Garfly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VjkCfSopEI Incident around 06:10 DESCRIPTION: "Couple of years ago during my second training flight on a very hot summer day, the canopy of the Extra 330LX that I was flying opened in flight and shattered. As you can see from the video, it was a challenging experience that could have been avoided if I had made a proper visual check before taking off. The canopy locking pin had never gone into the locked position, and I failed to notice it during my checks. I also made the mistake of going to the training camp right after recovering from COVID, without allowing my body enough time to fully regain strength. Additionally, flying without any eye protection made the flight even more challenging than it already was. The flight was a distressing experience, filled with noise, breathing difficulties, and impaired visibility. It took me nearly 28 hours to fully recover my vision. Aerodynamically, I’ve experienced some buffet and controllability challenges. Probably the most difficult part was to keep the power in, thus trading my vision and breathing for kinetic energy. Although due to all the noise it was difficult to hear what my coach was saying on the radio, one thing I've heard loud and clear "just keep flying" If you are a pilot watching this, I hope that my story serves as a cautionary tale and that you will learn from my mistake. I regret that it took me so long to share this video footage. It's not easy to put my vulnerabilities out there for you all to see. However, I have come to realisze how important it is to be transparent about our shortcomings and the lessons we learn along the way. To all my fellow pilots out there, fly safe."

Another one for Comet fans. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nfH16RpXjs

This is an interesting video on the demise of the Comet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPP1YQmSNnU

What are air pockets? | Live Science WWW.LIVESCIENCE.COM And it is time for us to stop using the term? "Basically, there's no such thing. It seems to be a layman's term to describe certain forms of turbulence or windshear," Guy Gratton, an aeronautical engineer, test pilot and professor of aviation and the environment at Cranfield University in the U.K., told Live Science in an email. "I don't personally ever use the term. I don't think it's useful."

Popular media has deep pockets. (and shallow chat peeps ) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rsB59MX8Xo

And this CBC journalist while getting closer to the right ROD insists that 2000 ft per minute is a 'catastrophic drop'. (at 01:30 - it's not advisable to suffer the whole thing) We need Blancolirio to explain that the 6,000' controlled descent happened 15 minutes after the turbulence encounter.

Yes, I think the aircraft would have broken up before attaining that vertical speed. (Blancolirio explains that the turbulence encounter caused a flight path excursion in the low hundreds. The subsequent 6000' 'plunge' was in fact a controlled descent.)

Channel 9 has the aircraft plummeting 6000' in five seconds. I believe that'd be a rate of 72,000 feet per minute! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umDhF1QMo7k

Blancolirio's take on it: (He explains that the turbulence encounter caused a flight path excursion in the low hundreds. The subsequent 6000' 'plunge' was in fact a controlled descent.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UYNFthOx1o

Yes, and LSALT is a concept used mainly in IFR ops.

I think the Terrain Overlay feature, by itself, is designed more for the real-time situation Turbo found himself in. But it's also used in planning in conjunction with what they call LSALT assistant. CLICK IMAGE FOR FULL REZ. "To open the LSALT assistant make a plan and select (tap) a leg, the leg will highlight yellow and the LSALT assistant button will appear on the Right Sidebar as in Image 12.1 The LSALT assistant uses the obstacle dataset from Airservices Australia, and terrain data from NASA. The assistant will find the highest obstacle and terrain, within the selected splay, for each leg of your plan and overlay these on the map. The assistant will then provide LSALT options based on this information with appropriate buffers, as well as route and grid LSALT options as applicable (as shown in Image 12.2). Opening the LSALT assistant also turns on the Terrain Overlay. The function of the Terrain Overlay when using the LSALT assistant is described below."

Turboplanner said: "..... What the WAC Chart has are Hypsometric Tints which show altitude in feet and metres. If you find during your trip that cloud has descended above you like a ceiling, the tints give a quick reference for a way out to be planned." Nowadays we can have hypsography of the dynamic kind (relative to our current position/altitude). 12. Terrain and Airspace DOCS.OZRUNWAYS.COM CLICK IMAGE FOR FULL REZ. "The Terrain Overlay is an aid to visualise surrounding terrain. In flight, yellow shades indicate terrain that is close to your altitude. Red is anything above you."

Thanks for sharing, Turbs ... can happen to anyone.

The lower map is the 250k Topo which happens to be available in OzRwys along with all the aviation charts. My point was about mixed units; that because the 250k is not an aviation map its elevations are in metres so care needs to be taken when using it for flying. I like that it's there even though I'd use it more for planning and checking out the route than in the air. It has four times the resolution of a WAC - including a lot more place names - and shows clearly at a glance where the valleys and flatlands lie (white against brown). Actually, I've also found it useful for backroads driving since it seems to have most small dirt roads on it and - since it's downloaded to the app already (and covers the whole country) - I don't need internet access to use it while bush bashing.

