Bad ideas...

[tundra_flier]

Well my dear, I once stopped the car in the middle of the road and yelled to the person who was sitting near me (it was another former boyfriend, but a really a badly chosen one....kind of "week long relationship") "get the hell out of there!!!!". in the case I was writing about, it was instead the most important relationship I ever had, that - actually - ended unexpectedly........as soon as we landed. so....it would not have been a so bad idea to throw him out, after all. And yes, without parachute!   So, thinking about it, there were two bad ideas: the first the fact I went flying (I did hundreds of craps during that flight. Feeling the rotten atmosphere, I was not actually concentrating on flying and it's a bad thing) and second.......I should not have repressed my homicidal tendencies.......

One more argument for separate planes, and always wearing parachutes 

Seriously considered throwing my examiner out of the plane during my check ride. And it was in a low wing - Cherokee 140/160.  Guess that comes under the "Bad Idea" heading too.   

Of course about the third time he was making me do departure stalls in the Citabria I seriously considered flooring the rudder and spinning his butt around a few times too.  According to him, proper stall recovery required diving the plane well into the yellow arc on the airspeed, as he demonstrated.

[Gulfstream Driver]

Of course about the third time he was making me do departure stalls in the Citabria I seriously considered flooring the rudder and spinning his butt around a few times too.  According to him, proper stall recovery required diving the plane well into the yellow arc on the airspeed, as he demonstrated.

This was an examiner that did this?  He should be horse-whipped!  What happens if he stalls the plane 100 ft above the ground?

[happylanding]

One more argument for separate planes, and always wearing parachutes 

Seriously considered throwing my examiner out of the plane during my check ride. And it was in a low wing - Cherokee 140/160.  Guess that comes under the "Bad Idea" heading too.   

Of course about the third time he was making me do departure stalls in the Citabria I seriously considered flooring the rudder and spinning his butt around a few times too.  According to him, proper stall recovery required diving the plane well into the yellow arc on the airspeed, as he demonstrated.

Holy cow! I was always making stall recovery at least at 3000 ft. a stall after take off when you're near to the ground is something that should be avoided. you sure that maybe he did not have any... suicidal tendencies? 

[tundra_flier]

One more argument for separate planes, and always wearing parachutes 

Seriously considered throwing my examiner out of the plane during my check ride. And it was in a low wing - Cherokee 140/160.  Guess that comes under the "Bad Idea" heading too.   

Of course about the third time he was making me do departure stalls in the Citabria I seriously considered flooring the rudder and spinning his butt around a few times too.  According to him, proper stall recovery required diving the plane well into the yellow arc on the airspeed, as he demonstrated.

Holy cow! I was always making stall recovery at least at 3000 ft. a stall after take off when you're near to the ground is something that should be avoided. you sure that maybe he did not have any... suicidal tendencies? 

We were at 3,000+ feet.  Departure stall is just another name for a stall at full power.  I've heard power off stalls with flaps extended refered to as 'approach' stalls too.  However, when he demonstrated 'proper' technique, he pushed the nose over into a near vertical dive well before the plane actually stalled, then didn't pull out till the airspeed was creeping up on Vne.  He thought the technique I was taught, just relax the back pressure and let it fly right out of the stall, was dangerous and I needed to be more aggresive with my recovery.  He nearly ground looped us once too, but that's a different story...

[Gulfstream Driver]

Sounds like a good story to hear...Was he a DE, or no?

[tundra_flier]

Sounds like a good story to hear...Was he a DE, or no?

Yup, he was my DE. 

Following a short field landing demonstration I let the plane drift a little left of centerline while retracting the flaps.  Citabria has johnson bar flaps that require bending forward to fully retract, but it's a 100ft wide runway so I wasn't worried.  While I was still bent forward locking the flaps up the DE hollered "we going off the runway!" and proceeded to stomp the right rudder to the stop!    I was on the heel brakes at the time, and only just barely managed to prevent us from going off the right side of the runway and get the plane tracking straight again using hard left rudder and brake.    But at least he passed me so I didn't have to go up with him again.  I never want to be in the same cockpit as that man again.

[TheSoccerMom]

Wow, scary guy!!  I'd tell people about him so they don't have to go through that.   

Bad ideas, heyyyyy???  Do NOT order a salad (in a flat styrofoam container) as your "lunch to go" on a bumpy summer afternoon!  You end up with lettuce all over the cockpit, and all over the guy in the front seat, and with salad dressing up your nose, courtesy of the turbulence.

(It made for great entertainment for everyone in back, however!!!!!!)  Heeee!!!       

[cj5_pilot]

Back talking to a instructor while doing a power on stall at night.....

I take it you've done that?

Heh, yeah, but it was his fault honestly!  We did a power on stall and one wing dropped first.  I did the proper stall recovery but we entered an incipent spin.  I was standing on the rudder and couldn't get the wings to come level.  He was yelling at me and screaming and I finally tossed the yoke forward and yelled "FINE YOUR AIRPLANE" He hollered back "FLY THE G@WD@M AIRPLANE" and I grabbed the yoke and kicked the rudder HARD.  His knee flew up and gee suddenly I had the spin under control and recovered nicely.  Problem turned out to be he had had his foot on the rudder and I was unable to exert full control.  It messed me up bad though.  Had a stage check the next day for my solo and the check pilot (the instructor I preferred to fly with) declined to let me solo.  Why?  My stalls were VERY ragged....I went from enjoying stalls to scared of them.  Took a few hours of practice and all was good again.  After I was signed off for solo flight the first thing I did was took Niner One Quebec out to the practice area and up to 6000'.  And I did stalls...I had to see if I had what it took to be a pilot.  I lost VERY little attitude with the first power off.  Same with the power on.  Suddenly I enjoyed flying again.  Big boost to the confidence!

It might be a coincidence, but that instructor shortly left for a hauling job.  Within the next year he destroyed a 206 and nosed over a J-3.....

Sounds like a good story to hear...Was he a DE, or no?

Yup, he was my DE. 

Following a short field landing demonstration I let the plane drift a little left of centerline while retracting the flaps.  Citabria has johnson bar flaps that require bending forward to fully retract, but it's a 100ft wide runway so I wasn't worried.  While I was still bent forward locking the flaps up the DE hollered "we going off the runway!" and proceeded to stomp the right rudder to the stop!    I was on the heel brakes at the time, and only just barely managed to prevent us from going off the right side of the runway and get the plane tracking straight again using hard left rudder and brake.    But at least he passed me so I didn't have to go up with him again.  I never want to be in the same cockpit as that man again.

Heh, Tundra called me up after that flight.  If I remember correctly he said something along the lines of "I should have called the tower and had them meet me on the runway with State Troopers for a violent passenger!"

Back on topic:

Never try to land with a crosswind component that is greater then your confidence level in a crosswind situation.  Pulling the seatcushion out so you can get out of the plane HURTS!