Tommy wrote:
> Who wants to tell the NTSB that Ercoupes don't have flaps > or cables to control the ailerons or the flaps that aren't there? Tommy, Ah, shucks, give them a bit of slack. I suspect the secretary who translated the engineer's notes into the final text has typed that phrase a hundred ninety times without being wrong, till now. But, you are right. They slipped on that detail. The fundamental point, though, seems solid. Don't bypass adequate landing places when you're having engine problems and can barely stay in the air! That's EMPHATICALLY so if you are already low. (If you are sputtering along, staying level at 10,000 feet then you might, possibly, be justified in skipping farm fields to head for an airport.) A side thought: If your engine is sputtering, barely running, you might try feeding fuel using the primer. I knew a guy with chronic, recurring carb problems who repeatedly returned to his airport using fuel from the primer. Ed _____ From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of JThomas Terry Sent: Monday, December 28, 2009 9:41 AM To: Marty Duke; [email protected] Subject: RE: [ercoupe-tech] Who wants to tell the NTSB that Ercoupes don't have flaps or cables to control the ailerons or the flaps that aren't there? Tommy _____ From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Marty Duke Sent: Monday, December 28, 2009 12:16 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [ercoupe-tech] I saw tonight that the NTSB final report came in last month on the Ercoupe crash that killed Randy Hougham and his passenger back in April. He was the fellow who tracked down his grandfather's Ercoupe and purchased it and got his sport pilot license to fly it. It was a real tragedy. >From the report, it looks like he tried to make it to a golf course that was just a little too far away while flying low with the engine sputtering. They couldn't determine the cause of the engine problem, but did mention that there were several suitable fields for a forced landing that were closer and in several directions that he didn't try to make. This reiterates what my first flight instructor taught me years ago. Pick the best suitable field that you are certain you can make, and stick with it, don't try to stretch it out where there is a chance you won't make it. Knowing what the winds below you are doing can certainly help you as well. The report says that they were flying from west to east, and the weather report nearby said the wind was 7 knots from 200 degress. They said there were open fields north, south and west of them. Here is the link: http://www.ntsb. <http://www.ntsb.gov/NTSB/brief2.asp?ev_id=20090413X85336&ntsbno=CEN09FA 243&akey=1> gov/NTSB/brief2.asp?ev_id=20090413X85336&ntsbno=CEN09FA243&akey=1 Marty Duke N846MD KRNT
