Tail Dragger

[RichardDarkwood]

I met this guy named Conrad the other day. We are working a deal for his Jeep. He tells me that he recently traded his 2007 Harley Davidson for a tail dragger plane. I have no idea what model this plane is but it looks real cool.

Conrad tells me he tried  to take off in a field next to his house, he said he got two feet off the ground when his left wing clipped the ground and he came down flipping the plane over and busting his prop.


You wondering why I posted all this right??????






Conrad was in the 82nd Airbourne. He served two tours over in the sand box in 2003 and 2004. The only flight experience he has and I am not kidding here........


is playing MS Combat Simulator.

After he gets a new 60" prop he said he will try again. I plan on filming this take off for him. If he wrecks and lives, I may be able to make 10 grand off of america's funniest home video's, if he wrecks and doesn't make it I will sell the footage to the news people Ha Ha










The wings






Todd

[Dragon]

You might want to tell him that the trash bin is not a good place for his helmets.   

[gyrene81]

Ok then...that seals it...you have officially shown that the Army does not teach common sense...cannon fodder.
I'm guessing that guy doesn't understand that those wings he earned were for jumping out of a plane, not trying to fly one.

[CHAPPY]

Nice organized shop. 

[AirFlyer]

Till he runs into a house and kills someone else, what and idiot. Like handing a set of car keys to a 5 year old and telling them to have fun.

[RTR]

That guy has broken a few laws there Todd. Not to mention a few brain cells.

I doubt the plane is registered and probably has no insurance.

He is in for a world of hurt and hopefully doesn't hurt anybody but himself.. he has done alot more damage than just "busting the prop".

I would advise you to steer clear of this idiot and give your local constabulary a call.

RTR

[RipChord929]

Aw Come on... I think its cool as hell!  Looks like a 1/4 scale mini plane, 2 cyl rotax like an ultralight.. Ya know, there was a time, when pilots flew little frail contraptions out of cow pastures, had to learn to fly in the same way he is, by doing..  If he has the room, and the gonads, more power to him..

RC

[oakranger]

I think i will call the FAA on this one. 

[RichardDarkwood]

Aw Come on... I think its cool as hell!  Looks like a 1/4 scale mini plane, 2 cyl rotax like an ultralight.. Ya know, there was a time, when pilots flew little frail contraptions out of cow pastures, had to learn to fly in the same way he is, by doing..  If he has the room, and the gonads, more power to him..

RC

Yea this is considered an ultra-lite so no license is needed for it.





Todd

[Cougar68]

I trained long and hard to earn my pilot's license and still don't have it completely down.  Your friend is out there doing something that will most likely get him killed.  In all seriousness, you need to step in and tell him to get some help with this thing before you have attend his funeral.  It's not funny, brave or harkening back to the good ol' days of learning to fly, it's just stupid.  He doesn't know enough to fix the plane and he sure doesn't know enough to fly it.  Let someone who's been there and done that help guide him through.  Otherwise it's just a matter of time before he's in a pine box.  GET SOMEONE WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY'RE DOING TO LOOK THIS THING OVER AND HELP HIM!!!  I can promise that the first accident did more damage than he would find without knowing how and what to look for.  Please, for the love of God, step in and say something. 

[Serenity]

I trained long and hard to earn my pilot's license and still don't have it completely down.  Your friend is out there doing something that will most likely get him killed.  In all seriousness, you need to step in and tell him to get some help with this thing before you have attend his funeral.  It's not funny, brave or harkening back to the good ol' days of learning to fly, it's just stupid.  He doesn't know enough to fix the plane and he sure doesn't know enough to fly it.  Let someone who's been there and done that help guide him through.  Otherwise it's just a matter of time before he's in a pine box.  GET SOMEONE WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY'RE DOING TO LOOK THIS THING OVER AND HELP HIM!!!  I can promise that the first accident did more damage than he would find without knowing how and what to look for.  Please, for the love of God, step in and say something. 

Agreed. Don't turn him off of aviation entirely, just talk the guy into seeking some help from a professional. When the word "simulator" is tossed around, folks tend to think that game their playing is accurate enough to actually train them in the basics of flight. While it is fine for practicing procedure, you NEED some hands on experience just to get off the ground and back safely. Have him take a few lessons from an instructor in ultra-lights. It isn't as expensive if he has his own aircraft. He can probably find someone willing to do the training for free if he provides expenses. I know there's plenty of folk like that out here. It's great that he has caught the bug, lets just make sure it doesn't turn out to be swine flu!

[68ZooM]

Yea someone needs to help that guy before he kills himself or others, by the looks of that plane it needs alot of work, and hopefully those painted flamed dont take on a real feel

[RipChord929]

<---Body memory is what he needs to develop!  And nobody can teach you that...
The risk he's taking, is no worse than I take when racing motorcycles, and he probably won't be going as fast either...
Other than that, what?  Put up telltales and windsock on his mini airstrip, monitor weather conditions closely, wait for a windless, or very light wind, as long as it is coming from a consistant direction(tiny headwind being a good thing), wear a helmet, kidney belt, Motocross style body armor, clothing suitable for skin preservation..  Take off and land only INTO the wind!   

Have at it man!  I would!

  RC

[Cougar68]

<---Body memory is what he needs to develop!  And nobody can teach you that...
The risk he's taking, is no worse than I take when racing motorcycles, and he probably won't be going as fast either...

Muscle memory for airplanes can certainly be taught.  You go up with an instructor and he/she keeps you from killing yourself while you're learning.  Would you have taken a twitchy motorcycle out in the middle of a race for your first ever ride?  Would you race a bike that's been repaired by someone who has never even worked on one before?  The risks aren't even close to being similar.  The potential for catostrophe for himself and others is much greater when you talking about taking an airplane up without any training.  Just do a search on here for Chairboy's experience trying to fly an ultralight taildragger with no training.  And keep in mind while you read it that he even had his PPL already.  Taildraggers, even ultralight taildraggers, can be twitchy buggers if you don't know what you're doing. 

[RTR]

<---Body memory is what he needs to develop!  And nobody can teach you that...
The risk he's taking, is no worse than I take when racing motorcycles, and he probably won't be going as fast either...
Other than that, what?  Put up telltales and windsock on his mini airstrip, monitor weather conditions closely, wait for a windless, or very light wind, as long as it is coming from a consistant direction(tiny headwind being a good thing), wear a helmet, kidney belt, Motocross style body armor, clothing suitable for skin preservation..  Take off and land only INTO the wind!   

Have at it man!  I would!

  RC

We need a Darwin award winner category here.

Where are we getting these people from?

RTR