Whew....that was a close one! Close Call and Narrow Escapes

[stangflyer]

So this past Monday, friends and I were out taking advantage of the last of the decent weather we are going to see for while. Although it was quite windy, (15 to 18 gusting to 25) it was actually pretty fun. My friend Chris decided to do a little "Wind Sailing".... So of course we all followed suit. That is some cool schtuff if you've never done it. I just had to give it a try...the 260 handled it very nicely...Until that is, my exhaust came loose on one side. Just so happens it was the side that the throttle linkage is on. Consequently the dropped exhaust header allowed the direct full blast of the high heat temp straight out of the exhaust port to blast right on to the Du-Bro ball link on the throttle. Melted it in about 2 minutes flat. (Not like I didn't have a warning...cuz I heard it...my bad totally) Up for one more climb out and the motor died due to the throttle linkage coming off.... Oh great...Dead stick landing, 50 feet high and 1000 feet out in 20'ish mile per hour head winds....and nose up....DOAH!! "This 'ole girl is done for". Or so I thought....Pointed her nose down...let her slip just a tad, and full flare..... Whew...she's down. Really turned out well. Could have been worse. Only thing broken was my prop and landing gear. Not so much as a scratch on the paint or rub on the covering. Yeah, guess my ego was a little broken too. Cuz I knew I should have put her back on the ground when I first heard the exhaust drop. Happy to say though, My pals at the LHS got right on the ball and by this same time yesterday afternoon, my new prop and landing gear were waiting for me. 260 is ready for more wind sailing...without the dropped exhaust. LOL 

Here's a short 13 second clip from my cell phone. Sorry the quality is not the best. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xf3mZ2gQqPg&feature=youtu.be

So that is my close call for the year. Come on everyone, I "KNOW" you all have some really great stories of close calls and narrow escapes. Lets hear them. Or see them...Or watch them...(video).... What better way to spend a "rainy", "chilly" and "windy" Autumn afternoon? Grab your hot chocolate or cup of java and start posting....

 

[thurmma]

That is pretty cool. I have done some wind sailing here with my 42% although not near as low as you are

Good news on the plane. That could have had a completely different ending

 

[stangflyer]

No doubt. I really expected it to turn out much worse. The luck was definitely on my side. 

I thought the sailing was pretty cool.... But Chris is a much better pilot than I am. Heck, my "safety" margin is usually minimum 20 feet or higher. His is like 2 inches most the time. LOL....

 

[Mikeq]

I've had plenty of close calls over the years as well as many others here have probably had and sad to say none of them were caught on video. I've also had my share I didn't get her down in one piece...Sometimes lady luck is with you and most of the time she's not especially if your engine dies and you don't have enough altitude to dead stick it in.. Really glad you were able to save your 260...

 

[Ohio AV8TOR]

I just had one last night with my 83" Extreme Flight MXS.  Still breaking in the second new motor on the plane about the 9 minute mark doing some rolling circles at maybe 1/3 power when I rolled out to find it pulling hard to the left.  I set up to land but realised I was still in low rate and was afraid I would not have enough right aileron to compensate.  I went back up to altitude because I wanted to be higher to flip to high rate.  With that much right in I could not flip the switch.  I came back in for approach and on the last turn did not think I could roll it back level but it did and I landed pretty well actually.  As I approached the plane I gave it some aileron and only the right side worked.  Thinking I somehow put the wrong hat on when I left for the field and used the dumbass hat leaving off a connection of locking clip but no all looked right.  After getting to the pits I disconnected the right and left leads and still no left wing aileron.  Back at the house I removed the servo to eliminate the extensions and plug directly into the receiver and still nothing.  Kind of scarey a new servo with 5 flights on it.  

 

Great thread, could have some interesting posts.  

