Flying Home Made Machines

Is flying home made machines safe? Just ask Wilbur and Orville Wright. They tried and failed. Then they tried again and again, finally succeeding in getting man in the air (if only briefly) in 1903. Maybe the most famous aviation explorers in American history this team of brothers didn’t let fear stand in their way of success. Still, their journey towards building the very first airplane didn’t come without a few close calls.

Since that fateful day more than a century ago thousands of other aviation enthusiasts have tried to build their own man-made airplanes. If you are one of them, steadfastly working on your own handmade airplane, flying scooter or even hot air balloon in your garage, then you will need to learn how to make flying home made machines as safe as possible to avoid disaster. Take a few of these tips from the Wright Brothers:

• Never test any aircraft (but especially a homemade one) alone. Always work in a team to keep a disaster at bay.
• Never cold-test any type of flying machine with a human – always test your machine with a robot or even a stuffed animal first.
• Be sure that you know what you are doing. If you are not absolutely certain that your machine will fly, do not climb in!
• Pre-test at low altitudes first. Try testing your aircraft from a low roof or hill before heading toward the closest cliff.
• Use every available caution. Wear a parachute; let local emergency personnel know about your test (better yet, have someone on hand to help out in an emergency); etc.

Building and flying home made machines can be exhilarating, but always be sure that you take safety seriously. After all, you want to be healthy – and in one piece – top enjoy your homemade aircraft for years to come.

Buffalo Flight 3407

It was a normal Thursday morning, until a plane spun out of control from the sky in near Niagara Falls, crashing into a home killing all 49 people on board and one person on the ground. Called the worst aviation accident in Western New York history, ice was ultimately blamed for the crash. Some of the reasons why ice buildup is being blamed for the Buffalo Flight 3407 crash include:

• poor weather conditions reported in the area prior to the crash
• recordings of the pilot and co-pilot recovered from the crash site indicated a discussion between the two of significant ice accumulation noticed on the plane’s wings
• after the wing flaps were lowered for an impending landing the plane experienced severe pitch and roll which can be caused by icing
• no mayday call was sent out by the pilot indicating an unanticipated crash

Buffalo Flight 3407 is just one of many aircraft over the years which have experienced devastating results of improper deicing procedures or a build-up of ice on the plane’s wings and/or engines during the flight. While new mandatory deicing procedures are being investigated why the airline industry, none have been implemented thus far following this or any other accident.

Flight 1549 Tapes

Anyone who watched the fateful landing of Flight 1549 into the Hudson River last January knew that the Flight 1549 tapes would be just as dramatic as the landing itself.

Those who listened to the exchange between Captain Chesley B. Sullenberger III and the control tower after their release by the FAA couldn’t help but feel their own heart race as the exhilaration of the moment became even more real through the voices they heard.

If you were not lucky enough to hear the Flight 1549 tapes yourself, here are a few of the highlights:

• The Captain alerted the tower at LaGuardia just 2 minutes and 32 seconds after take-off that the plane was in trouble
• While the Captain’s voice remained strong and calm he did give the wrong flight number to the tower during his transmission, indicating at least some level of stress
• Busy conducting an engine restart checklist, the First officer left all radio control to the Captain
• Making two runways available to the plane for an emergency landing, the Captain declined both, opting instead for an emergency water landing in the Hudson River
• All 155 passengers aboard the airbus survived the crash

Nothing less than a miraculous landing, the flight 1549 tapes indicate an extremely well-handled landing by all involved including tower personnel; flight crew and emergency services personnel on the ground and water.

NW Flight 188

There are a lot of things that can cause airline passengers to worry these days: delays; terror attacks; even drunken pilots, but who would have thought missing the airport would be added to the list? Overshooting the airport by hundreds of miles never seemed to be a problem until October, 2009 when NW flight 188 missed Minneapolis altogether, seemingly getting lost in the air for about 80 minutes. It seems that the pilots of NW flight 188 were so engaged in an argument amongst themselves that they did not take notice that the airport was in view. They travelled an additional 150 miles until they realized that they had missed their landing.

Want to know more about this fateful flight? Here are a few facts:

• The Captain of NW flight 188 had more than 20,000 hours of flight time recorded at the time of the incident.
• The flight’s 1st Officer was a retired Sir Force Pilot
• There were 144 passengers and five crew members aboard NW flight 188 on that fateful trip
• Originating in San Diego, the plane was scheduled to land in Minneapolis

With no technical, mechanical or weather issues to deal with, one can only wonder why these two seemingly experienced pilots lost track of their location for so long with no radio communication for almost an hour and a half.

Boeing 737-800 crashes in Amsterdam

A Boeing 737-800 flying from Istanbul to Amsterdam crashed while attempting to land. The plane split into 3 separate pieces as it crashed short of the runway at Amsterdam’s Schiphol International airport.

Not all 135 passengers and crew on board survived the crash. Reports suggest that up to 9 people may be dead at this point, with many more injured.

Schiphol airport is one of Europe’s busiest airports, all flights in and out of the airport were suspended until further notice.

Dash 8 Q400

The Dash 8 Q400 is well known for its environmental credentials and low noise levels. The Q400 Dash-8 airliner was developed by Bombardier to meet the requirements of regional airlines for larger aircraft on high density, short haul routes. The Dash-8 Q400 is a surprisingly comfortable and quiet aircraft. The Q400 had its first flight in 1998 and entered commercial service in February 2000. A minimum runway length of 3,280ft (1,000m) was stipulated, and this ment the wingspan could be trimmed to be less than the Dash 7 and hence give the aircraft a higher cruising speed.

From the middle of 1996, Bombardier offered aircraft with a ‘Q’ designation (for quiet) utilising a feature called NVS (Noise and Vibration Suppresion). Bombardier Dash 8 Turbo Props: Bombardier Dash-8 About the Aircraft The Dash-8 series of aircraft continue to be one of the most successful series of turbo-prop aircraft in aviation history. The popular Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft is in quantity production in Toronto and is recognised by the world’s leading airlines as the one of the most efficient and most advanced Turbo Prop Aircraft available.

The Q400 NextGen airliner Aircraft Operating Manual (AOM) will be updated to reflect flight test experience which has shown that the fuel burn under certain operating conditions is lower than predicted. The Q400 aircraft is already the most technologically advanced turboprop airliner and the NextGen features will make it even more so. The Dash 8 Q400 NextGen aircraft is the turboprop airliner for the twenty-first century.

Flight 1549 First Impact Footage

Great footage of US Airways Flight 1549 (Airbus A320) landing on the Hudson River.

A320 Airbus lands in Hudson River

U.S. Airways Flight 1549 plunged into the Hudson River due to an encounter with a flock of Canadian Geese. Both engines were struck by the birds as it took off from La Guardia Airport.

The fact that no one was killed is being credited to the experienced skills of Captain Chelsey (Sully) Sullenberger. Captain Sullenberger was able to control the A320 Airbus long enough to make a controlled landing on the river.

Ferries taking workers between Manhatten and New Jersey were quickly rerouted to assist with picking up passengers.

Mayor Bloomberg was heard at the scene stating that the pilot did a masterful job landing the plane in the river and then making sure everyone got out.