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Location: Amsterdam, Noord Holland, Netherlands

Just a student who loves to teach

Sunday, February 26, 2006

The Biplane


When you are a new Pilot,and you have a little talent, the open sky is a magical thing. I " grew up " in a place called Airborne Research and Development. This very title should cause some interesting visuals.
My Instructor, the venerable Hal Goddard ( R.I.P. ) was a phenom. He had instructed the likes of Patty Wagstaff and other well knowns and was something of a legend in Tucson, AZ. He was my Instructor from day one through CFI, CFII. This all occured in the space of 11 months ( talk about a fast track! ) I had been blessed with a scholarship from the fine state of Arizona, and was gleefully looking forward to a career as an aerobatic competitor. I was doing rolls and loops and hammerheads before I ever knew the simple concepts of stalls and slow flight. I didnt know any differant, thats just the way that it was. Aerobatics was everything!
Spins WERE FUN!!!!I got so spin happy that Hal forbid me from doing them unless I had another Pilot with me. ( I was only a student Pilot at the time.) Before I soloed I had to demonstrate spins to the left and right,one and a half turns pulled out on heading. ( which is not a truly developed spin ) Anyhow, I gleefully jumped into any plane that I could, just to GO FLY!
So, Later on, after I got all my tickets, I was coveting a blue and white 1929 Great Lakes that was sitting in a Hangar down the row. Pretty girl, sitting there all the time and noone ever flew her. I just couldnt understand why. So, I found out who the owner was, spoke with him, and it turns out that he wants the plane flown, but the guys who had her wouldnt fly her... Such a beauty, sitting there all the time, never to fly.....So dont you know that I offered to take the plane and put her to work, basic acro, tailwheel endorsements.OHHH the boys over there were PISSED at me, taking there pretty hangar queen away, this blonde girl from California. They said that I was going to be the "Valley Girl Flight School ooh laa laa"
They were afraid of the biplane, I was soon to learn why...........
I was a bit arrogant in those days, thought I knew it all ( thank the Lord I survived!) and I arrived to pick up the biplane.
Noonne was there , except for HER. I took her, refueled, found that the radios were dead. Called the tower on the cell phone to get special permission to go, ( Class Delta Airport )and lined upon runway 6 at Ryan field.
OK....... ( My first time in a Great Lakes, but its an airplane right, so whats the big deal? )
Full power, peripheral vision only , forward stick to get the tail flying so I can see, and lift off.
Right rudder to compensate for the 4 left turning tendencies, and then things went VERY BADLY.
On takeoff, the biplane rolled HARD to the right, UH OH! What is going on? Rolling through 90 degrees I am headed strait towards the Tower at less than 100 feet! Full left rudder and aileron and I am straight and level, holding these inputs, just missed the Tower.
Now I AM SCARED!!
I have a BIG problem, but I dont want it to be anyone elses problem on the ground, So, holding full left aileron/rudder to keep her straight, I head towards an uncontrolled field. Sobering reality sets in.. I am in a fabric and wood biplane, full of fuel, that has a MAJOR MALFUNTION of controlability and I start thinking that I will never see my son again.
I flew around the little airfield, to make sure that noone else is there, and I line up on Runway 12. Closed the throttle and started to pray. My butt cheeks were so tight that I never felt the touchdown, possibly the best landing I ever did ( thoughts of THE BOY were strong in my head, he was only 6 years old at the time )
I taxied in to a maintenance hangar, shaking so bad that I could barely shut down.
Turns out, 3 of the ribs on the lower right wing were broken, and the flying wires on the right wing were way too loose.
Apparently the biplane had been crashed with 2 fatalities and had been rebuilt, the boys in yon hangar had pulled on her during an acro session a little too much, and broke the wing. They didnt want to tell the owner that they broke his biplane. They let me take the plane that day knowing this, and when the truth came out they suddenly were no longer to be found.

Lessons learned........

2 Comments:

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