Years ago, when flying for Rhoades, another pilot and I used to stall the DC-3 on the empty legs home. We practiced everything we knew could bite us so that those things never would. What seemed crazy to others kept us safe.
What did we learn?
If you ever stall a "three" you'll never forget how it drops off. It can be pretty aggressive. Yet, unless there is something wrong with you or the ship, it doesn't go into a spin. The stall happens around 50, you'll definitely lose some altitude, and you never ever want it to happen unexpectedly.
In the video below, you'll see something is clearly amiss. From what I'm told, it was the classic "every jumper to the rear" maneuver that has bitten many sky-drivers (pilots of sky diving planes). Additionally, one engine may have been pulled back to remove some blast from the divers, thus leading to obvious additional issues. Whatever the case. I am quite damn sure that pilot never let it happen again.
**Side note: While I was at Rhoades there was one guy flying there who was not quite right. After I witnessed him fly into a thunderstorm to prove a point, I refused to fly with him again. When I asked someone how he ended up at the company, part of the story was that he had been hauling skydivers out beyond the Mississippi and ended up in an unexpected spin. That incident caused him to leave and come to Rhoades. I was at Rhoades roughly twenty years ago. This video was taken twenty years ago. I wonder...
**Side note: While I was at Rhoades there was one guy flying there who was not quite right. After I witnessed him fly into a thunderstorm to prove a point, I refused to fly with him again. When I asked someone how he ended up at the company, part of the story was that he had been hauling skydivers out beyond the Mississippi and ended up in an unexpected spin. That incident caused him to leave and come to Rhoades. I was at Rhoades roughly twenty years ago. This video was taken twenty years ago. I wonder...
2 comments:
Wow, great video and interesting story.
You have to keep the airspeed up to beyond the stall point, regardless of what the skydivers want. They will be doing 120 in a few seconds anyway. Fly the airplane first, all else is secondary.
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