It is tempting to ponder the Shaw accident.
Accident reports simplify down to two results in the reader`s mind:
(1) There but for the Grace of God go I, or
(2) I wouldn`t have done that.
Thanks to Mike Parkin for the warning about drooping ailerons on a
loaded wing - something perhaps we hadn`t considered ourselves....
The described reaction of the Europa wing is much the same as the early
North American cantilever mono-wings such as the NA64Yale and BT9
designs. Get the ball out of centre on final and it`s inverted and 30deg
nosedown in one movie screen - 1-30th second.
I note some misunderstanding about slip and skid. This, for those
less practised or experienced:
Visualise a slippery circular racetrack with fast car centred in the turn.
Too fast and you SKID up and off the track; too slow and you SLIP down off
the track. For each speed there is a bank ideal for centring - same as the
aircraft. The job is to pick the ideal bank for the speed (actually angle of
attack). Turning with only aileron does not answer the threat, depending
on the design of the ailerons. Admittedly, Don Dykins has produced a good
design for aileron drag but it doesn`t make nice to anger Mother nature.
Because the rudder is so effective, it is important to treat it as a
wing-accelerator (unlike a boat). Push left rudder and accelerate the right
wing and slow the left wing. If you are keen to examine the wing at
altitude, consider this. At altitude, the split second the wing drops, add
power, drop nose and give opposite rudder (ie: left wing down, rapid right
rudder). The first two moves speed the `plane up, the latter kick
accelerates the lower wing. If anything will preserve your wellbeing, this
will.
The overriding rule is always co-ordinate the turn ( ball in the
centre) with the bank applicable to the airspeed. The only way to achieve
this is to practise these manoeuvres until they become second nature. When
you can fly the turn with the ball in the centre - without looking at it -
(observer), you are ready to land in less-than-ideal conditions.
YOU must be satisfied, Captain..
Ferg Kyle
Europa A064 914 Classic
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