I ditched an Army L-19. Full flaps, forward speed probably about 25 mph.
Pitched forward when the wheels hit but did not flip. Floated about 15 minutes.
It was in Lake Michigan just off the beach in Chicago. (The beach and the roads
were jammed with people.) The next day divers brought up the aircraft and found
that the Midnight Aircraft Supply Company had already removed the prop and the
radios!
Tom A079
Fred Fillinger wrote:
> Paul Sweeting wrote:
> >
> > Some interesting stats on Ditching...
> > http://www.equipped.org/ditchtoc.htm <http://www.equipped.org/ditchtoc.htm>
> > <http://www.equipped.org/ditchingmyths.htm>
> > ....
>
> Good stuff, but further confusing on whether flaps up or down.
> Tri-gear manual says "gear and flaps should be down." A cinch on the
> gear part(!), but maybe this faux pas was the result of cut and paste
> from the mono manual? Most sources say flaps down on high wing, up on
> low wing. In addition to possible pitch down in the water
> (aggravated by the big XS air scoop) and flip-over, one flap may rip
> off asymmetrically, causing real trouble. The manual is silent on
> whether to unlatch the door(s).
>
> Similarly, on the mono, if one outrigger hits water before the other,
> that could be bad too. Lemme guess; factory tested both tri-gear and
> mono in the North Sea? Here's a sample I found of what happens in a
> minor-injury incident (a Long-EZE; AAIB web site):
>
> "The pilot then informed Shoreham that he intended to ditch into the
> sea near to Shoreham harbour. Contact with the water was made at
> approximately 60 kt in a nose up attitude. However, as soon as the
> main landing gear touched the water it was ripped off causing the
> aircraft to pitch nose down. The nose of the aircraft detached on
> impact and the instrument panel bulkhead was dragged forward.
> Although the fuel tanks were nearly full the foam/fibreglass
> construction remained intact and the aircraft floated in a stable
> manner and in an upright position."
>
> Note also in this type plane the pilot certainly would have had the
> nose gear raised, but still the damage.
>
> Any thoughts??
>
> Regards,
> Fred F.
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