Flipping a Super Cub in Alaska's Backcountry
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 6 фев 2025
- Our fearless leader at Airframes Alaska talks about his experience crashing his Super Cub during takeoff. This video was created for an FAA seminar with Northern Pioneer Helicopter, which helped provide the recovery efforts. We are sharing this video as a reminder to use extra caution as pilots descend upon the backcountry this fall.
northernpioneer...
www.airframesalaska.com
So impressive, humble pilot and CEO, shares mistakes so others learn after he cartwheels his plane. Failure is an adventure!
Great to see a humble person willing to take a difficult experience and use it as an educational opportunity for others. Great video!
Great work! Love it when people put their egos aside and admit to their mistakes so others can learn. We all screw up here and there, sometimes we are lucky enough to get away with it, other times we arnt
Not many pilots will admit when they mess up. My hats off to you for admitting you messed up.
Target fixation happens many forms. Dad warned me about it when I started to learn to fly.
Learning about this from my ultralight instructor has made me a better driver as well. Especially at night.
Absolute amateurs don't share their mistakes maybe, but the NASA ASRS program is an amazing success and a benefit to anyone who partakes.
So, you are telling me pilots usually are liars? That's kinda strange attitude, people who lies shouldn't be allowed to fly. Even to drive,
@@deimos2k6 yeah many are like you, they don't publicly admit to their mess ups or mistakes. So when you don't own up to your mistakes are you not also a liar?
Most pilots wouldn't admit any error. Good job analyzing what happened to improve everyone's chances of avoiding mistakes like this again.
I really appreciate you sharing this video. I look for these little gems to help myself learn and truly be a better pilot. Glad to see you walk away unscathed!!
Yikes! What a stellar gentleman for taking us through the process of what happened. Glad the plane survived!
Thank you for sharing, I truly believe that helps others learn. There was one comment you mentioned about you should of pulled the power.... no no no! You loose the air going over the tail, which will prevent you from planting that tail. While not in water, I hit a soft spot at Friday creek a few years ago during breakup. I pulled power and tried to plant the tail but had absolutely no elevator authority without the prop blast. My advice, would be plant the tail and slowly pull the power, the key thing pulling that stick back all the way, keep some power in until you are pretty much a slow taxi speed.
Thank you for your having putting other people's learning from your experience ahead of your pride. Your humility will enable other people to be aware in similar circumstances and may save someone's life. Glad you are okay as well. Had a dear friend die when their tricycle gear flipped over after hitting something on a beach takeoff in Alaska. They went to pick wild strawberries and came back to the plane with 5 quarts of berries but never made it home. I worked with her in the fish cannery and she was loved by everyone.
Nice! I'm not a pilot but I do know it takes a 'Big man' to admit his mistakes. By doing so you are helping others not to make the same mistake. Thanks............ Respect!
The old guy at the end has seen and fixed it all.:)
I soloed a J3 Cub many years ago. What a fun aircraft to fly! Not a Super Cub, but a Cub none the less. Never joined the Ground Loop or Cartwheel Club, but was very aware of how quickly it can happen. You were very open and honest and thanks for sharing. Glad things worked out as they did.
Wow, that's a lot of humble pie, very commendable. While turning off at my exit taxiway at my home airport one summer, a dust devil stood my Ces 107B on end enough to get a ground strike with my prop, but the plane never felt like it was starting to fly. It just felt like my tail was instantly getting above my head. I had entered the turnoff taxiway when I was suddenly turned 180 deg and instantly faced the ground then a sickening grinding noise. The prop had to be replaced and the engine inspected $$$$. However, I have extracted several downed fixed-wing just like this one during the years I flew helicopters in the Rocky Mountain region. So I know a little bit about what you went through. I hope your Cub is back in the air.
Gutted to hear and see the incident. Glad you are OK... I guess you are a better pilot today! 💪
Interesting and a lesson shared is mistake avoided. I avoided real bad accident by paying good attention to other pilots shared experiences. Thank you!
You walked away sir and thank God that you didn’t get hurt through this incident
Lessons can come at a very expensive cost in aviation. At least nobody got hurt. Thank you for sharing your video.
Take care,
Be safe.
