Author Topic: Chuck Moments!  (Read 9633 times)

Offline Mike

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Chuck Moments!
« on: February 14, 2008, 04:11:40 AM »
We were talking in another thread about possibly doing a thread on "the most stupid thing you've ever done in an aircraft".
No names, no N-Numbers, no dates.
I see it as stories people can hopefully learn from. You can write what you've seen "your friend" do as well if you want  ;)

Airtac kind of dared me so this is a personal story I did:

#1 stupid thing I ever did with an aircraft:

When I was a young lad and had just gotten my private pilots license I decided to take out a bunch of friends in a C-172. Looking back now I am amazed flight schools let people do that. I had them all loaded up and off we went to another airport for a touch-and-go. I had never flown a fully loaded 172 until that day and I was eager to show off my superior flying skills to my friends.
I came in a little high on my final but so far I thought I was doing fine. Then I flared late and the Cessna kept floating and floating and floating until almost halfway down the considerably shorter runway than I was used to practicing at. And here is where I made my big mistake!
I lowered the nose slightly just to finally get the airplane on the ground rather than going around. Now, those of you who have flown 172 may know what happened. I plopped on the ground and got the plane bouncing front wheel to main wheels and back all the way down the runway. I didn't know how to stop it. The end of the runway was coming up and it had a big bush and a fence not very far from it but I couldn't stop because my wheels weren't on the ground long enough to give me any sort of braking action.
I decided to go around but I was still running out of runway. I veered off the runway to the left since I saw an almost empty field there and the ramp with parked airplanes was on the right side. Off into the field I went, now with full power. I bounced through the grass, passed a significantly big tree, grabbed a bush with my left main gear, and still wasn't back in the air yet. I was headed for a drop-off with a few houses coming up when I realized I never put my flaps up. So I did and finally got the plane back into the air before the drop-off (just above stall speed, much like that russian freight plane on the video).

I was pretty much in shock and couldn't believe I made it. My friends had the ride of their lives and thinking I did this on purpose they asked me if we could do this again they had such a blast! Part of the bush was still stuck to my main gear as I told them we're gonna fly back now.
I landed and wanted to quit aviation. I told my instructor about it and that I am not going to be a pilot after all because I just almost killed myself and my friends and obviously wasn't gifted. But she wouldn't let me.
We walked out to the aircraft and inspected it. It was fine. Then we cleaned off all the green from the landing gear and she made me go fly again right away and do some touch and go's at an even smaller airport to prove to myself that I can still do it. Now I am glad she did . . .
The End

Moral of the story: Don't try to impress your friends! .. and .. If in doubt: GO AROUND!!!!

Top that, Airtac!!  ;D
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airtac

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Re: Chuck Moments!
« Reply #1 on: February 14, 2008, 05:26:32 AM »
Wait a minute Mikey, I need time.............
There are so many and I'm sorting through them---I'll give something tommorrow<blushing smiley>
(CRAP, why'd I ever agree to this) ::eek::

Offline Mike

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Re: Chuck Moments!
« Reply #2 on: February 14, 2008, 05:33:18 AM »
Wait a minute Mikey, I need time.............
There are so many and I'm sorting through them---I'll give something tommorrow<blushing smiley>
(CRAP, why'd I ever agree to this) ::eek::

unfortunately . . . I have more of them......  ;)  ::whistle::
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Offline Oddball

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Re: Chuck Moments!
« Reply #3 on: February 14, 2008, 08:20:29 AM »
can i add my model flying experience in here or should i stick my R/C thread i started ealier?   ::type:: lol
"You can teach monkeys to fly better than that!"and "spring chicken to sh**e hawk in one easy lesson"

Offline TheSoccerMom

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Re: Chuck Moments!
« Reply #4 on: February 14, 2008, 08:31:31 PM »
[quote]
.......a thread on "the most stupid thing you've ever done in an aircraft".
[/quote]

Hmmm-mmm.....  I think that would be "opened the door and got in".   ::loony::    ::loony::


 ::loony::


 ;)
Don't make me come back there!!!!

