There I Was…
By: Gene Hilsheimer - 12/06/09

Saturday’s flight was my first in about four weeks.  Several flights had been rained out or other business had taken precedence…

Set up for takeoff was normal… everything looked good.  I preflighted N46 about 45 minutes earlier, after we buttoned it all back up after its monthly lube.

Takeoff was normal - if you forgive the fact that I gently kissed the field with my landing gear a few seconds after lifting off.  In my effort to “stay low” and wait for the tow plane to become airborne, I descended about an inch more that I should have and bumped off into my “2nd” takeoff of the morning… Nothing major… but embarrassing, all the same.

Normal tow and release at 2500ft and a few lazy circles looking for the nonexistent lift I knew was out there.

Mid-field at 1000ft - made my radio call “Coastal Approach, Blanik 46 overhead, landing gear down and locked, entering a left hand pattern to 36”.  OSO advised me of the other Blanik sitting in takeoff position, awaiting my landing.

Winds were about 10kts from 350 and I was figuring to make a little shorter turn to final than I normally do in lighter winds.  Everything was just right.  I started my turn from downwind to base at about 400ft and about a quarter of the way through the turn - ALL HELL BROKE LOSE somewhere behind me BANG - BANG - BANG - BANG.  A very LOUD banging was coming from somewhere inside the aircraft behind me it seemed…  I was startled, but not scared… although for some reason, my first thought was that some sort of cable had snapped and I would certainly have some sort of control problems to deal with.

Even though I was only about halfway through my turn to final and only 250-300 feet over the horse pasture I did what “control checks” I could manage in a low 45 degree left bank.  BANG - BANG - BANG - BANG. I felt that the airplane was still flying - although the LOUD BANGING behind me somewhere had no intentions of subsiding.

Around the turn I came, picked my flair point and continued to descend… BANG - BANG - BANG - BANG. 

My flair was OK - not pretty, I’m sure. BANG - BANG - BANG - BANG... I heard Don, OSO for the day, squawk something about the wing strap slapping around… It must have been pretty startling to the guys on the ground that I passed upon landing… to hear the banging and seeing something slapping around on the left side of the aircraft.

I rolled out and cleared the runway and came to a stop.  Opened the canopy and exited the cockpit to find the metal strap that runs from the rear topside of the left wing - all the way forward, then around the wing - before it ends up at the rear of the underside of the wing.  It was the strap that fills the gap between the wing root and the fuselage once the wings are installed.  That strap you peek under to confirm castellated nut and pin are installed during preflight.

Subsequent inspection back at the hangar found that it seemed that the small metal tab that is inserted into a slot at the rear of the wing’s upper surface had worked its way lose and the entire 8 or 10 ft long by 3 inch wide stainless steel strap was beating itself to death against the fuselage adjacent to the left wing root on the top of the wing.

All was well… no damage to the aircraft… but an exciting landing all the same.

Thanks Tom, Joe, Dave and my other instructors for training me to be prepared to deal with the unexpected and just fly the airplane.

Gene Hilsheimer
Solo Student

Additional News Items

» Brad Jackson - Diamond Altitude
» Tow Plane Positioning Procedures
» Pancake Breakfast/Lube Day - 03Apr10
» Notes from the Club President - February 2010
» Pancake Breakfast / Lube Day
» We have a Grob!
» Ray Davis - Solo
» Great Pancakes!
» CSA Article in the UWF Newspaper
» Tom Johnson - Silver Badge - Minden, NV
» Wing Running Course
» It can happen to the best of us!
» Our area’s FAA Flight Standards District Office: (FSDO)
» Cart Maintenance
» Altitudes - General Info

Club Officers:

  • President: Tom Johnson
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  • Vice President: Ralph Tarver
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  • Secretary: John Bolyard
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  • Financial Officer: Roger Hinote
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  • Civil Air Patrol Liaison: Jason Depew
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Club Instructors:

Certified Flight Instructors - Glider (CFIG)
  • Jason Depew
  • Alan Edwards
  • Dave Galloway
  • Roger Hinote
  • Brad Jackson
  • Tom Johnson
  • Joe Kuehmeier
  • Sean Noronha
Certified Flight Instructor (CFI)
  • Jason Depew
  • Alan Edwards
  • Dave Galloway
  • Brad Jackson

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