REFLECTOR: RE: TRUE CONFESSION (not mine) & Kevin!

[Richard Riley]

tmartino at troubleshooter.com wrote:

>To have something REALLY go wrong and land the way you did is nothing short of SPECTACULAR.  Many of us rehearse in our minds what we would (and should) do.  
>You are among the few that DID IT RIGHT.
>
>I THINK IT IS FAR WORSE TO WRECK A PLANE WHEN THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH IT!!!

My late father told me a story from when he was learning to fly at Torrance (CA) airport in the '50s.

A group there was building a prototype for a twin Navion.  They'd taken a near new Navion, extended the nose for a baggage compartment, built up a new wing and hung twin engines on it.  The first flight went flawlessly.  As it came down final the group saw that the gear was up.  They all ran for their cars.

The plane did a beautiful belly landing and skidded to a stop.  The pilot got out and stepped off the wing as the group pulled up.   The gear switch was still in the up position.  One asked "Tom, what happened, didn't the gear work?"

The pilot replied "Don't know.  Never tried it."