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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!bonnie!akgua!sdcsvax!jc
From: jc@sdcsvax.UUCP (John Cornelius)
Newsgroups: net.aviation
Subject: Re: Control surface failure (reply)
Message-ID: <506@sdcsvax.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 1-Dec-84 14:01:11 EST
Article-I.D.: sdcsvax.506
Posted: Sat Dec  1 14:01:11 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 2-Dec-84 06:08:15 EST
Organization: EECS Dept. U.C. San Diego
Lines: 34
Summary: Survivors of Tomahawk traing are good pilots


Expires: 
References: <348@ihu1e.UUCP>
Sender: John Cornelius
Reply-To: jc@sdcsvax.UUCP (John Cornelius)
Followup-To: 
Distribution: 
Organization: Western Scientific
Keywords: 

For most Piper aircraft control surface failure is usually fatal. The same is
true for V tail Bonanzas. These aircraft are so "crisp" that overcoming broken
control surfaces must be done before you actually realize that the control
surface is broken.

On the other hand, I know of a straight tailed Bonanza who was overflown by a
King Aire losing much of his empenage in the process. The aircraft had pitch
and yaw stability but no control. The pilot landed using aileron to control yaw
(through roll attitude), and power and flaps to control pitch. His knees gave
out when he got out of the airplane.

Along the same lines, most high wing aircraft can be flown the same way with
empenage failure and can also be turned in the event of aileron failure by
opening and closing the doors. A friend took me out in his 172 one day and we
flew around that way for 1/2 hour.

Tomahawks will crash with a perfectly functioning airplane. They are so
notorious in fact that the CFI's at our airport claim that the survival rate of
primary students who receive training in Tomahawks is about 1/2 that of
students trained in C-152s. They become so intimidated by the airplane that
they give up the idea that they can learn how to fly.

Too bad.