Friend Down

[Scott Todd]

Lou Pappas airplane (N535D) went down today. I reached out to him but haven't heard back. He is a SUPER nice guy. His airplane was about the nicest Sonex I have ever seen. The article says the pilot suffered minor injuries so lets all keep him in out thoughts and wish for a speedy recovery.

https://www.azfamily.com/news/small-pla ... _id=997197

[N111YX]

It's a shame to see this news, Lou. I'm glad to hear that you are OK and hope you can get the dust brushed off and be back in the air (with perhaps a new airplane) soon.

[GraemeSmith]

Best wishes for speedy recovery.

News team extended video:

https://www.facebook.com/ABC15/videos/603309714041710

https://www.12news.com/article/news/loc ... n-village/

[Scott Todd]

I heard from Lou! He's just being released from the hospital. He says he has some sore muscles and a few small cuts. I'm sure he'll fill us in on what happened. When I got his text while driving, I pulled over to read and answer it. I teared up thinking about the friends I've lost that didn't fly the airplane after an engine issue. Way to go Lou!!!

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE practice engine outs everyone. And as Bob Hoover said, fly it all the way into the crash.

[MichaelFarley56]

Thank you for sharing the wonderful news Todd! I’m so happy and relieved to hear Lou is okay!

I’m sure everyone is curious to hear what happened so hopefully Lou is willing to share the story once he feels better.

Lou, if you’re reading this, we’re so glad you’re okay!

[GordonTurner]

Our hearts go out to you Lou. Just really glad to hear you made it through.

Best of luck in the days ahead. Gordon

[pappas]

Thanks, everyone for your thoughts. It turns out that if you actually hit the softest, cheapest, thing, as slow as you can. You have a reasonable chance. Now, the desert is not soft, but it is cheap as can be. And, the Sonex stalls at about 44 mph, IF, you fly it that way with confidence and fly it all the way through the landing.

This landing would have been a gear shearing skid-out if not for that invisible barbed wire fence! The fence flipped me tail-over-nose at, what I estimate to be about, 30 mph. I was hanging upside down in my harness for a few seconds thinking about how I would get out of this thing. After the dust settled, I could see the cracked canopy had left me a way out that I could fit through.

I have to say that the cockpit and turtle-deck structure is very stout. The turtle deck did not collapse at all and as I did not stall-spin the aircraft, there was no crushing of the nose. The prop is now 1,000 toothpicks, but the nose looks to be pretty much intact. We all knew that John built a sturdy airframe. I didn't know it was this sturdy. I have a few scratches and bruises, and some sore muscles. It could have been far worse than that.

There were 5-7 gallons of fuel in the tank at the time of my forced landing. Not a drop found its way out of the tank. I'm impressed. I will spend the rest of the week supplying info to Insurance, NTSB, and the FAA. All of my ducks are, always, in a row with medical, inspections, maintenance, logs, insurance, licensing, etc. So, I am not expecting any trauma from the experience and have to say that so far the Insurance, FAA, and the NTSB reps are all very quick, professional, and efficient. N535D was removed from the site in only a few hours, arranged by my insurance company, and the NTSB rep has already seen it for an initial inspection. I think the FAA rep will be there by Thursday.

Is that high-wing kit ready for sale yet??

[GraemeSmith]

Lou - thanks for the PIREP. Glad you are OK.

Somewhere I saw "power loss" - any comment on that?

[pappas]

I have my suspicions about the loss of power but have not been able to inspect the engine. Not sure if I will ever be allowed to. If the FAA and NTSB let me, I will join them on Thursday. Fingers crossed.

I will comment if I have any real evidence. Otherwise, I am just speculating.

[pfhoeycfi]

I have my suspicions about the loss of power but have not been able to inspect the engine. Not sure if I will ever be allowed to. If the FAA and NTSB let me, I will join them on Thursday. Fingers crossed.

I will comment if I have any real evidence. Otherwise, I am just speculating.

It's good to read your report and that you got the job done in that difficult situation. Great job. I'm curious if you had the hard tube or flex tube tank to fwl connection and if you had installed a tank vent check valve. It would seem based on your comments that the piping held but for me it's something I consider as a weak link. I'm in the process of re working mine.
Peter