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There's not much that could be said without
more details. I had one of the first Velocity retracts and there have since been
many new model iterations and changes to the brake systems.
In general though the Velocity was designed
with a relatively weak nose gear. The intent was to drop the nose to raise
and protect the prop and engine, also creating drag to slow the aircraft by
grinding the fuselage. I haven't been involved with Velocities for a number of
years but there were several accidents where the arrangement worked well,
stopping the plane and protecting the occupants with only minor
damage.
Another factor is that the nose wheel is
fully castoring so that lateral control is completely a matter of differential
braking. If the ground was soft clay or sand a wheel off the runway could
whip the nose sideways off the runway instantly. The nose gear would then
collapse, and as this happened at high speed, perhaps the nose simply dug
in.
Adding power to a canard would
aggravate the problem as the thrust is aft of CG, pushing rather than
pulling.
-Bill Wade
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2008 1:28
AM
Subject: [LML] Re: Florida experimental
accident
I've heard of this type of accident before - once was with a
IVP. The pilot apparently landed, got a wheel off the paving onto soft
(softer at least) ground and then elected to add power. None of our
engines are probably powerful enough to overcome the drag of a wheel on soft
ground, but I would certainly think that the drag of a locked wheel on paving
is enough to overcome most any yaw moment due to the soft ground. The
lesson I can think of is that this is one time where fast reflexes and
decisive action counts. A really hard application of differential
braking would possibly save the day. Application of power might only
increase the speed of the crash. Go-rounds after the plane is on the
ground don't generally seem to be a good idea. but what caused the
tumbling? A collapsed nose gear combined with a tall, short wheelbase
gear layout? If the nose gear collapsed the canard would increase the
downforce on the nose, while the tail of a conventional plane would decrease
it.
Gary Casey
Tragic accident, not sure what "take home" safety
message is - if any.
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