Worth a read

[skeptic36]

Hi all,

 

You'll find a bit of light reading here .

 

Regards Bill

 

 

[alf jessup]

Bill,

 

Was worth a read as I just put in my order for a new SST wing from Airborne, hope to have it early April.

 

Cheers

 

Alf

 

 

[riverduk]

Gotta get there ????

 

A really interesting read but I can't help but wonder, why the hell didn't they turn back as soon as they noticed that the clouds were graying and the wind was suddenly blowing @ 20 knots. So what if the weather reports didn't say bad weather, obviously what they were flying in was more real than the weather reports.

 

It was good to see that they all made it back safely, but was it worth the risk ? They really tempted fate by going back into the air a third time knowing conditions were not good over their home field.

 

1 of the reasons I have chosen to own a trike is portability, surely it would have been safer to:

 

A. leave the trikes at Busselton and fly them home at a later date.

 

B. Organise for the trikes to be trailered home if they really had to be home, after all it is only about 60 ks by road each way.

 

Yep we can all get caught off guard by the weather, that's a given, and we do need to know how to handle all situations we may find ourselves in, but why continue to fly into it in the first instance, why not turn around and fly away from it and head for home sooner rather than later.

 

Then once on the ground in those conditions why take off and put themselves at further risk?

 

Yes it's a good read and yes it had a good outcome and we all admire their effort to get home, but what would we have been saying or reading about them if we had heard that they hadn't made it and all were lost because of their gotta get there attitude.

 

Every time I go into the hanger where my trike lives I am reminded that mistakes and misjudgments can be fatal, the wreckage of a trike lays to one side of the hangar, under covers, in which 2 people lost their lives last year in what was good flying weather.

 

That wreckage reminds me to be alert and aware of what is going on around me at all times in the air, we have a responsibility to those who love us to come home safely every time we fly.

 

Well that's my soapbox, cheers Da Duk i_dunno

 

 

[monty]

Thanks Bill,

 

That was interesting reading, I don't know that I would have put myself in that situation, but a good learning curve for the students about mother nature.

 

Monty

 

 

[Tracktop]

I don't read it as a "Gotta get there" article

 

Yes a good read, and while I am not advocating risk taking at all, I think the story needs to be read in context and we should not be too critical without full knowledge of the people and flight. This is just how I read it without any knowledge of the conditions, people or the event, and my limited trike experience. I hope my interpretation is correct, if it had been written by other than a student with instructor in the back I may well view it quite differently.

 

ie

 

written by a student who flew with an instructor in the back.

 

Written to make an interesting article to read.

 

From the story the instructors did not seem concerned, yes they changed strips after assessing conditions, was this for the students benefit / training / comfort?

 

They were looking for a landing site that did not have a strong cross wind component, they did have a destination in mind, they just choose to check closer options for suitability on the way.

 

We know everyone has a different bump tolerance, and students usually by far the least as it does (or can) build with experience.

 

Their final return trip although "a high" for the students seemed to pose no landing problems for the experienced in the party.

 

Seems to me they made reasonable decisions and plans along the way. Stuck to their plans, including tracking to alternate strips as planned.

 

The lessons to be learnt from the article I guess should be. Make a plan before leaving, have alternatives and use them if required.

 

If your not happy with the weather wait ( as they did) and go when you think it is suitable.

 

 

[alf jessup]

I think all the decisions made were good ones as they are all here still to talk about it, we all at sometime in our flying career will get caught out by the weather, I have and have survived the experience and made me a little wiser.

 

I have never taken off when conditions have been not favourable but have looked at forecasts and trusted them only to be caught out by the unexpected not forecast situation.

 

we will never live in a perfect aviation world but as long as we learn from our experiences and take it onboard we may just live to fly another day like these guys have.

 

I say if you keep tempting fate one day it will bite you.

 

Cheers

 

Alf