SonexBuilders.net

Hi all,
New article on www.kathrynsreport.com. Dated 5 mar 17 about experimental aircraft. Al lavenders sonex crash mentioned in the article. RIP Mr. lavender.

WaiexN143NM
Michael

Hi all,
New article on kathryns report today mar 6 , N3934F, C172, later on in the article, Sen Chuck Schumer directing the NTSB further to investigate small airplane accidents, as there has been a number of them in the GA community, certified and homebuilt. As larry, waiex 121 stated in another post we need to do better, not only our own sonex community, but GA as a whole. I still see many fuel issues driving some of the incidents. I bought a airport appvd 5 gal metal can, ie can be grounded and spring loaded handle cap, so can use at the self fuel island. I always top off the plane before flying, like to keep the cg forward. Also watch your fuel level when u go on a local short flight, as the field you departed from may close due to an incident or accident. Do you have enough fuel to divert to an alternate and have a 30 min reserve still left in the tanks after landing? Seems to be some high profile accidents and media frenzy lately , which we dont need. Be careful out there.

WaiexN143NM
Michael

It's interesting to note in the March 2017 issue of Sport Pilot, the annual Amateur Built accident report is out and notes accidents divided this way. It may not be what everyone expects, and you can see that "Pilot Miscontrol" is the biggest factor.

Pilot Miscontrol: 38.1%
- 5.8% of these are fuel system mis-control
Pilot Judgement: 15.9%
Mechanical Failure: 13.6%
Undetermined Loss of Power: 13.0%
Maintainer Error: 4.0%
Builder Error: 2.3%
Other: 13.1%

Mike,

I'm running with a theory here that I can't really back up with solid numbers, but, I feel strongly about this and so I keep pushing the fuel narrative.
I "believe" that the causes of a considerable number of undetermined power losses are the direct result of fuel issues. Either blockage, unintended restriction built into the fuel delivery system, mismanagement of the fuel system/mixture control, etc. I attribute the high number of mismanagement matters to the uniqueness of so many different fuel systems installed in homebuilt aircraft compared to store bought planes. Call it a lack of standardization for lack of a better term.
Going back to the pilot mis-control matter; it seems logical that the majority of loss of control issues are precipitated by some "lead up conditions" that caused pilots to loose focus on the flying the airplane matter. Anyone that has flown for any number of hours has experienced this lack of focus and when they got back on track, probably thought to themselves; "now that was stupid". Unfortunately, if there are no survivors, there are no explanations as to the exact cause.
The article pointed to a definite increase in accidents by purchasers of homebuilt aircraft vs. builders in the early going. All evidence of lack of experience not so much just in type, but the lack of experience in THAT particular plane.
Bottom line is, there is need for improvement. Whats going on now is a big red flag and the trajectory needs to change or the level of interest by regulators will increase due to public comment and discourse. We can't be landing on houses and apartments without consequences. This applies equally to Cessna 310's and homebuilt aircraft.

Larry
Waiex121YX, Camit 3300, Skyview

LarryEWaiex121 wrote:Mike,

I'm running with a theory here that I can't really back up with solid numbers, but, I feel strongly about this and so I keep pushing the fuel narrative.
I "believe" that the causes of a considerable number of undetermined power losses are the direct result of fuel issues. Either blockage, unintended restriction built into the fuel delivery system, mismanagement of the fuel system/mixture control, etc. I attribute the high number of mismanagement matters to the uniqueness of so many different fuel systems installed in homebuilt aircraft compared to store bought planes. Call it a lack of standardization for lack of a better term.
Going back to the pilot mis-control matter; it seems logical that the majority of loss of control issues are precipitated by some "lead up conditions" that caused pilots to loose focus on the flying the airplane matter. Anyone that has flown for any number of hours has experienced this lack of focus and when they got back on track, probably thought to themselves; "now that was stupid". Unfortunately, if there are no survivors, there are no explanations as to the exact cause.
The article pointed to a definite increase in accidents by purchasers of homebuilt aircraft vs. builders in the early going. All evidence of lack of experience not so much just in type, but the lack of experience in THAT particular plane.
Bottom line is, there is need for improvement. Whats going on now is a big red flag and the trajectory needs to change or the level of interest by regulators will increase due to public comment and discourse. We can't be landing on houses and apartments without consequences. This applies equally to Cessna 310's and homebuilt aircraft.

Larry
Waiex121YX, Camit 3300, Skyview

Larry,

I agree with your general argument. Loss of control, fuel problems or loss of engine power are all pretty bad but, as I said on a post recently, the human factor is the biggest menace here. It is my belief that most of the fatalities associated with these problems go back to the fact that we stop flying the airplane. How can you possibly deal with an flight emergencies unless you practice them. How many of us practice slow flight right down to stall speed for prolonged periods (at a safe altitude)? How many of us have stopped the propeller to see how the airplane flies in dead stick form, all the way to the ground (safely over a familiar airport). In my other plane I found out that my Vglide speed changed significantly with no propeller drag and it took quite a bit longer to stop after touch down as well. None of these practices are particularly fun at first but they do become more enjoyable and they could save your life when the chips are down and you have to depend on your training to take over when the "Human element" is dragging you to the ground in a spin.

If it was human factors and not practicing engine outs then the Sonex would have a similar record to the rest of the GA fleet. That is unfortunately not the case. The root cause isn't in what the pilot does after the engine quits. The root cause lies in why it quits in the first place.

Keith

kmacht wrote:If it was human factors and not practicing engine outs then the Sonex would have a similar record to the rest of the GA fleet. That is unfortunately not the case. The root cause isn't in what the pilot does after the engine quits. The root cause lies in why it quits in the first place.

Keith

Agree completely.

And I think pilots are too focused on saving the hardware (airplane) and forgetting instead to save the software (humans). That's the reason for attempting the impossible turn.

I think another part of the problem, especially with new owners, is Sonex mini-fighter plane flight characteristics. Change of attitude and thus airspeed happen much faster than most folks with experience in other planes are used to. Not that I would change this, but do need to watch airspeed like a hawk. Glancing at that gauge every ten seconds may be too long a period. When attention is diverted, attitude can change very quickly.

David A.