Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 exptools 1/6/84; site ihu1e.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxj!ihnp4!ihu1e!jgpo From: jgpo@ihu1e.UUCP (John, KA9MNK) Newsgroups: net.aviation Subject: Control surface failure Message-ID: <348@ihu1e.UUCP> Date: Wed, 28-Nov-84 12:21:22 EST Article-I.D.: ihu1e.348 Posted: Wed Nov 28 12:21:22 1984 Date-Received: Thu, 29-Nov-84 04:36:16 EST Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, IL Lines: 33 < CLEAR! > The other day a buddy of mine at work was telling me of a trim tab failure he had in a Traumahawk. It seems the trim got stuck full aft and he nearly demonstrated a classic departure stall. He got it down OK, though, and consigned the plane to the tender mercies of the friendly neighborhood A&P. While the mechanic was tearing into the guts of the plane, my friend asked a CFI what would have happened if, say, the failure had involved the elevator instead of the trim tab. The answer? "Well, we'd have to write a report..." He told me this and, naturally, this prompted a long session of hangar (office?) flying. We tried to figure out what would happen if one or more control surfaces failed, subject to the constraint that the failure would result in the affected control surface streamlining with the relative wind, i.e., a severing of that surface's control mechanism without it getting stuck. For an aileron failure, both ailerons would streamline. We decided that a rudder failure probably wouldn't be too bad. An elevator failure would be pretty tense, but the plane might be flyable to a controlled crash using trim. An aileron failure would be extremely bad news, but a good pilot *might* be able to survive the crash by trying to keep the wings level with fast and furious rudder work. We didn't even want to think about multiple failures. Does anyone have any ideas on the subject? Or worse, any experience with control surface failure? This could be an interesting subject for discussion, so why not post your replies? John Opalko AT&T Bell Labs Naperville, IL