Scudrunners

I've read this twice and I still can't figure out what the Cirrus was doing. Horrific crash. The plane hits a parking lot and cracks up like porcelain. Points out the importance of situational awareness. I am going to guess the pilot was so confused and fixated on ATC instructions she forgot to fly the airplane, the airspeed bled off and she stalled.

http://www.kathrynsreport.com/2016/06/c ... n-llc.html

[quote]I still can't figure out what the [b]Cirrus[/b][/quote]

First clue.

[quote]the pilot radioed they were going around.

at low altitude when it suddenly turned to the left
and began descending.

A security camera video image showed that the airplane
was spinning to the left and was about 45 degrees nose
down in a wings level attitude when it impacted[/quote]

Textbook departure stall.

Today's fun fact: even with the ball in the center,
in a climbing or descending turn, the wings are
not at the same AOA.

However AOA is not something today's pilots seem
to concern themselves with.

"Wind was 100 gusting to 16 knots".


Why would they be directed to land on runway 35, exactly?

Who cares?  Probably for traffic.

I get crosswinds and tailwinds from
towers all the time.  Is it supposed
to matter?

IIRC Cessna says that the average
pilot can handle a 15 knot direct
crosswind in a 172.  Are they wrong,
or is the Cirrus a [i]fire-breathing dragon?[/i]

I'm told I'm a really shitty pilot and
crappy engineer and BAD PERSON,
compared to the master race contest
pilots from Toronto, and the big bellies
in Tower C.  Ok, I accept all that.

So what the fuck is such a big deal about
a 15G20 knot direct crosswind?

[youtube][/youtube]

Spend a few winters in Key West flying
tourists in biplanes, and then get back
to me about crosswinds. 

One east-west runway there, and you
can get a pretty good crosswind off
the Gulf.

[img width=500 height=375][/img]

Look at all the [b]BAD PEOPLE[/b] there, that
the big bellies on Sparks St hate so much.

[quote]I still can't figure out what the Cirrus

First clue.[/quote]

Cirrus is an interesting design. It's always struck me as an airplane aimed at people who like the [u]idea[/u] of being a pilot without actually having to put the work in. It's the perfect post-modern airplane and fashion accessory... it has speed, good looks, flashing dashboard lights, plush leather interior, cappuccino machine, BRS, side sticks, boffo doors. It's also killed a lot of people.


[quote]Spend a few winters in Key West flying
tourists in biplanes, and then get back
to me about crosswinds.  [/quote]

Open cockpit biplanes in Florida....sigh  8) as I freeze my ass off in minus 25...

Not all open cockpit.  Me and my friends,
22 January 2013, Key West:

[img width=500 height=392][/img]

You probably don't want to hear that I
had to run the air conditioning in the car
yesterday, when I went to get a Christmas
tree.

PS  Gary's in the monoplane, but we like
him anyways.  He broke the crankshaft in
an S-2B (metal blade prop, ya know) and
is considered quite a religious icon in some
circles:

[img width=500 height=449][/img]

Those orange robed dudes have a picture with me while I was in Laos, funny uniform but nice folks non the less.

Hehe, Andy likes to bash Cirrus, and from some angles he is right. Otoh they are designed as most planes with particular trade offs. I am flying them a lot lately and planing to post one of those click bait YT videos "5 things I hate about Cirrus".  O0

There is nothing wrong with a reasonably skilled
and knowledgeable pilot flying a Cirrus.  A little
silly to have the gear hung out there all the time,
but whatever.

However, their entire business model seems to
be built upon getting unskilled and inexperienced
pilots into Cirruses, making spectacularly poor
decisions with even worse basic skills to back
them up.

Their marketing message seems to be that if
you don't want to bother to spend the time to
learn to fly, fly a Cirrus instead.

As you might imagine, this horrifies us old-timers.

"Pull early, pull often" I believe is what they are
taught, with respect to the parachute.

[url=http://airfactsjournal.com/2012/05/dick ... us-pilots/]http://airfactsjournal.com/2012/05/dick ... us-pilots/[/url]

[quote]All Cirrus airplanes have an airframe parachute, too.
Without the chute there would have been many more fatal
accidents because presumably a pilot does not pull the chute
until he feels for certain it is necessary to save his ass.

The Cirrus was the first light airplane with a glass cockpit,
too, and Cirrus has been a leader in using the latest
whistles and bells to help pilots be better informed.

Despite all this, the Cirrus SR-22 has a higher fatal accident
rate than most similar airplanes from other manufacturers.

Why, with every safety advantage, has this come to be true?

It can only be because of one thing: the Cirrus pilot.[/quote]