out so nicely, Alan

Also the double unbroken centre line is yellow like we used to have here in NSW twenty five years ago, but not since.

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

Also the double unbroken centre line is yellow like we used to have here in NSW twenty five years ago, but not since.

...and the warning sign on the RH side of the road...

 

 

[ayavner]

Cathy is Not Amused!

 

 

[XP503]

It's not Cunninghams Gap.....

 

 

[eightyknots]

It seems that everyone has to practice EFATO procedures to avoid damage to planes, injury or death: