Maitland Incident?

[planesmaker]

I had several conversations with him there re: the STOL performance and he did say he was enjoying exploring its capabilities.

I think he found a limit to the capabilities. Probably should not be done at air show. Safe flying first. I am sure he could put on an impressive display without taking it to the limit.

 

 

[SDQDI]

The Superstol is similar to the hornet at full flap and will just mush, (no wing drop at all normally) I would be leaning towards an unfriendly gust.

 

With the hornet I can get it to drop a wing with no flap, full back stick and a good dose of power but with full flap I can't. Even with full back stick and full power, airspeed gets back to 20 (indicated) or so knots but easily controlled with rudder That's not to say if things added up that it wouldn't but it certainly isn't a normal trait.

 

If you watch some 'smack down' videos filmed in the states you will see a lot rougher handling than Brett's routine with them stalling it in with no wing drop at all. So to say a Superstol has undesirable stall traits IMHO is not right. Stalling it in from that height in most other planes would have ended up a lot worse.

 

I am personally looking forward to ribbing him about it But in a good natured way. He will be back up shortly, obviously he is taking this incident on board but he will be back on the airshow circuit as soon as repairs are done:yes:

 

 

[rankamateur]

I am personally looking forward to ribbing him about it But in a good natured way. He will be back up shortly, obviously he is taking this incident on board but he will be back on the airshow circuit as soon as repairs are done:yes:

Go easy! Remember we are all human.

 

 

[JG3]

Of course this was just an airshow showoff stunt gone wrong, but is a really good lesson of how NOT to do STOL Ops.

 

At a real STOL landing out in the bush there'll be no windsock and probably no indication at all of the wind down there, and if such a short landing is required then probably trees or steep terrain close in that will make the airflow even more unsettled. So the approach should be flying in at a safe margin, slip down behind any obstacle on approach, and only pull back to stall right close to the ground, always with the throttle hand primed for a blast of power to go around....

 

The video shows that the initial wing drop wasn't all that radical, and there was still plenty of height to pick up that wing with a blast of power, left rudder, and ease the stick. With those inputs that excellent light aircraft would recover instantly and be flying again.

 

But the way that the wing yaws backward and downward sure looks like the classic mistake of trying to pick up a stalled wing with aileron....

 

Once again, a really good lesson of how NOT to fly STOLOps.....

 

 

[acro]

cry me a river...the amount of whining in this thread is nauseating

 

 

[Oscar]

But the way that the wing yaws backward and downward sure looks like the classic mistake of trying to pick up a stalled wing with aileron....

Once again, a really good lesson of how NOT to fly STOLOps.....

A CASA-accredited TEST pilot - you know, one of those people whose job it is to test aircraft to and beyond their limits and report back on what happens - has viewed this incident and his conclusion was simply:

 

'That was not an accident, that was a Deliberate'.

 

For a TEST pilot, a 'Deliberate' is a conscious decision to execute manoeuvers or apply control inputs that force the aircraft into situations they would not normally be expected to encounter - and see what happens. The Spin-testing videos on the Jabiru site are an example.

 

No intelligent pilot places his aircraft in such a situation without sufficient margins for recovery in hand. Ask Keith Engelsman.

 

 

[damoski]

I didn't see the aircraft going in, but did see the earlier part of the display - including some very steep banks at relatively low speeds that I led me to comment to someone "I wouldn't do that in these conditions if I were him"