 

[stangflyer]

Ohio.AV8TOR said
I just had one last night with my 83" Extreme Flight MXS.  Still breaking in the second new motor on the plane about the 9 minute mark doing some rolling circles at maybe 1/3 power when I rolled out to find it pulling hard to the left.  I set up to land but realised I was still in low rate and was afraid I would not have enough right aileron to compensate.  I went back up to altitude because I wanted to be higher to flip to high rate.  With that much right in I could not flip the switch.  I came back in for approach and on the last turn did not think I could roll it back level but it did and I landed pretty well actually.  As I approached the plane I gave it some aileron and only the right side worked.  Thinking I somehow put the wrong hat on when I left for the field and used the dumbass hat leaving off a connection of locking clip but no all looked right.  After getting to the pits I disconnected the right and left leads and still no left wing aileron.  Back at the house I removed the servo to eliminate the extensions and plug directly into the receiver and still nothing.  Kind of scarey a new servo with 5 flights on it.  

 

Great thread, could have some interesting posts.  

Yikes..that would be very spooky for sure. Glad you got her down and back home in one piece. I am hoping for some really great stories here. Love hearing of others experiences and triumphs.

 

[Patroller]

Wow Rob, glad to hear the plane survived with minimal damage. I got my scare at the field with my 104 EF earlier this spring when it was still new. Best I can figure out is I must have forgot to fill the tank between flights. Thankfully I had just finished a hammerhead over the center of the field and had plenty of altitude when the engine stopped. I brought it in and landed without incident other than feeling pretty foolish when I later noticed the tank was bone dry.

I am keeping my eyes open regarding the weather for this weekend and may go out to fly.

 

[stangflyer]

Patroller said
Wow Rob, glad to hear the plane survived with minimal damage. I got my scare at the field with my 104 EF earlier this spring when it was still new. Best I can figure out is I must have forgot to fill the tank between flights. Thankfully I had just finished a hammerhead over the center of the field and had plenty of altitude when the engine stopped. I brought it in and landed without incident other than feeling pretty foolish when I later noticed the tank was bone dry.

I am keeping my eyes open regarding the weather for this weekend and may go out to fly.

Nice save.... May have to get you a site glass for the side of your fuse so you can check your tank. LOL. Guess a bunch of the guys are going to shoot for tomorrow. Richard may bring his 38%. Ernie is probably bring his 33% Krill. I will probably bring the 260. But all this is according to the weather. 

 

[thurmma]

I had a pretty good scare earlier this summer with a new to me 36% Edge. I had been flying for a while and everything was going good so I figured I would throw it into a knife edge pass. First pass no problem, second pass APPEARED to be no problem until I rolled back wings level, then the defecation hit the rotary oscillator (sh***t hit the fan)! The plane was wanting to roll hard to the right so I gave left aileron, but not enough there, so I gave full left rudder alone and almost got it back to level flight but massively crowing. I managed to slow it down to the point where I could level it out with full rudder and a lot of aileron thrown in which allowed me to get it on the ground in one piece. After my hands calmed down I pulled the canopy off and found the rudder servo control horn had stripped when I nail the rudder for the last knife edge and had basically called full right rudder center! Normally not a problem, but new plane, a ton of rudder throw and a cross wind made for a very interesting flight

 

[stangflyer]

thurmma said
I had a pretty good scare earlier this summer with a new to me 36% Edge. I had been flying for a while and everything was going good so I figured I would throw it into a knife edge pass. First pass no problem, second pass APPEARED to be no problem until I rolled back wings level, then the defecation hit the rotary oscillator (sh***t hit the fan)! The plane was wanting to roll hard to the right so I gave left aileron, but not enough there, so I gave full left rudder alone and almost got it back to level flight but massively crowing. I managed to slow it down to the point where I could level it out with full rudder and a lot of aileron thrown in which allowed me to get it on the ground in one piece. After my hands calmed down I pulled the canopy off and found the rudder servo control horn had stripped when I nail the rudder for the last knife edge and had basically called full right rudder center! Normally not a problem, but new plane, a ton of rudder throw and a cross wind made for a very interesting flight

Whew....that definitely qualifies for close call and narrow escape. Many don't get a second chance on something like this.