REFLECTOR: N4PE Story in Local Newspaper

[Darrell & Nora Kufalk]

Brian,

I would say your article turned out better than this one, which is more
typical of the media...
http://www.aero-news.net/news/genav.cfm?ContentBlockID=74099c58-651b-4581-8e
9f-acf38b23192f&Dynamic=1

Darrell
p.s. it is aero-news.net's annual April fools day edition.   :)



-----Original Message-----
From: reflector-bounces at tvbf.org [mailto:reflector-bounces at tvbf.org] On
Behalf Of Brian Michalk
Sent: Tuesday, March 31, 2009 3:46 PM
To: Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list
Subject: REFLECTOR: N4PE Story in Local Newspaper

At the crash site, the local newspaper guy came out. Rather than letting 
him draw his own conclusions, I made myself available to him, being very 
careful not to malign our hobby, Velocity, inc., or the engine. I told 
him why we do certain things, and it looks like he got most of it right.

http://taylordailypress.net/articles/2009/03/31/news/news01.txt

Pilot lands in field

By Jason Schaefer <mailto:jason at taylordailypress.net>

Engine fails during experimental aircraft's first flight

The pilot of an experimental aircraft made an emergency landing in a 
field north of Taylor Municipal Airport Sunday after the engine failed 
during the plane's first flight around 12:30 p.m. No one was hurt in the 
incident, but it could take months of repairs before the plane is ready 
for a second test, according to the pilot.
After spending 12 years on the aircraft, a Velocity Fixed Gear, hobby 
plane builder Brian Michalk decided to try the plane for the first time 
Sunday, taking "all the necessary precautions," he said.

"Before I did the test flight, I had a full flight plan," Michalk said. 
"And part of it was to involve the fire department and the EMS. They 
were out there at the airport an hour before the flight."

While no regulations exist on how a first test flight should be managed, 
Michalk wanted to play it as safe as possible, he said. Michalk took off 
heading south - into the wind - standard procedure for any aircraft, he 
said. He climbed very aggressively to gain as much altitude as possible 
during the first few seconds of flight.

"Altitude is your friend," Michalk said. "It gives you time to find a 
good landing spot or troubleshoot any problem."

The aircraft successfully climbed about 900 feet in 300 yards before the 
engine began to lose power, Michalk said. Michalk made a 180-degree turn 
just south of Highway 79, heading back north with the wind behind him.

Just north of the airport, the engine gained enough power for Michalk to 
make another turn south, but not enough to make it back to the runway. 
He decided to attempt to land in an open field.

The plane set down roughly, breaking off the landing gear - which does 
not retract in a fixed gear aircraft - and damaging the plane's 
fiberglass skin. The internal spars that hold the wings in place might 
have been bent, Michalk said.

Michalk walked away from the incident, but repairs to the plane could 
cost him between $1,000 and $10,000 depending on specific damages. 
Though no details have been investigated so far, it was likely Michalk's 
customized tuning of the engine that caused the power failure, he said.

Though the services of the emergency professionals called to monitor the 
flight were not needed, Michalk was glad they were there, he said, and 
glad he chose Taylor, a town with many open fields, to test the plane.

"It's really a practice in planning," Michalk said. "The more you plan, 
the better the plan is. I'd like to say I planned for a good first 
flight, but stuff always happens when you're out there on the edge like 
this."
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