Pietenpol-List: Icarus Plummet has Plummeted
Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2004 11:35 am
Original Posted By: "DOUGLAS BLACKBURN"
Well, my new Pietenpol, "Icarus Plummet", has joined the elite group ofCorky's (now Oscar's) Piet and John's "Mountain Piet". I had a forcedlanding yesterday morning which terminated in a groundloop and minor damageto the airplane.I had gone up for a photo shoot for an article in "Private Pilot"magazine onmy airplane. I was flying formation with an Aviat Husky photo plane (theywere flying with the door open and were nearly as cold as I was in the 27air) over Jordan Lake, a 14,000 acre lake just west of Raleigh, NC. Afterwe finished shooting the pictures over Jordan Lake we were heading back toCox Field, where my plane is based. Shortly after reaching the shoreline Ihad a partial power failure. The engine suddenly began running roughly andonly turning about 1300 - 1400 RPM. Not a total failure, but the best Icould maintain was about a 400 fpm descent. I was already carrying carbheat because I had picked up some carb ice. I tried turning carb heat off,but no change. Since I was only at 1300' MSL when it happened it didn'tgive me many options. I called the Husky on the radio and told them I hadengine trouble and was going down. I didn't think I could make it to Cox soI turned toward US 64 with the goal of landing at Deck Field, a 1300'private strip just south of US 64. By the time I reached US 64 I was downto about 200' AGL and was still two miles from Deck Field, and about 6 milesfrom Cox. I realized my options were down to one - land it on the highway.Wind was out of the east so I was at least landing into the wind.The Pietenpol's glide ratio is somewhere between that of a brick and abowling ball. I normally carry quite a bit of power through the landing togive it a normal flare. That power was not available now. The engine wasrunning slower and slower and finally quit just before I touched down. Iwas checking for traffic (4 wheel type) and found a pickup just below andslightly ahead of me. I slowed it up slightly and let him get ahead of me,then put the nose down to keep it flying. It touched down pretty hard onthe mains and bounced. I recovered, flared it and set it down 3-point andthought I had it made. It rolled out normally for a few seconds, slowing toabout 15-20 mph, when the right wing began to dip. I instinctively appliedleft aileron, then as it began to veer to the right I had full left rudderand was trying to find the left heel brake when it went off the road to theright and dove into a ditch, where it groundlooped. I was unhurt, andclimbed out of the cockpit after shutting off the fuel, the mags and themaster switch.It could have been a lot worse. If the engine had quit while I was out overthe lake it would have been a pretty cold swim home. If I had not beenclose to Hwy 64 (remember, by the time I got over the highway I was alreadydown to just a couple hundred feet), I would probably have had to put it inthe trees and certainly would have totalled the airplane, and probablygotten hurt pretty badly. I also managed to glide down to the highway overone set of power lines and under a second set (I never saw either one). SoI have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving weekend, even though myplane was wrecked.Inspection revealed the axle had broken just inboard of the right wheel(which I think happened due to the hard landing and caused the groundloop)and the wheel was detached from the airframe, although it was still attachedby the brakeline. The fracture was right at the guide pin which I'm sureadded quite a bit of stress concentration. Damage was relatively minor. Inaddition to the broken axle, the horizontal stabilizer was broken in twoplaces on the right side, although the elevator appears to be OK. The rightaileron was damaged near the tip (I still had full left aileron in when thewing tip hit the ditch) and the tailwheel was sheared off. None of the mainstructure appears to be damaged (a tribute to the rugged design of thePietenpol). I should be able to have all the repairs done and have itflying again within 6 months or so. Of course, first I've got to figure outwhat happened to the engine to cause all this.I'll try to post some pictures of my wounded Piet tomorrow.Jack PhillipsRaleigh, NC________________________________________________________________________________
Well, my new Pietenpol, "Icarus Plummet", has joined the elite group ofCorky's (now Oscar's) Piet and John's "Mountain Piet". I had a forcedlanding yesterday morning which terminated in a groundloop and minor damageto the airplane.I had gone up for a photo shoot for an article in "Private Pilot"magazine onmy airplane. I was flying formation with an Aviat Husky photo plane (theywere flying with the door open and were nearly as cold as I was in the 27air) over Jordan Lake, a 14,000 acre lake just west of Raleigh, NC. Afterwe finished shooting the pictures over Jordan Lake we were heading back toCox Field, where my plane is based. Shortly after reaching the shoreline Ihad a partial power failure. The engine suddenly began running roughly andonly turning about 1300 - 1400 RPM. Not a total failure, but the best Icould maintain was about a 400 fpm descent. I was already carrying carbheat because I had picked up some carb ice. I tried turning carb heat off,but no change. Since I was only at 1300' MSL when it happened it didn'tgive me many options. I called the Husky on the radio and told them I hadengine trouble and was going down. I didn't think I could make it to Cox soI turned toward US 64 with the goal of landing at Deck Field, a 1300'private strip just south of US 64. By the time I reached US 64 I was downto about 200' AGL and was still two miles from Deck Field, and about 6 milesfrom Cox. I realized my options were down to one - land it on the highway.Wind was out of the east so I was at least landing into the wind.The Pietenpol's glide ratio is somewhere between that of a brick and abowling ball. I normally carry quite a bit of power through the landing togive it a normal flare. That power was not available now. The engine wasrunning slower and slower and finally quit just before I touched down. Iwas checking for traffic (4 wheel type) and found a pickup just below andslightly ahead of me. I slowed it up slightly and let him get ahead of me,then put the nose down to keep it flying. It touched down pretty hard onthe mains and bounced. I recovered, flared it and set it down 3-point andthought I had it made. It rolled out normally for a few seconds, slowing toabout 15-20 mph, when the right wing began to dip. I instinctively appliedleft aileron, then as it began to veer to the right I had full left rudderand was trying to find the left heel brake when it went off the road to theright and dove into a ditch, where it groundlooped. I was unhurt, andclimbed out of the cockpit after shutting off the fuel, the mags and themaster switch.It could have been a lot worse. If the engine had quit while I was out overthe lake it would have been a pretty cold swim home. If I had not beenclose to Hwy 64 (remember, by the time I got over the highway I was alreadydown to just a couple hundred feet), I would probably have had to put it inthe trees and certainly would have totalled the airplane, and probablygotten hurt pretty badly. I also managed to glide down to the highway overone set of power lines and under a second set (I never saw either one). SoI have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving weekend, even though myplane was wrecked.Inspection revealed the axle had broken just inboard of the right wheel(which I think happened due to the hard landing and caused the groundloop)and the wheel was detached from the airframe, although it was still attachedby the brakeline. The fracture was right at the guide pin which I'm sureadded quite a bit of stress concentration. Damage was relatively minor. Inaddition to the broken axle, the horizontal stabilizer was broken in twoplaces on the right side, although the elevator appears to be OK. The rightaileron was damaged near the tip (I still had full left aileron in when thewing tip hit the ditch) and the tailwheel was sheared off. None of the mainstructure appears to be damaged (a tribute to the rugged design of thePietenpol). I should be able to have all the repairs done and have itflying again within 6 months or so. Of course, first I've got to figure outwhat happened to the engine to cause all this.I'll try to post some pictures of my wounded Piet tomorrow.Jack PhillipsRaleigh, NC________________________________________________________________________________