French Alpha Jet trainer over the UK? Wonder what it was doing there. Interesting.

 

NAVEX

PIC: "Sommes-nous perdu?"
NAV: "Merde! j'étais endormi!"

 

Flew from Singapore to Da Nang, Vietnam, this afternoon in a B737-8. When I peeked out the window as I strapped myself in, it looked like the winglet was being held together with duct tape:


And at the end of the trip, it looked like the tape was starting to peel off:


Other signs that she's had a hard life include scuff marks on the engine nacelle vortex generators and paint chipping/peeling:

 

The tape is called High Speed tape and when applied correctly it becomes a second skin. You can have various thickness HST depending on what you need to do. If the surface is not cleaned properly the tape can lift like on your flight. perfectly normal and no safety issue.

The engine nacelle vortex/strakes look like they were repaired with PRC sealant which is strange but maybe thats just the photo. I have previously seen damage like this and it was caused during maintenance. The core cowling is opened and the LE slats are not locked out. Someone takes a task card to test slat extension and neglects to check clearance first and they kiss. The slat always comes off worse. That is one possibility, there are many other reasons this could have been damaged but 99% sure it was a human and not a flight situation.

The missing paint is no issue. It's either bad prep from the last paint job or the aircraft is facing a significant Mx event like a D check or 12 year check depending on the MPD. I prefer my aircraft looking ratty as it means they have flown thousands of hours without problems. Its the new birds that will kill you or the post Mx ones

 

Excellent job by the pilot to make a safe emergency landing after losing the canopy on her glider. She didn't appear to panic at all.

Gives some food for thought as to whether she should be wearing a flight helmet with visor or goggles when piloting aircraft with this type of canopy. I do recall on my military aviation medicine course, the instructor saying to us to always keep the visor on our flight helmet down in case something like this happened (either the clear or tinted one):

 

I agree that the pilot did an excellent job.

I also believe that some form of eye and head protection should be worn. Especially if the aircraft being flown has a plexiglass windshield. The potential for a bird strike is ever present.

These pictures from a company aircraft strike in April. The BH 407 was returning to base at 1500 AGL @ 125 kts when a seagull penetrated the pilot side windshield. The bird struck the pilot in the chest and its remains can be seen next to the collective, in both pictures. The pilot and crew did an excellent job of managing the EP and landed safely in a field, next to a church.





Around the time of this event, the following had been sent out from the Chief Pilots Office:

“The decision has been made to revise the Bird Strike- Precautions and Policy, after the recent penetrating bird strikes we’ve experienced, and on the heels of a fatal accident in the industry.

The airspeed / altitude restrictions imposed by the current policy are now active at all times. It is now applicable 365 days / year, around the clock, and goes into effect immediately.

Most helicopters will remain restricted to 115KIAS when at or below 1500’ AGL, the only change is it’s no longer a seasonal / night policy”

Helmets with visors down has always been mandatory.

I can’t see why Glider pilots could not benefit from the additional safety of helmets with visors. It could also double as another surface to mount their cameras

I have almost forgotten what it’s like to fly with just a headset. The only time I break out the Bose is for annual recurrent in the Simulator.



Fly Safe!

 

@Charlie3755
Thanks for sharing that story. I hope the PIC wasn't injured. A seagull striking your chest at those speeds would definitely hurt. And there would be fragments of plexiglass possibly causing scratches etc.

 

@DoctorEvil thanks for asking. Fortunately no injuries were sustained by the pilot or crew. Everything was caught on camera and the crew were later commended for how well they responded to the emergency.

 

Casio G-Shock on the wrist of an Italian F-35 pilot. Don't know the watch reference number so sing out if you do. I've also duplicated this post in the thread "Casio Corner"

 

Are we flying today or just plowing?

 

Lucky you didn't get bogged.

 

That was next to the hanger, aka "temporary storage for agricultural equipment" which therefore needs no planning permission. Main mowed part of the strip was firmer.

 

Just in from my Son.
He said "Ignore the word "apparently".

 

Let's hope the pilot is OK and didn't sustain any serious injuries.

 

Any landing You can walk away from...
.