I apologise for not trawling the archive before posting this one, but I'll get
to that in a moment - honest! Our question from the syndicate here concerns
outrigger
latching. Yesterday 8/9/09 landing at base in almost zero wind, after
a nice local sortie, the downwind wing dropped very shortly after normal 2-point
contact, and then the rollout departure sequence began, very deftly reigned
in by the handling pilot (not me!). We speculate that the outrigger was either
not in a fully latched (locked) condition at touchdown - ie. on gear lowering,
or might have become unlatched immediately after touchdown. Arrival was not
heavy however.
Two observations - firstly that this right outrigger _can_ be unlatched with
some
manipulation of the flap itself when parked - not so the left one. Presumably,
therefore, drag loading of the flap could have compromised the outrigger;
secondly - this right wing drop has happened before. We normally deploy gear /
flap firmly in order to ensure an outrigger latched condition. In yesterdays
event, the continued rollout was per normal, and the aircraft was stable when
taxiing and when parked - and the outriggers normally deployed. Some abrasion
to the bolt-head attaching the outrigger wheel fitting has occurred and this at
least will be replaced.
Q. how to determine the condition of the outrigger mechanism - strip-down
Q. wear or other functional issues to anticipate when we do that
Q. prevention of further mishaps
Any pointers much appreciated.
Glenn Rainey
G-OJHL syndicate
Mono 912
Cumbernauld Scotland
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