Thanks for the additional info regarding this very sad event Mark. Everytime I see someone on the list talk about sandbags in the cockpit I always worry about the darn things shifting around and as we all know it doesn't take much shifting around, not to mention a loose 50 pound bag of sand, in a KR to make things interesting for the pilot.
I wish that there was another way to do this testing. Maybe barbell weights securely bolted to the structure, that are installed in a way that you can gradually increase the load without endangering the test pilot. Just a thought ... Denny --- Mark Jones <mjo...@muellersales.com> wrote: > I know, with everyone that this post reaches, the > loss of such a guy as Steve weighs very heavy on our > minds and we are all deeply saddened with the loss > of Steve. It is human instinct to start throwing out > every possible cause and discuss them amongst > ourselves until the actual facts are known. The bad > part of this, is that the victims family members > very well could possibly be reading all of these > e-mails also, so we need to think and be sure of > what we are posting. Therefore, I feel it is > appropriate to inform everyone of factual > information received from the President of the local > EAA chapter in which Steve was a member. According > to this very reliable source, Steve was doing gross > weight flight testing prior to carrying passengers > with him. At the time of the accident, Steve had 175 > pounds of sand bags in the plane with him. How many > were on the seat, how many on the floor and if they > were secured is not known. Also it is not known if > Steve worked up to this weight gradually or if he > placed the full weight in at one time. Knowing how > meticulous Steve was, I would think he gradually > worked his way up to that weight. Steve had been in > the air for about one hour when he returned to the > airport. From what is known it appears that he lost > the plane as he turned from base to final spinning > into the water. Upon medical examination of the > body, water was found in Steve's lungs indicating he > died after impact. Another fact that is not known is > how Steve's CG range reacted with this additional > weight. The added weight possibly pushed his CG > beyond the aft limits rendering the aircraft > unstable. Again, from this information, it is pretty > obvious this was not an engine issue or a mechanical > failure. We all need to evaluate ourselves as pilots > and our aircraft to make sure we fly as safe as > possible. Steve paid the ultimate price doing what > he so dearly loved and I am sure he would want all > of us to learn from him. > > Mark Jones (N886MJ) > Wales, WI > Visit my web site: > http://mywebpage.netscape.com/n886mj > Email: flyk...@wi.rr.com > > > > > > _______________________________________ > Search the KRnet Archives at > http://www.maddyhome.com/krsrch/index.jsp > to UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to > krnet-le...@mylist.net > please see other KRnet info at > http://www.krnet.org/info.html > GOP = Greed-Oppression-Power. __________________________________ Start your day with Yahoo! - Make it your home page! http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs
