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CTSW down in Taos


josjonkers

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Great News... John is doing well and is going to recover! I couldn't take not knowing about the details, so I called the Hillyards. To my delight, his wife offered to put John on the phone. He sounds great. He got bumped and cut up a bit, and smashed an ankle, but is on the road to recovery. I let him know he had a bunch of fellow CTFliers who were concerned and had them in our thoughts and prayers.

Bottom Line (as far as he can tell)... Dust Devil, invisible because it was coming off the runway and hadn't picked up any dust. John has a few thousand hours (500 in CT), and his friend who died (Grant Besley) had 35,000-some hours. He said everything that could have been done by experienced pilots, couldn't stop the crash.

When asked if he felt the CT protected them, he said that friends who saw the wreckage, and knew the circumstances, said "nobody should have survived". Sadly, one didn't... but the safety cell did a good job.

(John appreciates our well-wishes, but asked that he not get calls)

tim

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Wow, this is scary. 80 feet off the ground and it appears nothing unusual for weather or wind and all of a sudden a dive into the ground to the right. Sure hope we get some clarification as to the cause. I imagine a spiralling current of air from a dust devil could take a CT on a ride like this? If there wasn't much dust, this could be invisable.

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I have a video, can't find it now but I think it's on youtube, where I hit a dust devil (invisible) on very short final. It got under one wing and lifted it, momentarily, to about 60 degrees. As quick as it came, it was gone. I'll try and find that video.

Here's a small one with a parachuter trying to land...

tim

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Here in AZ... a lot. Sometimes only visible when they've tracked over a dusty field. 'Makes for a bumpy ride after 10am in the hot months. In the pattern at KDVT, pilots and/or tower will advise when they see 'em around the airport.

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How common are these devils?

 

They are so common they you have to train your brain to react. We see them all day long but unless we are flying or handling an aircraft there is not a 2nd thought.

 

'Dust Devil!' is a common cry of alarm amount hang glider pilots gathered at launch or at LZ.

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Found my old video... at the 3:50 mark, on short final, the right wing catches a bit of dust devil. 'Goes up about 50 degrees, then gone quickly. A good size dust devil could have it's way with a light plane... besides instant updrafts, one wing could be getting an extra 30 kts from the front, while the other wing is getting 30 kts from the back.

Tim

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True, and all it takes is uneven heating of the surface, which can happen anywhere. Although the strength close to the ground will likely be very weak, but builds as the column rises. The Azimut guys who flew around the World said their worst ride was across the Southwest Deserts.... very bumpy.

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IMHO Dust devils should not be feared but they should require you to be alert, and to keep your hands on stick and throttle when near the ground.

 

Think about stability, lapse rates, cummi development, winds, arrid conditions, ...etc On days when dust devils are abundant I usually don't want to be close to the ground.

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October in the upper elevations don't tend to have dust Devils. They tend to appear in the hotter summer months. I have never seen one around Page during October. They really aren't a big deal. You can usually see them and learn to give them some space.

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'Goes up about 50 degrees, then gone quickly.

Good example of how this could affect things, but after watching the video 3 times on wide screen, honestly I saw , maybe, 25 degrees. Also confirmed by your instrument.

Always looks steeper when you are in the plane

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