Norris asked me to serve as the “Safety Officer”. I don’t really know what that means, but I told him I would. My intent is simply to highlight some safety issues that might be of interest to Chapter 35 members. A good example is the pancake breakfast we had in September.

The morning was as perfect as it could be. On the surface, it appeared that we had a peaceful and uneventful get together. The truth is that we had two incidents that could have been catastrophic had it not been for the appropriate actions by our pilots.

Number one: We started flying Young Eagles fairly early. That was not a problem because the pilots doing the flying were old hands at the process. The “control tower” was up but was just beginning to be used. That’s when Murphy struck. The base station was not working. (A loose antenna connection)
Jim Havens was on short final in his Taylorcraft. Jim has no radio, so he flies a standard left had pattern. Steve Carlson was also on final, a bit farther out and slightly above the Taylorcraft. Are you getting the picture?? We had a faster low-wing airplane flying above and behind a slower high-wing airplane. We had the classic scenario for a mid-air collision. With no base station, we were unable to tell Steve to go around. Rather late in the game, Steve saw Jim and executed a rather abrupt pull up and left turn. Well done Steve!

Number two: This is simple. Bob Kindred was flying Young Eagles in a C-172. Well, he ended up with a heavy load. Bob initiated the take off roll and accelerated very slowly (emphasize “very”). At some point in the takeoff roll, it became obvious to him that he was too heavy and too slow. He did the right thing. He aborted the takeoff. Well done Bob.

We can draw several points from these situations. Even a seemingly harmless event like a pancake breakfast on a perfect morning can be the scene of a tragic accident.
There is no substitute for constant vigilance (just ask Steve).
Flying is a mental activity. It requires decision making. The pilot must make the right decision at the right time (just ask Bob).
Murphy is alive and well. Jim Munrohad the antenna fixed in no time.

Bob Cabe