Tue Sep 18, 2018 6:13 am
#1638608
So, it's my first time in the aircraft for a month or so, but I didn't feel really rusty. I was methodical on the pre take off checks, but I didn't get any sense something was wrong until I rotated. And then I sensed something was really wrong.
The overwhelming sense was that the aircraft did not want to fly . I had a momentary WTF? moment, followed by a very strong reluctance to raise the nose any higher, followed by a seat of the pants extrapolation of my position relative to the end of the runway and the A27 beyond. I can attest to the momentary sense of disbelief and confusion that pilots report in moments like this. It probably took 3 seconds to make the purely instinctive call to abort, about 10 or so feet off the ground. Even then, I was very mindful that there was still scope for the situation to end badly, being nose high and probably not far from the stall
I backtracked, wondering what the hell was wrong and whether I should attempt another take off. I figured it was worth another go, but only after a really thorough run through of the pre flight checks.
And what do you know, it was only running on one mag A combination of diminished currency and aircraft familiarity, and a mag switch that rotated in its housing just enough to make it look like it was on both mags when it wasn't, was almost enough to spoil my day. Subsequent take off was uneventful.
So, blushes all round, but some useful lessons learnt and things to take merit for. My instincts were pin sharp and my decision making was spot on. I didn't pancake the aircraft onto the deck during the recovery and if there was any danger of complacency creeping in, the episode firmly nipped it in the bud.
So, not exactly air crash investigation material, but definitely an incident that gave me a lot to think about, and one I learnt a lot from.
The overwhelming sense was that the aircraft did not want to fly . I had a momentary WTF? moment, followed by a very strong reluctance to raise the nose any higher, followed by a seat of the pants extrapolation of my position relative to the end of the runway and the A27 beyond. I can attest to the momentary sense of disbelief and confusion that pilots report in moments like this. It probably took 3 seconds to make the purely instinctive call to abort, about 10 or so feet off the ground. Even then, I was very mindful that there was still scope for the situation to end badly, being nose high and probably not far from the stall
I backtracked, wondering what the hell was wrong and whether I should attempt another take off. I figured it was worth another go, but only after a really thorough run through of the pre flight checks.
And what do you know, it was only running on one mag A combination of diminished currency and aircraft familiarity, and a mag switch that rotated in its housing just enough to make it look like it was on both mags when it wasn't, was almost enough to spoil my day. Subsequent take off was uneventful.
So, blushes all round, but some useful lessons learnt and things to take merit for. My instincts were pin sharp and my decision making was spot on. I didn't pancake the aircraft onto the deck during the recovery and if there was any danger of complacency creeping in, the episode firmly nipped it in the bud.
So, not exactly air crash investigation material, but definitely an incident that gave me a lot to think about, and one I learnt a lot from.