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Stones


Farmer_Dave

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I must overcome my male pride and perhaps a little embarrassment to make sure you're all a little wiser and potentially safer. If you feel you have a little more (or less) torque steer than normal, do take a look up to see if you have rocks in your wingtips. I really dont know how I collected one in my wing but I did launch from a freshly cultivated field (first attempt reverse too) and had a pound of stone (one piece) in my wing when I landed. :shock: I allways look up and check the wing before and after T O. I thought it was a patch at first but did notice a slight right turn that wasn't there before. I also managed 5 touch and goes and some stall point taxi-ing with the said object where it shouldn't have been.

I would like to laugh about it but I consider it as a failing on my pre flight checks and that's not so funny really, so I hope my experience helps you all NOT to make the same mistake I did.

Dave

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Good point Dave.

This is one that we all usually get away with until something large enough to add a little awe in the mix makes it a pre-flight check.

I once flew around with a big sandstone beach rock middle-wing trailing edge until someone showed me a photo taken mid flight and the offender became shadow obvious. At least a pound it was. Easy to miss when being chased around by airborn bloodsuckers and sweaty from a flightsuit. Picked it up from a beach landing and took it home and stored it until next flight. Good thing they didn't come flying out on inflation eh? Also glad it wasn't a grasshopper or cricket. Damn mandibles.

No more hitchikers, part of the post flight and pretrip now.

Fine bit of advice.

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Nice one Norman. :) I only seem to have the rock throwing GREMLINS here although one of the little sods had a hacksaw to one of my silencer bolts and cut the head off. These gremlins must have different peculiarities to certain geographical locations too as I dont seem to have the trippers, plug cap removers, propeller vandals or fire starters here. Mind you. I did take the added precaution (in the light of gross speculation) of having the unit EXCORCISED when I shipped it over. That alone might've flushed them out :x

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  • 3 weeks later...

Rocks? Try flying with half a hundred weight of sand in your wing's trailing edge after a day at the Dune Du Pyla in south west France. Only plus point was that I had permanent min sink all afternoon (PG), hence flew very high. A small induced collapse removed quite a bit of sand though. RP

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