Bravo on being able to point out that it was your mistake. Not many ppl can set aside egos. Thank you for posting this video, it shows character & someone wanting to pass on a learning experience. Cheers fr Kasilof.
are you saying that usually your people are boastful liars and with too much ego? That's funny. Usually a pilot who messes up in that way we shut off his mouth here, no matter he wants to admit anything or not.
I only had a single curled prop and you got both. Afterwards I often thought about if I had used the starter to bring the prop to level I could have saved it 🤔 I guess you just had to be there. I'm really glad both of us are able to laugh about our own mistakes.
Great lesson. Thanks for sharing a difficult day! Keith @ Gwin’s Lodge Roadhouse and Cabins in Cooper Landing Alaska
Rarely do people share their mistakes. Thank you, I learned and so many others will too.
Admire the narrative and, especially, your wisdom to helicopter it out! Great guidance to viewers!👍
7:31 talk about STOL!! jokes aside, I’m glad you and your bird are okay. Thanks for making this a learning experience.
Great video. Not many people would admit they were wrong and let alone, show it in a video. Many should learn from this one as you did. Thanks for sharing
thank you for sharing. excellent video, it didn't leave unanswered questions. very helpful. pilots perspective is the key piece of info in this video. thank you for your candor.
Good video - my homestead was in Yenlo Mts. , just north of the Talchulitna R. - Yep gets a little Soggy in that high country sometimes. Cub looked pretty good afterall.
Too funny at the end! Glad you're ok and, as always, learned something valuable!
Like my Boss told me one time: "The Only People that do not make mistakes are People who do not do anything, and this place is full of Perfectionist!"
Nice video. Us lower 48 pilots totally understand. Those improvised runways are the problem. I like the riverbed runways best in Alaska. Minor damage, no injuries, good to fly another day.Life is Good!
We all learned about flying because of what you shared.
Thank you!
Cartwheel Club in PA 12; lost power over the Kenai Moose Range--landing looked great until we slowed enough for the wheels to sink onto the water.
I've never been enthusiastic about "Back Country Flying" but it's fun to watch. I had my fill years ago flying Jumpers from an old dry creek bed in the Arizona Desert using a 180. I landed a T-34 on an unused part of the old Hwy 66 to investigate a Truck accident carrying Toxic waste (Also made a few unscheduled stops while on SAR Missions with the CAP and had lots of time in a PA-18...But as I said, I'd rather watch others with their specialty Plane do the impossible !!!! My advice to anyone who crashes in the woods....Bring lots of Snicker Bars and several cans of an energy Drink......With luck, I'll find you !!!!!
Always carry a satellite locater beacon no matter where you fly.
Just glad you are OK.
My dad was a bush pilot in Alaska from the early 70s to the late 90s or so. He flipped a Cessna 120 or a Lescomb (I can't remember which now) on a sandbar, the wheels dug in on the landing and it slowly flipped over. No one was hurt though.
holy cow, how did they get it out and did you ever get your PPL?
@@dabneyoffermein595 He went in with a friend that does metal work and the repaired it and flew it out. I guess since it was metal and not fabric, that would be the Lescomb correct? I never did get my license.
You walked away….🙏😎👍🏼
Would be great to know the total cost for recovering the craft and putting it back in service…?
Thanks for this , Being a pilot has humbled me from time to time as well. Heck some days I swear I forget how to land. After watching this I think maybe flying from the back seat might be a good thing when taking off from a very soft field , I'm gonna practice. I'll make a video just in case it goes badly.
As long as once you're airborne you don't end up too far aft on c of g!
No one forces you to get airborne. You can also stay at home and save your life, instead of flying and forgetting how and where to land. Have you some problems with memory?
Thanks for posting this lesson. Glad your ok.
You mentioned that you should have aborted the takeoff but then what would your options have been at that point? I can't imagine that there is anything a guy could do to improve the runway conditions. Was it just going to continue to get wetter there or does that terrain dry out that time of year? I see that it snowed in the intervening 3 weeks. Do you ever have to leave a plane until it snows and then put skis on it to get out of situations like this?
Love these advanced 'propellerlets' to avoid tip vortices...
Cool video! Did you bend the crankshaft?
Yea, that rough ass hay field looks like a great choice of places to fly off from.
Thanks for explaining. How much did it cost for the helicopter to fly it out of there?
Glad you are ok.
Yah new engine and prop but I saw surprisingly little Airframe damage, even to rudder. Was there ANY Airframe damage?
man, so sorry. that made me throw up a little bit. How far out of the crank after the strike?
