Tune in for the rest of the story—with exclusive interviews with pilots who have shared their emergencies, crises, and mistakes over 950-plus installments of Flying's iconic series, "I Learned About Flying From That." Host Rob Reider relates the tale as told by the author, then catches up with that pilot to ask the questions we know have been on your mind.
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Tune in for the rest of the story—with exclusive interviews with pilots who have shared their emergencies, crises, and mistakes over 950-plus installments of Flying's iconic series, "I Learned About Flying From That." Host Rob Reider relates the tale as told by the author, then catches up with that pilot to ask the questions we know have been on your mind.
In this episode of Flying Magazine's I learned about flying from that podcast, host Rob Reider speaks with Tom Bevard about a terrifying in-flight incident in his Cessna 140, which had been modified with Cessna 150 seats. Tom recounts how his adjustable pilot's seat, despite a pre-flight check, slid to the full aft position during takeoff just as he was about to rotate, causing the aircraft to shoot up at a high angle of attack and low speed, rapidly approaching a stall. Fortunately, his vernier throttle remained at full power. With the seat all the way back, Tom could no longer reach the rudder pedals, a critical issue, especially in a taildragger. Rather than attempting a ground loop with limited control due to a slight crosswind, he made the quick decision to continue the flight, get to a safe altitude, and then unbuckle, slide over, and re-buckle his seatbelt in the co-pilot's side. Being comfortable flying from the right seat, he was able to safely land the plane. This near-disastrous routine flight underscored the importance of a very good and thorough pre-flight inspection, particularly checking the seat by moving it front-to-back, side-to-side, and up-and-down to ensure the clips are properly over the rail's lip; conducting a solo local flight after any maintenance work before taking passengers or going cross-country; being proficient at flying from both seats (left, right, or tandem) as a crucial skill set in unexpected situations; and understanding Airworthiness Directives (ADs) related to seat rails, given the potential for catastrophic results if seats fail at critical phases of flight.
I Learned About Flying From That
Tune in for the rest of the story—with exclusive interviews with pilots who have shared their emergencies, crises, and mistakes over 950-plus installments of Flying's iconic series, "I Learned About Flying From That." Host Rob Reider relates the tale as told by the author, then catches up with that pilot to ask the questions we know have been on your mind.
