Re: REFLECTOR: Velocitys aren't hard to land, but...

[Jeff Barnes <jcbarnes@ibm.net>]

Greetings Simon,

	Thanks for your sharing of recent misfortune & tech info. Mostly
appreciate the fact you and family are still around to tell it.

	Hope the rebuilding goes well.  

	Anyone in similar dire straits in/around Chicago can give me a call at
847 549-7765.

Best Regards and continued God's Blessings,
Jeff Barnes
XL-RG N411JB a-buildin'
	

Simon Aegerter [KPIE] wrote:
> 
> Fellow Velocitites:
> 
> Thank you for the outpouring support and offer to help. This has just been
> incredible. I had not been aware that I am part of such a great bunch of guys
> and gals!
> 
> Dave Black wrote:
> 
> >>I must admit that your accident worries me. On several occasions I've tried
> to land Wim Huisman's 173 FG and never really had control of the plane on
> final.<<
> 
> Actually, I didn't find the Velocity particularely hard to land if you trim for
> the right approach speed and use your rudders. My problem was a different one
> and it worries me even more. Here's my story as I told it to the FAA and the
> insurance adjuster:
> 
> During the flight from Midland to Tucson, I sensed the development of a slight
> slack or play in the pitch control. The landing was not a nice one because the
> flare did not develop as usual and I ran out of elevator control.
> 
> I called Scott Swing and described the symptoms. I asked him if I had to take
> off the canard to get to the fore end of the torque tube. He suggested to add
> washers or a spacer to the aft end of the aileron torque tube which is easier
> to get to. With the help of a local pilot who volunteered to find the necessary
> materials, I performed that repair. The stick now felt solid and it appeared to
> move the elevator through the whole range of travel.
> 
> Takeoff and flight to San Diego were normal. At MYF, I was given runway 28R and
> cleared to land as #2. I was in a left base when the #1 landed and I spotted
> another airplane in a final so that we would have gotten very close on present
> course and speed. I therefore extended my downwind and lined up behind the
> unidentified plane. On short final Tower reassigned me runway 28L, a narrow
> strip.
> 
> I managed to line up with it, although it obviously was not what I would call a
> stabilised final. When I flared, nothing happened despite me pulling the stick
> till it bottomed out. The airplane flew straight onto the runway, bounced,
> veered left and came down with the left main wheel off the runway. We skidded
> over the rough between the runway and the apron, spun around 180~ and with the
> last bit of momentum hit a parked aircraft backwards.
> 
> On Saturday, Jan. 2 1999 a group of Velocity and Long EZ builders met at the
> hangar on Brown Field where the wreckage had been moved in the meantime. It was
> determined that the fore bushing or bearing which holds the aileron torque tube
> in place and that was designed to take up the axial forces exerted by the
> elevator control was dislodged. The tube was prevented from sliding further
> back by a bolt that holds a spacer.
> 
> The same observation was made by three representatives of the FAA on Monday,
> Jan. 4, 1999.
> 
> The group that had assembled on Saturday opined that the aircraft should be
> repaired. The wings and the gear need to be rebuilt as well as the propeller
> blades. Some damage to the underside of the hull needs to be repaired. The hull
> structure, the canard, the instrument panel, the interior panelling, the fuel
> tanks, the engine and the propeller hub seem to be intact pending closer
> scrutiny.
> 
> That's the story.
> 
> Three things will probably always stick to our minds:
> 
> The ride accross that rough field. Believe it or not: we felt totally secure.
> All around us hell had broken loose and we were sitting in a cocoon, simply
> KNOWING that nothing would happen to us. The doors opened like nothing had
> happened, the avionics worked, the ELT blared dutifully and we never lost a
> drop of fuel.
> 
> The media. I think the first helo was hovering overhead before the paramedics
> arrived. At one point I saw at least 6 cameras and 10 mics pointed at my son.
> 
> The support. People that I had never heard of, like John Lambert, the chairman
> of the EZ Squadron, known names but unknown faces like Al Gietzen, Marion
> Sparrow, Chuck Lehrer and many others offered their help and they delivered. I
> may have lost half an airplane but I have gained many new friends. Thank you
> all!
> 
> Now to the worry: You Elite drivers: (I don't know how this is done in the
> Standard) keep a close look at that bearing. In my view this is not a thrust
> bearing, yet it has to take up quite some thrust. I'm sure that Scott will come
> up with a solution, which should probably take the form of a Mandatory Service
> Bulletin. Are there more things like that in our birds? We NEED to find out!
> Lots of work ahead! More about that later.
> 
> Best
> Simon