Cartwheel club! LOL. Well done and thanks for sharing.
Thanks for making this video. Very helpful.
The very last line is a gem. All's well that ends...expensively.
staying at home is cheaper
Very interesting. Good see the SC in the air again.
Glad the camera geek gave us a great shot of the tall grass !!
Sounds as though you thought it out and took appropriate steps, sometimes things just dont work out. Anytime you can accept things could have gone better and accept responsibility your fine. Glad nothing but your pride were injured
Really some fields are rotary wing only.
Even short take off aircraft have limits.
Great review, no ego. Shouldn’t ridicule or judge OTHERS mishaps..unless you like eating ‘crow’.
Thanks for sharing the lesson for us all
So what’s the cost of a helicopter tow run now?
was that last guy in the video an A & P guy? he was a hoot
Always full stick back in soft conditions. -another thing... big tires are no good in snow, they create more drag. Been there, done that. Western NY where REAL snow falls.
I'm a member of the club. It sure is humbling.
Good ol' Huey to the rescue.
Thanks for sharing your story.
What's the hourly rate on a Huey? Oof. Glad you're okay!
It’s about a $10,000 trip.
Glad I waited for the ending of the Video of how the airplane got home! That was some vertical takeoff there to get it HOME...
having a winch on the plane to pull you up hills to a proper take off area
Why did you keep trying to get.the tail up???
When it rains it pours. A combination of factors in this situation
That cost you some money !!!! Nice work getting it out from there.
Thanks for showing this.
You got a great story to tell though!
Thank you for sharing. It's good educational training video
This is the best way to learn Thx Glad ur ok
Can someone say engine overhaul? Ouch!
I'll bet that cost you a buck or three to get back home. I did the same to the prop on mu Stinson in an off field landing in El Paso back in '96, except only to one side.
Good video
Well the error to me is so understandable I imagine there will be pilots, even after seeing this, making similar mistakes due to the very narrow margin of error these circumstances command.
But my real question here is the damage did not appear terrible. In other words what could have prevented you from replacing the propeller onsite and flying it out of there? Anything? The helicopter transport and all could not have been the cheapest solution.
Thank you for sharing.
I did the same thing in a F4U Corsair. It was an RC plane so not nearly as expensive to flip.
Thanks for sharing.
I can't imagine what it cost you to have a chopper carry you out
That profile works really well on wing tips Not so much on props...
The whole thing is so far from standard soft field takeoff! At least you have learned an expensive lesson.
Well said !
I've done some flying in the Alaskan bush, my eye is not untrained and it strains to see this "runway" he speaks of.
31s?
8241?
Cheapest insurance = 35" ABW :)
The first time I landed on pavement, with tundra tires, I bounced for a mile!
Damn I hope everybody's okay that's an awesome freaking plane hope it's still good
Thanks for this video. Might be a good time to throw on an 0-360!
Do you recon the plain would have not flipped if you kept the tail down until rotation despite your runway excursion? And another thought.. maybe flipping the plane saved you.. without the mindset that let's you abort a takeoff when you are no longer on your runway, would you have aborted off when you did not accelerate as expected? Thanks for posting this.. that way we can all learn your lesson without the helicopter and repair bill.. people like you make aviation safer! Cheers from switzerland (where we flip our cubs on the glacier ;) )
Thanks 👍
The biggest risk, that tall grass. Abborted take off is just as important as the Abborted landing.
Just soooooo freaking happy that nobody got hurt.....
Great team
😂"We just need a cape and we can mount it as a full curl". 😂
Happens to the best of us It's not if it's when
A take-off with almost no room for error.
Thanks for the great lesson learned. I’ll be looking out for those wet fields and practicing aborted take offs more as I get more experience in the bush.
I wonder what the final tally on the bill for this was.
$11456.50
Water coming from the wings? Does that mean the fuel had already leaked into the the ground? Nice.
Plus, score one for the moose.
Don't think we was meant to see that part.
Glad you weren’t hurt.
Man, I love the Huey!
Thnx for video. And yea, I like that you admit that the first mistake was not to abort when the plane was yanked left when it hit that first puddle. Like we've all heard before...."a series of mistakes". Anyway, nobody hurt, so no real harm. I am wondering though,..did insurance cover any part of the retrieval by Huey?