Uprooted

spotted: an aircraft jerking forward on start up. was that an indication, or just too much power set? was it a sign to worry? did it really jerk? or was it just rumours spouted to make a bonfire out of matchsticks?

today an aircraft didn't land so safely, as its nose made its way into the green pastures outside of the runway. what exactly happened, i'm not too sure. all i heard was:

"wooo... woo......... WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"

and as i directed my attention to the runway outside, i saw the aircraft nose first into the dirt. one would definitely resent the aircraft. one who never wanted to fly that particular aircraft, but is forced to.

slow down. things like this are unavoidable truth be told. like driving school, rolling backwards during the balancing hill test? or even the sudden dead engine when the traffic light turns green? and i mean manual cars btw.

whether it happens to you or not, that's a different story. to begin with, the eagle 150B isn't exactly the idealist's aircraft. categorized as extra light weight, the aircraft is certified to be a trainer aircraft only in malaysia. i think because it is malaysian. usually trainer aircrafts are light aircrafts, get the picture?

landing is the most important part, and its a lot harder when you're flying these types of small aircrafts because speed, height, and power setting is based on your own judgement, especially on solo flights. you can't be scaning to check speed and height when you're nearing threshold, and as you reduce power to prepare for touchdown, your controls become sloppy and inefficient. there is a lag when you turn the controls till when the aircraft actually banks. its not easy.

touching down can be considerate(?) in the sense the runway is more than sufficient in length. the hard part is touching down safely and smoothly. landings can be heavy with a loud "THUMP", leaving you with a sore ass, which i've proven before.

and of course breaking is a big slice of the pie too. though you may have touched down safely on the runway, its not over till you bring the aircraft to a safe slower speed. breaking as well needs careful application. break too fast or unequally, you can safely end up skidding off the runway. i get really nervous when i press on the breaks, sometimes taking too long, sometimes just feeling like i'm gonna lose control of the aircraft.

so like i said, landings are difficult. it all takes a lot of time and practice. worse thing is, losing the feel of the aircraft and judgement, resulting in bad actions. but maybe today wasn't his fault. maybe the aircraft had problems. maybe the throttle faulted during landing. we'll have to wait and see.

i'm sure he's quite shaken up by this incident. its scary even just for me as a passerby. the possibilities and what ever not, runs a chill down my spine. though the ironic thing is, this is particularly what makes it so goddamn interesting for me as well. leaving the aircraft with heart thumping on rage, in one piece.


damages?

well the grass will grow back ;P