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Google Maps catches aircraft mishap on the runway
(Usually opens in default ROADMAP view, you may have to click on SATELLITE to see the airplane on the runway) What are the chances that Google would be directly overhead right when this happened? Or if you already have Google Earth installed and want to see it there, cut and paste: N 40.8748, W 81.8886 (www.google.com) Más...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
Looking at the Google Earth wayback machine, there are more or fewer planes there depending on the time of the year, and there is one shot with a helicopter on the helo pad. I didn't find one on the beach, but maybe a truck.
There is definitely a plane on the beach there...no idea why though. Looks like it's stuck in the sand.
I have seen numerous planes caught on camera in the air, as well as one at the bottom of a lake in the past. Satellite imagery has come a long way since my Pops looked at such while in the Air Force.
The Mooney’s propeller doesn’t look like it had any damage. So, the pilot must have cut the engine and stalled to stop the prop windmilling and landed without power.. Either a very good pilot or a foolhardy one. Take your pick!
I see damaged prop tips. Power was probably cut in the flare but both tips were dinged before the prop stopped. It looks like the pilot also elected to use only a few degrees of flaps to save flap damage. All in all, not too costly of a landing. Mooney gear, if maintained properly, is bullet proof. Not sure what issue caused the gear up.
Not Luck and not foolhardy, just a good mechanic plus a savvy pilot. Flat 6 aircraft engines have a piston at compression TDC (top dead center) three times per revolution. When you bolt-on a two-blade prop you make sure two of those TDC events happen with the prop 30 degrees off horizontal. Note the pic shows this, the prop stopped a bit more than 60 degrees past vertical. If you are facing a gear-up landing and the prop stops vertically, just bump the starter and it will stop at one of the other two positions. By the way, doing this avoids the engine rebuild since there is no prop strike.
The propellor does not stop unless you drastically reduce the airspeed by stalling the airplane. That’s why they call it “wind”milling. But, it’s fairly easy to do and recover from at a decent altitude.
Most pilots don’t practice deadstick landings and that’s why it can be a bad idea to attempt one just to save the expense of the engine teardown and prop replacement. A gear up landing on a runway is fairly safe to accomplish when the airplane is under full control. A misjudged landing without power CAN turn into a disaster.
Most pilots don’t practice deadstick landings and that’s why it can be a bad idea to attempt one just to save the expense of the engine teardown and prop replacement. A gear up landing on a runway is fairly safe to accomplish when the airplane is under full control. A misjudged landing without power CAN turn into a disaster.
RC, I understand the physics, and you did not even mention that the Mooney is an incredibly slick airframe that will maintain airspeed with little coaxing, so stopping a prop on one is harder than with a Cessna powered by the same engine. And yes way too few pilots actually practice pilotage. Seriously I would never suggest any pilot attempt maneuvers or procedures they are uncomfortable with. Gear up >should< never be your first dead stick.
However, I simply assert that those images suggest to me, that a “savvy” pilot in that aircraft seems to have flattened pitch to minimize windmilling, and while maintaining adequate altitude for safety, bled away enough airspeed to have stopped the prop while still airborne and managed their aircraft’s energy well enough all the way down that it came to rest very nearly in the middle of the runway. I praise the skill of the particular pilot. Mooney drivers are a slightly different breed.
I do not suggest anyone attempt any such feat if power on is an option and you do not have the skills. I do not. I’m just a mechanic that sets up two blades on flat sixes correctly, whether it is going on a retractable or not.
However, I simply assert that those images suggest to me, that a “savvy” pilot in that aircraft seems to have flattened pitch to minimize windmilling, and while maintaining adequate altitude for safety, bled away enough airspeed to have stopped the prop while still airborne and managed their aircraft’s energy well enough all the way down that it came to rest very nearly in the middle of the runway. I praise the skill of the particular pilot. Mooney drivers are a slightly different breed.
I do not suggest anyone attempt any such feat if power on is an option and you do not have the skills. I do not. I’m just a mechanic that sets up two blades on flat sixes correctly, whether it is going on a retractable or not.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ocracoke+Island+Airport/@35.1033749,-75.9627502,282m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x89a5d8991005b7f7:0x9d717cfef153e2f1!8m2!3d35.1043317!4d-75.9625571