David, Could you elaborate on the nose gear that collapsed? Where did it fail? Whose nose gear was it? Diehl? He has two, a standard and a Corvair version (don't know the difference). Do any recommendations come out of this incident regarding the mounting of the nose gear? My questions are innocent, I know that if you land on the mains and then settle on the nose gear you will be fine.
Thanks On Mon, Oct 11, 2010 at 9:43 AM, David Goodman < dgood...@verticalavionics.com> wrote: > Guys, > > I was in this airplane when it crashed. If you want to know what happened > you are NOT going to find it in the pixels of an NTSB or FAA report. If > fact relying on either an FAA or NTSB report for details on anything other > than a commercial or high interest (national media coverage) mishap is a > colossal mistake. > > Facts everyone needs to know about this mishap, mishap investigations, and > the KR2 in general. > > - The current NTSB report is a PRELIMINARY REPORT. It says so right in the > first box. Most of the information they used was given to them by me, from > the back of an ambulance enroute to UC Davis Medical Center 30 minutes > after > the mishap. > > If you contact the NTSB about a mishap, they will go down a 40 question > form > with you. It is amazing how many facts I gave them they either got wrong, > or chose to word incorrectly. We will have to wait and see what the final > report says, but so far, more than half of the "facts" in the PRELIMINARY > REPORT are simply incorrect. > > Understand something about the NTSB. They took my phone call, got a > statement from Jim (PIC), looked at the plane for less than 45 minutes, and > wrote a preliminary report. The NTSB does not "investigate" mishaps of > this > nature other than to assess if they need to investigate it. Since there > was > no indication of failure of the aircraft (controls, engine, linkages) and > no > fatality (thankfully) they neither care nor desire to spend any more time > on > such mishaps. No threat to the public, no media interest nationally, no > further involvement or brain power expended by them. They have other, > better, ways of maximizing the consumption of your taxpayer dollars. > > As a military trained and experienced mishap investigator I can tell you > the > amount of time spent on a mishap scene is directly reflected in the > accuracy > of the report of findings. Do not hang your hat, or your biases, on a > "report" that has so little time invested in investigation. Just analyzing > what happened to the nose strut should have taken more time than the NTSB > spent total, if one wants to actually know what happened. A trained mishap > investigator can tell you what angle the plane impacted in pitch and roll, > what the vertical vector into the ground was (which will give the plane's > airspeed), and a host of other information, just from the nose strut. 45 > minutes total at the scene? Translating this statement to other KR > mishaps: > They may get parts of a given mishap correct and they may be enroute to > Pluto or points beyond on others. Do not define your opinions by these > reports. > > - There was nothing twitchy or overly sensitive about Jim's plane. It was > a > well balanced, solid-responding plane. I had more hours in it than anyone > else (12.1) and I had zero problem with the flight characteristics of this > aircraft. If there had been any issues with it handling qualities, my > logbook would have reflected a .1 total time in flight, just enough time to > circle to land and walk away. The plane responded to the inputs it > received. Jim's craftsmanship was very evident in how this plane flew. > > The KR design is responsive, not sensitive. This may seem like semantics, > but there is a very big difference. Most people are used to flying > aircraft > with the responsiveness of a 18-wheeler, i.e., a Cessna 150 or Piper 140. > These planes are totally forgiving of pilot errors because they are trainer > airplanes. The KR pedigree does not behave this way. Simply put, if you > fly a KR with the same heavy handedness most pilots fly with, you are going > for Mr. Toad's wild ride. > > I flew with two other pilots in Jim's KR, once each in the left and right > seat. One was an ATP, the other a commercial pilot. Neither chose to fly > in the plane again. Both made some of the classic mistakes new pilots to > the KR make, and it was "exciting" to be in the right seat with both of > them. The intent was they would finish the test phase of flying the plane, > but they declined. The ATP pilot actually told someone this was the only > plane he had ever flown that scared him, an unfortunate observation, but > not > a knock against the KR. His comfort level remains in 18-wheelers. > > Before anyone flies the KR for the first time alone it is my STRONG opinion > they need to fly with someone else in a KR first. I also submit one should > spend some time talking to someone who knows a good deal about how the KR > handles relative to other aircraft. THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE people who have > most or all of their time in the KR, as they will miss a great deal of the > difference that needs to be explained to a new KR pilot. This is not a cut > down, it is simply their familiarity and comfort with the KR platform may > cause them to skip key factors a new KR person needs to know about. If you > spent a few years building something you are proud enough to go airborne > in, > take the extra bit of time to get ready to fly it the right way, by/with > someone who can help you. If you cannot find anyone else to talk to, give > Bill Clapp or I a call. > > For the tall, big, or otherwise unable to fly in with another in the KR, do > not despair. Give Bill or I a call. Many people (including myself) > successfully flew a KR with no prior time. My first landing in my own KR, > Goliath, looked like a missile coming down the glideslope. > > - Yes, the plane bounced, exactly twice. The first time was under control, > the second was not. The third contact collapsed the nose gear and the > propeller's disintegration drove us to the left side of the runway. > > - We did not "continue off the left side of the runway" after landing left > of centerline as the NTSB report states. This implies we were lined up > left > with a vector not in line with the runway. That is incorrect. On a wide > runway we landed slightly left and were driven off the left side by the > disintegration of the propeller. If you have a prop strike with the prop > turning full power after the nose gear collapses, you are going to be > driven > by that prop to the side of the runway. Expect it. > > - The firewall was not damaged, or even cracked like the NTSB report > states. > The upper plywood was bent, but not fractured, and the lower firewall did > not appear to have broken away from the fuselage. Other than repairing the > damage to the upper portion of the airframe, and overhauling the engine > this > plane should be repairable. I have seen military jets crashed worse than > this that went on to fly 20 more years. > > - There were no passengers in this aircraft, nor were there any passengers > in the aircraft on any previous flight. Per FAA order 8130.2 (series) Par > 134(10) there were only essential crew in the plane. One can look at 14 > Code of Federal Regulations, Part 91 and Advisory Circular 20-27 (series), > Certification and Operation of Amateur-built Aircraft for more information. > Interestingly, nowhere in the CFR or FAA regulations will you find a > definition of what an "essential crew" is. > > If anyone has questions about this mishap, call me at 360 678 1602. The > FAA > investigation is ongoing, but I will share anything and everything safety > related with anyone who calls. > > There are more photos and write-up of the mishap aircraft at: > http://sites.google.com/a/wildblue.net/goodmans/Home/2010-kr2-mishap > > If you have questions about flying a KR for the first time, call me as > well. > I will spend however much time you need or want to help you get ready for > that first flight. > > IHS, > David Goodman > Vertical Avionics, Inc. > www.verticalavionics.com > > > _______________________________________ > Search the KRnet Archives at http://www.maddyhome.com/krsrch/index.jsp > to UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@mylist.net > please see other KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html >