Regarding units, I appreciate the 250k Topo charts, available in OzRwys, for the extra detail and clearer depiction of where flatlands lie. But care is needed since it ain't an aviation map.

But only in Australia ;- )

Ian, IMHO, the two articles below (among many other resources) offer serious, savvy and fulsome discussion of the issue. But most experts seem hesitant to favour one method over the other, I guess because so much depends on circumstances (what's above; what's below; what's ahead; what's in the panel; what's in the pilot's head, etc.). As F10 suggests, above, you wouldn't want to start a climb if you weren't pretty sure of the tops. Though I suppose it might work for a thinish stratus layer (that is well below the freezing level). On the other hand, the SKYbrary article (below) urges caught-out VFR pilots to avoid turning unless and until the manoeuvre has been well planned out (and, I assume, there's an AH available). Inadvertent VFR Flight Into IMC | SKYbrary Aviation Safety SKYBRARY.AERO The primary risks associated with VFR flights in IMC are loss of control and inadvertent flying into terrain. Inadvertent VFR Flight Into IMC MYCFIBOOK.COM

On that topic I found these useful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3M4k6ChQL4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeRU9leiS5k

Nobody here is not a safety nut above all else. Seeya later!

What!!?? You can't take a gentle jibe!!!?? That sir, is unworthy of you!! You know I have 'cared to read' most what you've posted over many years. I don't remember it all! Okay?? Sheesh, talk about a cranky old men's club!!!

And since I've done none (like most here) I remain keen for tips and insights from them what have. I don't believe VFR >> IMC crashes always and only happen to folks far less savvy, wise and law abiding than myself. I'm probably asking too much but I sort of hoped you (and/or other pros) might compare and contrast those two competing IMC escape methods I referenced above: the immediate 180 degree escape versus the straight ahead climb [no turns] method. (It's clear, of course, there ain't no guarantees one way or t'other.) Anyway, Nev, don't complain that no one asks questions any more. ;- )

I, for one, would like to have you expand on that, Nev. You could say that 'forums' are as reliable - or not - as other sources. It depends. Discernment is key. Anyway, how about these two excerpts on the subject (from authoritative journals) This is one from Aviation Safety Magazine: Losing Orientation • Getting at the real-world causes of spatial disorientation. ... // Two Seconds Short of Three Minutes A 1954 study, the “180-degree Turn Experiment” commissioned by the AOPA Foundation and conducted by the University of Illinois, studied 20 non-instrument pilots flying a Beech C35 Bonanza. The purpose was to teach a simple recovery technique for disorientation in IMC. The technique involved leveling the wings, centering the ball, slowing the plane down, controlling the altitude with trim and slowly doing a 180-turn with rudder alone (to avoid over-controlling). Once heading in the opposite direction, participants were taught to reduce power and start a gentle descent to assist in gently breaking out below the ceiling without inducing disorientation. The study is famous, or infamous if you will, for the statistics recorded before the subjects learned the recovery technique. It took them an average of 178 seconds from the VFR-to-IMC transition to enter either a stall or graveyard spiral. There’s a video out there popularizing the study and whether you read the script or view one of the video’s several versions, the melodramatic countdown reinforces the idea that the average VFR-only pilot has less than three minutes before they are dead unless they have some kind of coping strategy to safely get out of the clouds. The recovery technique taught in the 1954 study, a 180-degree turn out of IMC back to VMC, proved remarkably effective. With six one-hour training sessions, the study’s subjects improved the 178-second crash-and-burn statistic to a 98-percent survival rate. This is a bit from an AOPA article which tends away from the 180 "technique" toward the climb straight ahead escape method (for anyone caught out). ... // Plan A: Avoid VFR into IMC The best antidote to a scary VFR into IMC encounter is to set personal minimums reflecting your proficiency level and adjusting them as needed. In addition, use flight-risk assessment tools to make well-informed go/no-go decisions ... /// Plan B: Escape VFR into IMC Do you have a plan? Execute it immediately. Generally, we are taught to conduct a 180-degree turn to better weather conditions left behind. That could work if making the turn before entering the clouds. Another option could be to climb straight ahead—no turns and a light touch on the flight controls—until you’ve cleared the clouds. This requires little head movement to avoid experiencing spatial disorientation. In addition, you could declare an emergency with ATC. Controllers trained on VFR into IMC flight emergencies can help find better weather to escape to. Losing Orientation - Aviation Safety WWW.AVIATIONSAFETYMAGAZINE.COM A common night disorientation scenario is transiting from an area with many lights to empty countryside with few scattered lights (or none at all). I distinctly remember my first experience with night disorientation. 178 seconds WWW.AOPA.ORG Visual flight rules (VFR) flight into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) is the worst weather-related cause of general aviation accidents each year—with an 86-percent fatality rate—involving VFR and...