Aero-Tips!

A good pilot is always learning -- how many times have you heard this old standard throughout your flying career? There is no truer statement in all of flying (well, with the possible exception of "there are no old, bold pilots.") It's part of what makes aviation so exciting for all of us... just when you think you've seen it all, along comes a scenario you've never imagined.

Aero-News has called upon the expertise of Thomas P. Turner, master CFI and all-around-good-guy, to bring our readers -- and us -- daily tips to improve our skills as aviators, and as representatives of the flying community. Some of them, you may have heard before... but for each of us, there will also be something we might never have considered before, or something that didn't "stick" the way it should have the first time we memorized it for the practical test.

It is our unabashed goal that "Aero-Tips" will help our readers become better, safer pilots -- as well as introducing our ground-bound readers to the concepts and principles that keep those strange aluminum-and-composite contraptions in the air... and allow them to soar magnificently through it.

Look for our daily Aero-Tips segments, coming each day to you through the Aero-News Network. Suggestions for future Aero-Tips are always welcome, as are additions or discussion of each day's tips. Remember... when it comes to being good pilots, we're all in this together.

Aero-Tips 03.23.06

Some time back a Douglas DC-3 belched to life at Spirit of Saint Louis Airport. Nothing seemed amiss, but when the crew applied power for takeoff the engine wouldn’t develop enough power to get the freighter’s tailwheel off the ground. They aborted the takeoff and performed another run-up, confirming all seemed well.

On the second takeoff run the big transport again failed to achieve a takeoff stance, so the pilots taxied to the ramp to consult a mechanic. Again they did a run-up, and again there were no obvious problems.

The crew confidently maneuvered the cargo-laden Douglas to the runway, applied full throttle and gave it another go. Perhaps resigned to the fact they had to take off to meet schedule and because they and their mechanic could not identify a specific discrepancy, the crew forced the lumbering transport into the air. Just airborne, the DC-3’s radial engines coughed, backfired and sputtered to a detonating stop. The aircraft struck the ground and burst into flames, killing both on board.

(Above from the author’s Cockpit Resource Management: The Private Pilot’s Guide, published by McGraw-Hill.)

Speak to Me

The Douglas was telling the crew something was wrong, but they weren’t getting the message. It turns out the airplane had been erroneously serviced with jet fuel; at low power settings all looked well but as soon as the throttles were pushed fully forward power was diminished, and eventually detonation destroyed the engines at the worst possible time.

Postscript

Some time afterward I was taking off in my Cessna 120 when it, too, would not develop enough power to lift the tail. I aborted, taxied clear of the runway, and performed a run-up that seemed perfectly normal. Remembering those two aboard the Douglas, I resisted the temptation to try again, and instead shut down to talk to the mechanic. He later found a cracked cylinder. The freighter pilots may well have saved my life.

Aero-tip of the day: Airplanes with problems will speak to you. Heed their warnings.

FMI: Aero-Tips