VTAILJEFF@aol.com wrote:

George Braly (privately) and I (on the lml) had this exact discussion with Shannon Knoeplfin 2 years ago. He thought that he was someone "who knew how to fly a Lancair in the first place" and decided "the considerable inconvenience" was too much to bear so he departed Oshkosh. He died less than 30 minutes later attempting an engine out landing into Madison.

There is actually a more important aspect to this story.  Shannon's engine failure happened directly overhead an airport.  He chose to pass up on more than 10 (I forget the exact number) closer viable airports to land at a convenient airport that was near the extreme edge of the glide range.  He could have made Madison if he flew the plane properly.  Yet looking at the vertical profile, he was clearly not flying the airplane but apparently doing something else; presumably diagnosing the engine problem.  Initially, he even set himself up for a "convenient" runway, rather than the closest one.

There is an underlying theme to all these actions:  Here we have an individual who has a total lack of appreciation for the seriousness of the problem.  The accident chain could have been broken at many places, from not taking off with a known problem to landing at a closer airport to not messing with the engine and flying the airplane...  Yet reading the radio transcript, by the time the first hint of a realization that the situation was serious appeared, it was already too late.  Remember, this person was warned by several people at Oshkosh that he had a serious problem with the engine, yet he chose to ignore all warnings.

This whole thread is not about flying with a deflated strut -- it is about attitude.  Flying with an oil problem will not kill you, repeatedly resetting a breaker in flight will not kill you, flying with a deflated strut will not kill you; it is the underlying attitude and mindset that makes you believe that doing any of this is acceptable is what will kill you.  And just to clarify, the "you" in this discussion is the generic "you" that is all of us on the list and is not directed at Jeff.

Regards,

Hamid