airtac

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Re: Chuck Moments!
« Reply #5 on: February 15, 2008, 12:47:47 AM »
Let's see, I'll call the first installment "the early years";

There was once this young private pilot, who, in a fit of patriotic fervor, decided to quit college to join the Army. For his last two years of school, he had supported himself by working at a dinner house as a chef's assistant.  Also employed at this restaurant was an old man named Frank who acted as caretaker/potato peeler and when Frank found out that our young man was a pilot, he (Frank) began to recount tales of his own career as a pilot during what we Yanks call World War One.
During the 2 years our intrepid young aviator worked with Frank, he became quite fond of of the old man and so decided that before his departure for Army training he would do some type of flyover at the restaurant to bid his old friend goodbye. 
In those early years (1962) ex-military aircraft were cheap and the local flight school had acquired a Vultee BT-13 which it rented out for 21 dollars an hour and so our young man felt a buzz job in the "Vultee Vibrator" would be an appropriate salute to such a grand old man.
On the day before his departure "Ace" rented the Vultee and went to do his flyover.  Being young and enthusiastic and after seeing Frank come out on the porch to wave, "Ace" decided that something with a little more style was called for and he did some wing-over whifferdill things at altitudes as low as 100 feet while screaming "HEY FRANK" as he passed by and after a few of those decided it was time to go home.
Upon landing at the home aerodrome and taxiing to the gas pump, "ACE" was met by a deputy sheriff who inquired as to who was flying said aircraft so "ACE", being a genuine smartass, pointed to the empty rear cockpit and said "he was"----this turned out to be a bad response since it was soon apparent the deputy had no sense of humor at all.
Well, "Ace" went on to his Army training next day and soon was forwarded a letter from the friendly folks at the FAA who, as it turned out, didn't have much humor in their soul either.
After a 6 month surrender of his certificate "Ace" went on to several military flying clubs and even a career in aviation but that's another story! ::eek::   -- to be continued--

Offline gibbo_335

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Re: Chuck Moments!
« Reply #6 on: February 15, 2008, 05:10:37 AM »
  ;D Pity "Ace"  ;) didn't know Chuck back then..."Ace" could have blamed him and would have DEFINATELY gotten away with it  ::rofl::
« Last Edit: February 15, 2008, 05:16:35 AM by gibbo_335 »
YEWWWwwwwwwwww

Offline TheSoccerMom

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Re: Chuck Moments!
« Reply #7 on: February 15, 2008, 06:18:44 AM »
Hmmm...   ::thinking::

I think I see a book possibility here....  "Ace goes to the Airport"....   ::whistle::

And then for Chapter II......    ::whistle::
Don't make me come back there!!!!

Offline Mike

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Re: Chuck Moments!
« Reply #8 on: February 16, 2008, 01:00:18 AM »
no more stories, huh . . .

I was hoping for a bigger collection.

Maybe I am the only one who messes up every now and then.......
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Offline Turbomallard

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Re: Chuck Moments!
« Reply #9 on: February 16, 2008, 02:48:12 AM »
no more stories, huh . . .

I was hoping for a bigger collection.

Maybe I am the only one who messes up every now and then.......
I'll take a rain check on that. I'll be back in a few... right now I'm trying to reconcile the fact that 20-some years ago I had two classes in a place called Cole Hall at Northern Illinois University, and now that place will be forever remembered for something else. Learned to fly at DKB, soloed and flew over the campus on July 12, 1986. Strange experience. I'll be back with the usual wise quacks and stupidity soon and promise to post at least one dumb flying story.

