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Closest Calls

Started by addo1, August 19, 2007, 12:37:14 AM

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addo1

  What is your closet call on a mission or a flight??  Or lets just hear some tall tales....
Addison Jaynes, SFO, CAP
Coordinator, Texas Wing International Air Cadet Exchange


National Cadet Advisory Council 2010

MIKE

I think you mean closest call.  Closet calls might be interesting though.  :)  >:D
Mike Johnston

CASH172

Alright, my closeSt call would be at the NJWG Falcon Flight Encampment.  I was a student, doing pattern work with my instructor on the active runway.  The way that Lakehurst Naval Air Engineering Station was that there were two perpendicular runways intersecting near the centers of the two runways themselves. 

As I was coming close on right midfield downwind for the active, my instructor pulls the throttle and says simulated engine failure.  Nothing out of the ordinary, happens to all students pilots starting out.  He tells me to try and take it down on the inactive, but also on a taxiway intersecting the inactive was a C-17.  The C-17 was pointed so that the jet blast was facing the inactive.  My instructor called tower said we had a simulated emergency and requested the inactive.  Tower hesitated for a couple seconds because of the C-17.  Now Lakehurst is a pretty small airport to handle say a commercial plane the size of a C-17.  So the taxiways and the amount of room to work with are about the sizes you'd expect to see at a GA and small corporate jet airport. 

Tower cleared us to land on the inactive and then called the C-17 to move forward 10 feet.  I descend down from pattern altitude to an approach altitude in within a couple seconds.  Then there's a abnormal amount of crosswind for a student because it was the inactive runway.  Anyhow, we come and touchdown and are slowing down, and the C-17 is so big that the very top part of the tail is sticking like 2 feet into the runway.  As we're still slowing down on the runway, we go right behind the C-17 when the jet blast tilted our wings about 45 degrees and picked up our plane a little.  We were able to manage to stay on the runway then slow down and taxi back to parking. 

SJFedor

Night time back in PA. Doing a practice PAR into NASJRB Willow Grove in one of our lovely Cessna 172s. (NASJRB Willow Grove is notorious for having student Naval controllers)  On about a 6 mile final, they advise me that a flight of 4 A-10s are inbound from the NW (I'm south of the field, landing runway 33 for the option). I continue the approach, and the A-10s are vectored into the VFR pattern. I ask if they want me to reduce speed or break off the approach, they decline. On about a 2 mile final, on course, on glidepath, I get a pointout that there's an A-10, 10 o'clock, turning base to final ahead of me. These guys were coming back from a range or something I surmise, and this one guy didn't have any of his lights on. I'm looking, and all of a sudden I get a visual on his landing light, a lot closer then a mile. Before I can say a thing, the PAR controller's instructor breaks in and gives me an immediate breakout. I'm afraid to ask how close I got, but from the tone of the controller instructor's voice, it sounded like we got close enough.

I didn't hear the student's voice on the radio on my 2 subsequent approaches.

Things will come out and bite you at night if you're not extra vigilant.


Second one is at a small airport north of Philly where we took our birds for avionics work. Pretty small runway, trees at one end, power lines at the other. I brought an aircraft out that needed something with the ICS fixed (static in the ICS, only duplicated in flight at high power settings). So, I take the mechanic up to demonstrate the problem. He hears it, identifies it, and we head back. Pretty windy day in PA, front just moved through. We're on final towards the power lines, wind is working me but not too bad. 13 knot crosswind. Make it past the power lines, into the flare, looks to be a squeaker. Suddenly, I get a big gust from the left, which pitches the aircraft into a right roll during the flare. The wing tip on the right must have been inches from the ground, but I was in the flare, maybe 1-2 feet off the ground. I roll hard left aileron and full back elevator, which rolled the plane level and flaring as the mains touched down.

Mechanic and I both looked equally shook up. I waited a bit before flying back out of there.

Steven Fedor, NREMT-P
Master Ambulance Driver
Former Capt, MP, MCPE, MO, MS, GTL, and various other 3-and-4 letter combinations
NESA MAS Instructor, 2008-2010 (#479)

addo1

Quote from: MIKE on August 19, 2007, 01:25:56 AM
I think you mean closest call.  Closet calls might be interesting though.  :)  >:D

                   Good point!! ;D
Addison Jaynes, SFO, CAP
Coordinator, Texas Wing International Air Cadet Exchange


National Cadet Advisory Council 2010

Al Sayre

When I was a young 15-16 year old C/TSgt, we threw a "teen age party" and there was this girl in our Squadron...

