Comments on: “Fun” with Simulations

By: Curtis

Curtis — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 04:37:53 +0000

ODS was almost 20 years ago. This guy is an active duty or SELRES LT? at OPTEVFOR six months ago?

By: Steve

Steve — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 02:41:40 +0000

Two friends of my wife went down in a 177 (’68 model, O-320, even lower T/W than your RG, I expect) last year along with their CFI safety pilot. Too early to call it yet, but the report points a fat finger in the direction of density altitude, with a sideways glance at a worn cam:

http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20080818X01259&key=1

(Aftermath: The CFI died from his burns, the PIC was seriously burned and the PIC’s wife was much more burned than that, she had 3rd deg over 80%. It was a miracle she survived, but life is very tough for her now.)

Anyway, not cheerful stuff, but it’s another morbid reason to heed Mike Kleihege’s advice: If your planned flight puts your airplane near its published performance limit, check it out light and solo first, then do the math to find where the limit really is.

If anybody here has any comments on that report, I’d be very interested to hear them.

By: Dust

Dust — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:03:25 +0000

I occasionally use FS X in conjunction with doing cross country planning. The terrain data base is excellent for knowing what to look for during the flight, especially wiht the mountain terrain and a not having all kinds of horsepower. BTW, the Tcraft is for sale.

By: AW1 Tim

AW1 Tim — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:45:59 +0000

Mike,

I grew up flying with a retired Navy pilot up in Cache Valley, Utah. I also remember hot days in St.George, and how the volcanic cone off the departure end has a number of black splotches over the runway-facing slope.

There was nothing I remember so much fun as flying around monument valley in a J-3 Cub, flying about 100 feet above the top of a mesa, and suddenly having it drop away a thousand feet or more.

Anyone who learns to fly in Utah, Idaho, and around those mountains in those different weather conditions has, I feel, an edge on other folks.

Respects,

By: Quartermaster

Quartermaster — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:31:33 +0000

I didn’t read the NTSB report, but I would guess from the runway he chose, he expected to use more. What he didn’t expect was a climb rate that was essentially nil.

From a personal standpoint, a turbo-normalized Cardinal would be a good traveling tool in the high west. If he had it he would be among us and not another story for the NTSB to write.

By: virgil xenophon

virgil xenophon — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:15:46 +0000

Larry/

You’re late! You missed it, Lex already posted that a few weeks back–lots of discussion too. Where were you? BTW, OT here, but go back to my post and your reply on the AP/AirPolice thing–I left a reply for you.