TM
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Offline TheSoccerMom

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Re: Chuck Moments!
« Reply #10 on: February 16, 2008, 03:01:59 AM »
Oh, no, no, Mike, not hardly!!!!!    ::unbelieveable::

It's just, uhm, hard for me to know where to start here.....   ::thinking::   There are so MANY times things have just been ALL wrong....   ::thinking::

Like..  the time I wore white after Labor Day on a charter trip.....   ::eek::
That time when my mascara ran when it was SO hot in the cockpit, and I did NOT have my mirror to do a touch-up...  SI-I-I-IGH......   :(
And of course, the time I tried to jump out of the Minivan with my evening gown on, and caught the hem on the step.....  which was just made EVEN worse, tsk tsk, when I broke my HEEL off my GOOD Gucci heels on the rudder pedal right before that....   ::silly::    ::banghead::

And then there was that time when my headset cord got caught in my diamond necklace, and I was trying to untangle it, and missed those 36 calls from Center.....  S-I-I-I-GH.....   ::)    ::)     ::)  and the guys screamed and said something about that HUGE black shadow that went right over us...     ::sweat::     Hmm, I wonder what THAT could have been...?!?!?     :-[

And then when I dropped my Cosmo magazine, RIGHT when I turned to the article I was wanting to read SO BAD  ::) , I think it was "39 Things Good Girls Should Know to Make Men BAD", well, DARN right then I dropped it, SPLAT, it slid down the aisle of course, those darned smokejumpers got BOOT MARKS all OVER it, and BOY was I MAD,  ::complaining:  well, somehow I kinda forgot we were doing CARGO right then and the spotter, wow, he was REALLY screaming, it was SO loud, I told him later "Hmmmpph, you don't have to YELL, you know."  [Sniff.]

Of course, the mechanics were REALLY steamed when I was flying back from the 1979 Miss Empty-Brained Airhead Beauty Pageant, and of course, when I TOLD those IDIOT organizers they should give Miss Congeniality something besides those darned cheesy plastic roses, well, they gave me that HUGE tiara just to shut me up I think, anyway, it sure did get stuck in the headliner when we came across the Uintas and hit all that turbulence at 12,000 feet....  like how was I supposed to know those picky little rhinestones would get SO stuck in the darned fabric on the ceiling, it's not like they LET me do my CHECKRIDES wearing my PRACTICE tiara or anything, which I thought I should, I mean, how is a girl supposed to be PREPARED for these FLIGHT EMERGENCIES if she isn't allowed to PRATICE?!!!?!     ::sweat::    ::sulk::

SI-I-I-I-GH....   

Boy, now that is just the START, it is SO much WORK to fly when you have to do ALL these GIRLIE things too, boy oh boy, especially when the guys keep screaming and yelling, of course, there WAS that one time they were REALLY, REALLY screaming and shouting and then they got REALLY nice and quiet....  and I was thinking "nowwww, isn't that SWEET of them, to take a nap..."  but then I turned around and....  they were all...  gone......


And had landed in the middle of the desert.....  it was WEEKS before I saw them again.....   ::sulk::    ::sulk::    ::sulk::



Phew...  They were RIGHT in flight school, this flying sure 'nuff IS a lot of WORK.    ::sweat::    ::silly::

Don't make me come back there!!!!

airtac

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Re: Chuck Moments!
« Reply #11 on: February 16, 2008, 03:37:38 AM »
 ::rofl:: ::rofl::STOP IT! STOP IT! ::rofl::
You lunatic!   ::loony:: Here we are, making soulful (albeit stupid) confessions and you entertain us with flights of fancy that leave our sides hurting ::rofl::
And yet I can clearly see you doing these things---- girl you have to stop medicating yourself with those Kahlua cookies ::drinking::

Offline TheSoccerMom

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Re: Chuck Moments!
« Reply #12 on: February 16, 2008, 03:43:12 AM »
Whaaaaaaat??   ::whistle::

Those are ALL true...  just ask the guys!!  Though, it is AWFULLY polite of you to pretend they are fiction.....   ::silly::

There's just SO MANY to choose from.......   ::sweat::

 ;)

Don't make me come back there!!!!

Offline Mike

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Re: Chuck Moments!
« Reply #13 on: February 16, 2008, 03:46:12 AM »
come on mom!
I KNOW you have some good stories!!

don't make me ask the jumpers!
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airtac

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Re: Chuck Moments!
« Reply #14 on: February 16, 2008, 03:59:21 AM »
come on mom!
I KNOW you have some good stories!!

don't make me ask the jumpers!
The heck with that---I'm gonna start asking as soon as I see them------she'll be BEGGING for mercy! :D