Man with zero hours flying experience accidentally takes off, and barely lands

[Clive_T]

Originally published at: Man with zero hours flying experience accidentally takes off, and barely lands | Boing Boing

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[mr_raccoon]

He learned how to fly on Facebook.

[Faffenreffer]

Any landing you walk away from is the best landing ever, but…yikes.

I don’t know how confident I’d be in the airworthiness of that plane after it’s repaired and the pilot’s seat is replaced.

[gracchus]

For some reason he was allowed to taxi his plane from one part of the airport to the other

I’m gonna take a flyer (heh) and assume the reason was “white guy with plane money”.

[FGD135]

Once again, life imitates art.

[Otherbrother]

That looks to me like a single-seat ultralight, which doesn’t actually require a pilot’s license in the US. The regulations on ultralights are amazingly lax based on the theory that with something that light you’re unlikely to kill anyone other than yourself even if you plow it right into a building or whatever. Still, I wonder why he would buy one without getting some basic instruction in a two-seater first. How did he plan to learn in a single-seater?

Edit to add: it’s hard to get a detailed shot of the plane from the video but it looks to me to be either a Challenger or Challenger II ultralight. You can often pick them up used for under $10k.

Here’s one for just $6k. Cheaper than a lot of motorcycles!
https://www.barnstormers.com/classified-1686030-Challenger-I-Ultralight.html

[sarc]

playstation

Fool's Gold (10/10) Movie CLIP - Tell Me After We Crash (2008) HD

[SamSam]

My kids have been wanting me to get a Vespa again to drive them to school (I sold my old one before they were born), but I guess you’ve convinced me that I could get something more fun.

[vernonbird]

@Clive_T

A guy bought a new plane but, as yet, had zero hours of flying experience.

This is bassackwards; who buys a car before learning how to drive?
Dude has more money than brains, it appears. Hope he learned his lesson.

@Clive_T

For some reason he was allowed to taxi his plane from one part of the airport to the other — and while doing so, he accidentally took off.

Gave it too much throttle… he could have landed safely if he had immediately cut the throttle when he became airborne & was still in ground effect.

@Clive_T

Now he had a big problem on his hand, because landing a plane is not easy, particularly when you have zero experience.

Au contraire… landing a plane is easy.
Now, if you want to survive and be able to use the plane again, that takes practice.

@Otherbrother

That looks to me like a single-seat ultralight…either a Challenger or Challenger II ultralight.

Same here.
I hope he decides to get some lessons after this.

[Otherbrother]

@SamSam

My kids have been wanting me to get a Vespa again to drive them to school (I sold my old one before they were born), but I guess you’ve convinced me that I could get something more fun.

I have a pilot’s license and also own a ‘61 Vespa. Haven’t flown in 13 years but I do occasionally take my kids on scooter rides around town. The scooter is a bit more practical, and easier to find storage space for. Plus you can decorate it for Halloween.

[29ggf]

I did something less stupid and less dangerous with a car (the only casualty being an iron gate) and it took me months to get my act together and go back to the driver seat. I don’t think this man is ever going to pilot his brand new plane again.

[Brainspore]

@Clive_T

landing a plane is not easy, particularly when you have zero experience.

I suppose that depends on how broadly you’re willing to stretch the definition of “landing.”

[DukeTrout]

@mr_raccoon

He learned how to fly on Facebook.

I would say that he did his own research, but that’s not a good metaphor. He survived the landing…

[Otherbrother]

@Clive_T

There’s also commentary by a professor from the University of Leeds, describing some of the dynamics of what it takes to land a small plane like that.

So I just looked it up and, depending on which model he was flying, the Challenger ultralights have stall speeds of just 22 to 25 mph. That’s really, really slow! Makes it seem like if you stall during a landing attempt there’s a good chance you’ll walk away ok. But if you stall while high up I guess you could gain a bit more speed during the fall.

[knoxblox]

@Brainspore

I suppose that depends on how broadly you’re willing to stretch the definition of “landing.”

“Barely lands” is moot, also. It’s not a matter of degrees. Everybody lands eventually, whether they want to or not.

Did they land well? There’s your measurement.

[Bytheway]

That is pretty good considering the alternatives.

[bluehenbear]

@vernonbird

This is bassackwards; who buys a car before learning how to drive?

I bought my first (used) car without knowing how to drive a stick. Does that count?

[NukeML]

@29ggf

I don’t think this man is ever going to pilot his brand new plane again

Well it’s no longer a brand new plane is it, after that landing! I bet the cockpit has poop stains all over the seat.

[Entity447B]

I’ve taken off and landed a plane with zero hours flight experience, but the qualified flight instructor was sitting at the other controls…

[DiveGirl]

Is everyone forgetting Flight Sim? He may have had (comfy) seat time prior to his “flight”.