REFLECTOR: Accident in Las Vegas

Thu Aug 28 14:05:00 CDT 2008

Mac Murphree,

What a wonderful man.  I bought a Velocity Std RG a couple of years  
back that needed a LOT more work than I thought to become a good  
flying machine.  Mac and I (mostly Mac) spent the better part of a  
month bringing the machine up to snuff, mostly out of the goodness of  
his heart.  Mac was an I.A., a real pro, very careful about his work  
and the regulations.

He was a wonderful, giving soul, very concerned about the safety of  
all the flying machines he worked on, and everyone, really, freely  
giving of his knowledge and assistance whenever asked or whenever he  
felt it was appropriate.

My heart aches that he is gone, but no doubt he is in a better place  
now, home free and flying freely, passing flying instruction and  
maintenance tips to those who traverse the higher skies.  I know they  
are happy and blessed to have his company.

We will miss you.  God speed.  And thanks.

Leslie Huttunen

On Aug 28, 2008, at 10:46 AM, Milton Mersky wrote:

> Andy et all:
>
> One of the days of the past Dallas seminar was spent at the airport  
> viewing
> the 13 planes on display. The manager of the Hampton Inn where we  
> stayed
> told me her 14 year old son had never flown. I asked Mack if he  
> would give
> him a ride and Mack said yes with no hesitation. That teenager told  
> me he
> will not forget the thrill. Mack was a true pro.
>
> Milt
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Andy Millin" <amillin at sbcglobal.net>
> To: "'Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list'"  
> <reflector at tvbf.org>
> Sent: Thursday, August 28, 2008 12:08 PM
> Subject: Re: REFLECTOR: Accident in Las Vegas
>
>
>> Milt,
>>
>> I don't even know if you can, or are supposed to log the taxi time  
>> as part
>> of the fly-off restrictions.
>>
>> Lots of questions.  Doesn't make sense.  I doubt we will ever have
>> answers.
>>
>> Andy
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: reflector-bounces at tvbf.org [mailto:reflector- 
>> bounces at tvbf.org] On
>> Behalf Of Milton Mersky
>> Sent: 08-28-2008 12:48
>> To: Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list
>> Subject: Re: REFLECTOR: Accident in Las Vegas
>>
>> Andy:
>>
>> Was the extensive taxi time part of the 5/1 hours?  Were there any  
>> flights
>> as part of the 5.1 hours?
>>
>> Milt
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: Andy Millin <mailto:amillin at sbcglobal.net>
>> To: 'Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list'
>> <mailto:reflector at tvbf.org>
>> Sent: Thursday, August 28, 2008 11:32 AM
>> Subject: REFLECTOR: Accident in Las Vegas
>>
>>
>> Apologies for a long post.  It does not involve building, or other
>> technical issues.  You may want to delete this now.
>>
>>
>>
>> I met Mack a couple of times at OSH.  I remember the first time.  It
>> was at the Velocity dinner.  Duane Swing was addressing the room  
>> and Mack
>> raised his hand to speak.  Mack wanted to explain a recent Lycoming  
>> AD to
>> the group in detail.  Duane told him "we don't care, and sit  
>> down."  I
>> remember this as Duane did not add "Please."  I knew Mack's heart  
>> was in
>> the
>> right place, and I could tell this was a guy that knew a great deal.
>>
>>
>>
>> I am saddened by this loss.  I am saddened by the way the media has
>> treated.  And dang it, I'm frustrated that I don't have an answer.
>>
>>
>>
>> When I entered the home building arena I took a workshop at Oshkosh
>> on the rules.  I learned about the 51% rule, commercial assistance,  
>> the 25
>> or 40 hour fly-off period, etc.  It is good to learn the rules.
>>
>>
>>
>> I think it was sometime around 2000 when I was at Oshkosh and I met
>> a guy that had just flown in.  He had a Velocity that was a little  
>> rough,
>> and it was in primer.  He told me he was a professional builder and  
>> he
>> built
>> the airplane to sell it.  What, not recreation and education . pure
>> commercial venture . that's not what the rules say.
>>
>>
>>
>> He continued to tell me that the airplane had 40 hours on it. He had
>> flown off the restrictions as he was flying it in from California.   
>> That
>> ain't what the rules say.
>>
>>
>>
>> This was my earliest recollection learning that some people might
>> not take the rules to be rules.  Some are treating them as a "nice
>> suggestion."
>>
>>
>>
>> Through the years I have seen most builders play straight.
>> Unfortunately I have seen others that have not.
>>
>>
>>
>> When it comes to accidents, there can be all kinds of speculation.
>> I have been guilty of it myself.  The unfortunate part is that I  
>> have been
>> around long enough to see enough.  The only constant fact in  
>> looking at an
>> accident is there are always things that are not known.  You must  
>> read the
>> accident report, and mentally add "and a bunch of other factors  
>> that we
>> just
>> don't know."
>>
>>
>>
>> When it doesn't make sense to me, like Ueli's accident, then I know
>> something else happened, and I just don't know what it is.  An  
>> accident is
>> rarely as simple as the obvious.  And trying to put a puzzle  
>> together when
>> you know you don't have all the pieces is just futile.
>>
>>
>>
>> I don't think this is a jaded point of view.  It is a matter of
>> acceptance.
>>
>>
>>
>> The aircraft in Las Vegas had 5.1 hours of flight logged.  The
>> restrictions said it had to have 5 hours on it before it could be  
>> operated
>> at the North Las Vegas airport.  It just happened to have 5.1 hours .
>>
>>
>>
>> This just doesn't seem right.  I don't know the owner. I don't know
>> if the aircraft was Full Build, Fast Build, or Check Build.  I  
>> don't know
>> who flew the aircraft for 5.1 hours.  I don't know where this  
>> flying was
>> done.  I don't know a bunch of stuff.  I do know that the log book  
>> shows
>> just enough time to make it legal to operate at that airport.   
>> Shoot me,
>> I'm
>> skeptical.
>>
>>
>>
>> If the 5.1 hours had been flown at a rural, non-congested airport,
>> then why would the owner move it to a congested airport to start  
>> testing
>> the
>> supercharger?  I have no idea if this is hindsight, or my version of
>> common
>> sense (probably both), but if I was already at a rural airport and  
>> I still
>> had testing of that nature to do, wouldn't I stay at the rural  
>> airport
>> until
>> I had confidence in the system?  I might.
>>
>>
>>
>> Then, how did he get the aircraft from the other airport to North
>> Las Vegas?  Fly it in from KSOW (stated home base) and then have  
>> 5.1 hours
>> on it?  Airnav says it is 279.7 nautical miles between the two  
>> airports.
>> Yes, he could have dismantled it and trucked it in.  Who would do  
>> that
>> with
>> what is supposed to be an airworthy aircraft?
>>
>>
>>
>> Mack was helping the guy.  If there is anyone that would know the
>> rules, it would have been Mack; and Mack was helping.
>>
>>
>>
>> Bunch of questions, not many answers, don't have all the facts.
>>
>>
>>
>> Sorry for the rambling.
>>
>>
>>
>> Andy
>>
>>
>>
>> =====================================
>>
>>
>>
>> Andy Millin
>>
>> amillin at sbcglobal.net
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ________________________________
>>
>>
>>
>>
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