Oh wait a minute, I dont think that's what you had in mind.   :D >:D
Lt Col Al Sayre
MS Wing Staff Dude
Admiral, Great Navy of the State of Nebraska
GRW #2787

addo1

Quote from: Al Sayre on August 20, 2007, 11:46:19 AM
When I was a young 15-16 year old C/TSgt, we threw a "teen age party" and there was this girl in our Squadron...

Oh wait a minute, I dont think that's what you had in mind.   :D >:D

HA,HA
Addison Jaynes, SFO, CAP
Coordinator, Texas Wing International Air Cadet Exchange


National Cadet Advisory Council 2010

Pylon

I changed the name of the thread to "Closest Calls."    ;)
Michael F. Kieloch, Maj, CAP

Duke Dillio

But we were having so much fun with the closet calls...

Pylon

Quote from: sargrunt on August 20, 2007, 03:08:28 PM
But we were having so much fun with the closet calls...

Hey, what you do on your own time isn't any of my business.  ;) ;D
Michael F. Kieloch, Maj, CAP

addo1

Quote from: Pylon on August 20, 2007, 02:24:30 PM
I changed the name of the thread to "Closest Calls."    ;)

Thanks; Sorry about that... I meant Closest. :'(
Addison Jaynes, SFO, CAP
Coordinator, Texas Wing International Air Cadet Exchange


National Cadet Advisory Council 2010

SJFedor

#11
Quote from: Al Sayre on August 20, 2007, 11:46:19 AM
When I was a young 15-16 year old C/TSgt, we threw a "teen age party" and there was this girl in our Squadron...

Oh wait a minute, I dont think that's what you had in mind.   :D >:D



A little off course there.... ;D

Steven Fedor, NREMT-P
Master Ambulance Driver
Former Capt, MP, MCPE, MO, MS, GTL, and various other 3-and-4 letter combinations
NESA MAS Instructor, 2008-2010 (#479)

RogueLeader

WYWG DP

GRW 3340

Flying Pig

I was flying into 29 Palms Airport and decended a little low a little to early, just in time to see something red to my left and slightly above me.  I circled back around and saw I had missed a radio tower and the support wires by MAYBE 100 yards.  The red thing I saw above me was the red beacon on top.

SJFedor

Quote from: Flying Pig on August 22, 2007, 05:20:25 PM
I was flying into 29 Palms Airport and decended a little low a little to early, just in time to see something red to my left and slightly above me.  I circled back around and saw I had missed a radio tower and the support wires by MAYBE 100 yards.  The red thing I saw above me was the red beacon on top.

That's some pucker factor right there!

Steven Fedor, NREMT-P
Master Ambulance Driver
Former Capt, MP, MCPE, MO, MS, GTL, and various other 3-and-4 letter combinations
NESA MAS Instructor, 2008-2010 (#479)

Flying Pig

Well, the sad thing is that the tower was on the map! ::)

RogueLeader

I'm laughing. .  .I know I shouldn't. . . . but I can't help it.  I'm sorry. :angel:
WYWG DP

GRW 3340

genejackson

Engine out in CPF 4518.   Been flying 33 years and flying for CAP for 11 years.   Have over 1000 hrs flown for CAP alone...

Airport is SMALL and runway was not visible when flying from east to west, completely obscured by tree line until I flew over it and made my final turn to land.
Gene Jackson
COL (R) US Army
Danville VA

SDF_Specialist

Quote from: genejackson on August 25, 2007, 02:37:34 AM
Engine out in CPF 4518.   Been flying 33 years and flying for CAP for 11 years.   Have over 1000 hrs flown for CAP alone...

Airport is SMALL and runway was not visible when flying from east to west, completely obscured by tree line until I flew over it and made my final turn to land.


I'm not a pilot, but I can tell you that I would have probably wished I had another pair of underpants with me. It's true that a lot of people think "it could never happen to me", but the truth is you never know if it will or not. You are a great example of this Colonel, and I applaud your critical thinking in an emergency such as this. BTW, you never said if any other CAP personnel showed up to "get you".
SDF_Specialist

RogueLeader

Wow, that just goes to show that you can do EVERYTHING right, and still get shafted by life.  I'm just glad that you weren't shafted as bad as you could have been.
WYWG DP

GRW 3340