rudder emergency

[Guest Macnoz]

Have of you experience in or been taught in the use of cabin doors as a rudder in the event of failure

 

 

[Guest keiran ryan]

The door as rudder

 

I certainly was taught how to use a door as a substitute rudder in an emergency!

 

It was in a Jabiru and my third lesson with my instructor teaching me the secondary effect of controls. We also practised a whole range of scenarios like using weight transfer in the cockpit to change attitude, doors as rudders etc.

 

I have often thought how great that session was, especially in getting a new student to understand some fundamentals associated with flying, and how to think creatively about problem solving.

 

I would not like to try the open door steering with a Gazelle!

 

Happy flying

 

KR

 

 

[Ben Longden]

I guess not.....

 

The conversation would go something like this;

 

Student; Sir, why is there a big hole in the wing?

 

Instructor; :hittinghead:

 

Ben

 

 

[Admin]

Now that is something I wouldn't have thought of - well done!

 

The only thing is that the chord may be a bit wrong with the Gazelle doors in the event of a wing failure :big_grin: - they open up, and as I found out the other day they can be pretty hard to close when you are flying along and the pilot's door suddenly pops open - scared the life out of me.

 

It turns out that whilst I checked they were secure on preflight by pushing on them, my cardigan was jammed in the out of sight pin unbeknown to me. I now have a big grease stain on my good cardigan and learnt a lesson!

 

 

[Deskpilot]

CARDIGAN! my, you're showing your age

 

 

[storchy neil]

you doing the washing ian i like to see that :confused: neil

 

 

[Guest Ken deVos]

CARDIGAN! my, you're showing your age

Don't pick on Ian, he is only using the language that most of us will understand!

 

 

[Admin]

:black_eye: :confused: - what is it called now - must ask my 10 year old daughter.

 

Neil - apart from a hammer in my tool box I also have Sard Wonder Soap - great stuff that

 

 

 

[facthunter]

Door as rudder.

 

The Gazelle door, because of the way it is hinged, "flies" to a position near the lower wing surface. I would only do this at fairly slow speeds, as I'm not convinced that it would be free from flutter. To close the door in flight, slip the plane towards the open door,(press the rudder pedal opposite the open door and keep the wings level with aileron) and pull the door in and engage the pins carefully in the normal way. As a general rule, slip most aircraft to close doors that have popped open, (most likely on a rough strip just prior to getting airborne.) The most important thing is to keep flying the aircraft properly, and not be distracted by the noise etc. I don't know what I think about using the doors as a rudder on the Jab if the rudder was inoperative. Generally an aircraft is flyable without an operative rudder. The problem would be at late final when the speed washes off, and keeping straight after touchdown..Nev..

 

 

[Guest brentc]

The Gazelle is approved for flight with the doors open (and possibly off).

 

You can indeed open and close them in flight without a drama.

 

You'll probably just find that you're (dare I say it) a little scared to open or close them in flight!

 

Don't do what I did one day and lose your phone out of your pants (callottes as Ian would call them) pocket when flying with the door open.

 

If you let them go in flight they will usually hover about 5 inches from the wing in the airflow and won't flutter.

 

Jab doors are quite obviously in the airflow and won't open uncontrollably. I would not condone opening Jab doors in flight because some of them are simply not strong enough to handle the treatment from the wind. An LSA55 or perhaps a J160 would be ok, but early model 160's, 200's and 400's I wouldn't try it.