[Auster wobbler]

Had a nice little pole round in my Auster j5g this morning , going know where special just a flight for the hell of it after a wet runway lay off, thought I would do a few turns just for a bit of practice and fun, one steep turn to the right followed by turn to the left and head home on rolling into left turn it went twang ! " THE AILERON CABLE" it was hanging limp in the cockpit off the controll assembly ,after the initial bowel evacuation I got the wings back level then all turns made with the rudder , flew fast approach and landing to keep the trailing aileron up , any one else tried flying on one ? I would recommend it for a instant colonic irrigation !



Austerwobbler

[Gas Guzzler]

Sounds like a serious brown trouser moment, glad your safely back on terra firma. Interested to know did the affected aileron want to drop down and need correction buy dropping the opposite one or did it centralise on it's own?

[Auster wobbler]

It centered its self in the air flow so we thought best to keep speed up on the approach , chopped the throttle over the hedge and flared for three pointer at just under 50mph

[Timothy]

Sounds like you should be congratulated for keeping calm under what must have been very nervewracking circumstances.

[KingJames]

Have you had a stiff drink yet?

[Auster wobbler]

That's the third brown adrenaline moment I have had in her ! Lost a exhaust valve that wrecked the piston , aileron cable break and the misses turning the fuel off

I am now a grey haired Austerwobber !

[Auster wobbler]

Kingjames , If I had a stiff drink after every fright I get on my Auster I would be a raging alcoholic

Austerwobbler

[KingJames]

LOL, fair enough. This one sounds well deserved though.

[Auster wobbler]

[Paul_Sengupta]

So, the wife and turning off the fuel - I think there's a human factors lesson there.

Don't take the wife flying!

So where did the cable snap and had it got any signs of rubbing or fraying? Gosh. How difficult were rudder turns to land?

[Auster wobbler]

It handled remarkably well with the rudder keeping straight , I think if we strayed from straight and level flight more than 15 to 20 degrees angle of bank I don't think it would have been recoverable with just one aileron , as for the cause I need to investigate further , but the break seems to be behind the wind generator on the starboard wing , we took the cover off and I found witness marks on the rubber insulation on one of the wires, untill I see the ends of the control can't be sure but I think it's shorted on the wire ! " just whot you need less than 6" away from a fuel tank"
I will post whot I find , needles to say I don't want to play aeroplanes anymore this weekend !

Austerwobbler

[KingJames]

That's what the drink was meant to sort

[Timothy]

Have you tried taking off with just one aileron, just for LOLs?

[Auster wobbler]

No I haven't tried that Timothy " but I am quite willing to pop along with a video camera if you are going to snip one of yours and give it a go"

Austerwobbler

[Neil MacG]

Well done for understanding and recalling the secondary effects of controls.

At least in an Auster you know something about using your feet!

I don't have a share in an Auster any more, but tempted on my next bimble to try and understand how well the 'ol 172 can be controlled with rudder only.