Used another one of my 9 lives yesterday.

[Ragwing nut]

Had a forced landing due to a rod bolt failure in my neighbors Cessna 182 yesterday. Luckily I was right over a grass strip but it had not been used as one in over 10 years so it was a gamble to the condition of it. No damage to the aircraft, owner, my son, nephew, or myself. I have been in my share of forced landings and it is getting old to say the least. We were about 5 miles from home and it broke on que right after I changed power settings from climb to cruise. Engine had 1000 since overhaul so not sure what the deal is yet till we get it home and apart. Really considering quitting, but very hard when I have grown up with it and flying has been a part of my family for 80 odd years.

Mike

[mpmccomb]

Re: Used another one of my 9 lives yesterday.

Yeah forced landings...very unnerving. I'm glad to hear there was no damage to the plane or occupants. I've only had one forced landing in my 800 hours of recreational flying but once was plenty and it's already gotten old for me! I was lucky as well as the plane and I were both unscathed but when the engine stopped running and the prop just slowly and silently turned I then knew the true meaning of the expression; "the silence was deafening"!
- Murray

[crispy critter]

Re: Used another one of my 9 lives yesterday.

Great Job Mike!! Don't quit,it wasn't luck...just think of it as basic pilot training,you done what you were trained to do in the event of an engine out. Or you can say it was just pure skill of an over comfident pilot..either one works. I'm 32 years old and I've had 6 force landings,most of them because I was too young and dumb not to fly other peoples JUNK.LOL . I'm starting to grow up a little bit now and I'm learning not to fly anything just because it has wings,I'm also a lot more careful on my preflights. Breaking a rod is one of those things that rarely happen but sometimes it does. Don't quit...just enjoy.

[taylorcraftbc65]

Re: Used another one of my 9 lives yesterday.

Don't quit Mike, if you do, you will always look at the sky longingly from then on.
I have had TONS of engine outs, sometimes over BAAAAD terrain, but I have never been hurt. (The reason for most of the engine outs was that they due to flying behind a two stroke motor in an ultralight).
After every successful off-field landing, I just thought NYA-NYA, you missed me, and had a smile on my face. Sabrina

What I did to death, fate, and the gremlins of aviation after every successful landing was this.

[Len Petterson]

Re: Used another one of my 9 lives yesterday.

They say the prop is there to keep the pilot cool.
So true! If it stops watch him or her sweat!
Glad it all turned out well. 200 hr and one with low Rpm on a go around.
Made me hot enough, and say thank you!

Len

[VictorBravo]

Re: Used another one of my 9 lives yesterday.

Can't quit, Mike, you're an addict like the rest of us.

I used to race sailplanes, forced landings were a routine event. Probably 50 or 60 in my five years of XC soaring.

Only had one in a powerplane on a recreational flight, spinner came off an RV-3 and removed a third of one prop blade, so it had to be shut down immediately so the motor stayed on the plane.

If you want to get conservative in your old age, just start paying more and more attention to where you can land safely, mark up your charts with safe emergency locations, go out and scout for them in a car or at low altitude in areas where they are not so easily seen by air.

We need ya, so stick around!

[wlas]

Re: Used another one of my 9 lives yesterday.

I've only had one forced landing and that was when the crankshaft on my C-85 broke in flight. I was on floats and had just taken off a lake that it wouldn't have been pretty, if it let go on take off. Instead it let go just as I leveled out at 2500 feet. So with a number of lakes under me, I had a choice. The only problem was no one lived on any of the lakes and no roads for miles and miles. I had a CB radio mounted in the plane and got a friend with his sedan to fly in and pick me up and that only the beginning of the story. But anyway just get back up on the horse and go.

[Ragwing nut]

Re: Used another one of my 9 lives yesterday.

I won't be quitting anytime soon, but it definitely makes me think about it when I had my son and nephew on board at the time. I am 34, 200 hours in 40 plus different aircraft, most of it tailwheel, with 5 forced landings and only one was damaged. I have also lost quite a few friends as well as my closest best friend to aircraft accidents. It kinda takes the fun out it with those kinda numbers.

Mike

[fearofpavement]

Re: Used another one of my 9 lives yesterday.

Wow, based on the statistics in the previous posts I am missing a lot of excitement. I have never had the thrill of a forced landing. (not seeking to have one In fact in over 8000 hours I have never even had to feather an engine or had one completely quit. Of course I had opportunities to use up some of my nine lives in other ways. Mountain valleys and thunderstorms come to mind. I think the reason I have never had an engine failure is that...... beats me... Not running out of gas is one reason. I landed on my long private cross country nearly 30 years ago with about six ounces of fuel left (if that) and at that time vowed to never run that low again. (come to think of it that was in a Taylorcraft)

All jesting aside, having an incident in an aircraft can happen to anyone. Some will quit after something like that but it is not common. I hit a deer on a motorcycle one time (that used up three of the nine lives) and walked away from it. I still ride. I have scared the bejeebers out of myself on a number of occasions while flying but still fly. (I don't scare myself as often now that I am older and less brave) So as everyone else said, hang in there. Most light aircraft will protect the occupents in an off airport landing as long as it is still flying when contact is made. How's that go about keep flying it until all the parts stop moving?? Glad it all turned out well for you but don't you make a practice of checking the rod bolts on your preflight

[whake]

Re: Used another one of my 9 lives yesterday.

"Once you have tasted flight,
you will forever walk the earth
with your eyes turned skyward,
for there you have been, and there
you will always long to return"
Leonardo da Vinchi

[Doc]

Re: Used another one of my 9 lives yesterday.

Howdy: Yup, an interesting event - I had a total engine failure in IFR conditions while in a C172 with my wife about 10 years ago - fortunately we were at 7,000 MSL at 6 miles from Stinson (SSF) and LORAN steered me directly over the field with a circling descent - being in contact with SAT approach also helped. We broke out at 1,200 AGL and rolled and stopped on Rwy 9. I credited the "no incident" event to 1). Sailplane training was I was a CAP cadet and, 2). "Emergency engine-out" training to real landing when I was working on my PPL in the late 1960's - the newer programs do not seem to do that anymore for both insurance and engine management concerns. Congratulations on your safe arrival! The bent metal can be fixed (or scrapped) - we humans are a little more touchy. Doc

[Chet Peek]

Re: Used another one of my 9 lives yesterday.

Mike, you should be proud of yourself that you kept you cool and got everything down in one piece. I had a W-670 blow up on me in a Waco UPF-7with my oldest boy in the front seat, we made it down fine, although he says it was the worst landing I ever made.
I know you feel a little shaky after one of those incidents, but soon you will feel some exhilaration for having dodged the bullet.
Will talk to you soon.
Chet

[48fordnut]

Re: Used another one of my 9 lives yesterday.

Good Job!!.

[Ragwing nut]

Re: Used another one of my 9 lives yesterday.

Mike, you should be proud of yourself that you kept you cool and got everything down in one piece. I had a W-670 blow up on me in a Waco UPF-7with my oldest boy in the front seat, we made it down fine, although he says it was the worst landing I ever made.
I know you feel a little shaky after one of those incidents, but soon you will feel some exhilaration for having dodged the bullet.
Will talk to you soon.
Chet

Around here where there is plenty of places to park one, it becomes an expensive inconvience and just pisses me off rather than panicky. Now if we lived in forest country it might be a different story

mike