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Cessna 120 down, might have to sell Avid:(

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Posted (edited)

 I always wanted to get my plane home but not like this. After crashing at Chelle lake cabin I was in for one hell of a recovery. Pilot error, the short is I fucked up trying to get into a 800’ bumpy strip. On the 4th attempt, I aborted(2nd that direction)and clipped some willows at the end and went in... Trying to stay in ground effect to the last second wasn’t enough to get me over the taller willows and down I went. Was prepared and had my helmet on but luckily didn’t use it. Got lucky with the willows (depends on how you look at it) Very smooth landing and didn’t set of ELT. 

 lots of factors contributed, a few days out from cataract surgery, nill wind turn to a tail wind and uphill slope was more then I thought, early season freshness,being tired, engine was stronger then ever after carb rebuild, gave me a false sense of confidence etc..I put a few calls for insurance quote on Friday but to little to late.
I’m now short on time and out of money after the heli recovery. With a heavy heart I’ll  probably donate the 120 Talkeetna build a plane of UAF and sell my model C /RX-1 project...

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Edited by TSIMKO

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Posted

Sorry to hear that man.

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Posted

Oh wow!  what a shame.  So sorry to hear this.   JImChuk

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Posted

AHH! a little bit of wax and polish and you'll never know it. Tough break! Kinda makes you shiver. Glad you're OK.

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Posted

Bummer.....I endured a similar pilot error / no injury incident a few years ago.airlift2.thumb.JPG.ebd718d01b00fdda4ab32 My little ego was pretty bruised for a while.

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Posted

Hey man that is a damm shame!!!!! But i have a friend with some parts, as i use to have a ‘46 120, i sold to get into the kitfox. 

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Posted

Damn...   Sorry about that mishap Tony.  Crap.

Sure hope that you might change your plans and stick with the Avid!  Rick's Yamaha sure will be a mega performer in that thing!

Oh and if you don't mind, what did the helicopter ride cost you?  I am self insured myself and wonder what that might cost me if I ever needed a lift. 

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Posted

Yamma-Fox, I know you didn't ask me but here is how it went down in my incident. I did as much of the work as I could myself to save money and learn.

The cost of the helicopter was $2,000/hour.

I had friends fly me back in and I rigged the plane for lift out. The tow company is only responsible down to the hook, so I did my own balance and rigging. The lifting company recommended the drogue and tag lines, and they turned out to be a great idea. I used a small dead tree for a drogue.

In my case, it took exactly one hour for the helicopter to take off from its home base, go to the incident site and hover while a friend who flew in hooked the line to the harness on the plane, fly to where another friend and I were waiting with a trailer to grab the tag lines to assist in lowering on to the trailer, and to fly back to it's home base.

It cost me exactly $2,000. We communicated with the helicopter using handhelds at both the pickup and drop off sites. I never met the pilot or crew and they did not have to land the entire mission.

Chris

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Posted

Yeah not a cheap proposition, but considering the risk they are taking with the helicopter I think it makes sense.

 

I got away a little luckier when my Dad flipped our KF2 on the water.  It was in a location where we could hook a line to a tow truck and pull the tail over.

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Posted (edited)

Damn...   Sorry about that mishap Tony.  Crap.

Sure hope that you might change your plans and stick with the Avid!  Rick's Yamaha sure will be a mega performer in that thing!

Oh and if you don't mind, what did the helicopter ride cost you?  I am self insured myself and wonder what that might cost me if I ever needed a lift. 

It was a hell of an ordeal but I was lucky enough to have a few friends help out. No one could get through the Alaska range early enough so I had to take a charter PA 12 out which was $190 one-way so I could have it apart and ready for 3 loads. R-44 flew up from Anchorage at $875 an hr. 3.5hrs in total.  Just dropped off near Anchorage, sold for $5500. Plan is to put that money towards a PA 16 and keep my Avid project for the winter. 

Edited by TSIMKO
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Posted

Glad you are able to keep the Avid Tony.   JImChuk

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Posted

Tough break. I think everyone of us has had a "tough-break" in one form or another or as they say "will". At least you didn't suffer serious injury which not only enabled you to oversee the project management of the recovery but means you're capable of flying again another day and even better.  Hang in!

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Posted

Hey thanks everyone for sharing and for the support! Definitely helps. Having hard earned 300 plus free flight paragliding hours, knowing intimately the weather. I swore I’d never be “that guy” and as I hit the willows I knew immediately the mistakes I made with absolute clarity. Wasn’t Weather Knowledge that got me but it definitely did clouded my judgement. My own inability to judge my aircraft and more importantly my own limitations! 
 

Funny the line between getting lucky and not  (I’ve been pushing the lucky side). At the end of the day that is experience and I am very thankful to have gained this without being injured. 
Thanks again

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