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Dave Pelletier, Michael Maikowski, and Chris Wolf

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cwolf41(at)comcast.net
Guest

Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 11:11 am Post subject: Dave Pelletier, Michael Maikowski, and Chris Wolf

On Monday, November 13, 2006, at 10:27 a.m. local time, a Kolb Mark III

Classic aircraft carrying the owner, Dave Pelletier, and Michael Maikowski,

a visiting pilot, crashed near the town of Paulden, Arizona.  Both men were

instantly killed on impact, and the aircraft was destroyed.



At the time of the crash, there was speculation that Michael Maikowski and

Chris Wolf were the same person.  I can state, with absolute certainty,

they are not.  Michael Maikowski died at 10:27 a.m.  I died about three

hours later when a police chaplain came to my door to give me the terrible

news that my best friend was dead.  For some reason, I was given a second

chance to live again, and try to rebuild my shattered life.  For some

reason, Mike and Dave were not.



Mike Maikowski was my best friend, business partner, and lifelong flying

buddy.  I've known him for the last 36 years, ever since we attended Purdue

University together.  I've spent the last two weeks grieving, trying to

understand what happened, and trying to accept the fact that I will never

see my best friend again.



At the time of the accident, there was much speculation as to what actually

happened, and what caused it.  I think I have as much information about the

crash as anyone.  And more importantly, I knew Mike Maikowski better than

anyone.  I know exactly what sort of pilot he was.



During the speculation about the crash, someone solicited my feedback.  I

was in no condition to give it, at the time, but I think I am now.  So here

is what I know.



I've been told that Dave Pelletier was a very good pilot, was very safety

conscious, and that his plane had been inspected by an A&P mechanic only a

week earlier.  I have no reason to doubt any of this.  If Mike Maikowski

had even the slightest doubt about Dave's plane, or Dave's piloting skills,

Mike would never have flown with Dave.



Mike Maikowski had been flying fixed wing aircraft for forty years.  At age

13, he won a statewide aviation essay contest, held in Wisconsin.  Senator

William Proxmire personally handed Mike First Prize at the big Milwaukee

aviation show, held every year.  Mike had been in love with airplanes all

his life.  I think he was greatly influenced by the 1950s television

series, "The Whirlybirds."  (I know I was.)  If the names PT, Barney, and

Helen mean anything to you, then you know what I'm talking about.



According to his parents, Mike soloed at age 14.  Perhaps he was not quite

that young, but when Mike came to Purdue University to pursue a degree in

aeronautical engineering, he already had his private pilot license.  Mike

had wanted to go to the Air Force academy, and eventually fly for the

airlines, but he was beaten out by another applicant who didn't have a

couple of trapped air bubbles in his tailbone (the contest it was so close,

that was the final selection criteria).



Mike was greatly disappointed that he didn't get into the Air Force

Academy, but he was never one to complain.  Instead, he came to Purdue

University to become an aeronautical engineer.  That's where we met in

Mike's Freshman year (I was a Sophomore).  I had a room on the seventh

floor of the local residence hall, with a view of the local airport, and

Mike asked to be my roommate (so he could watch the airplanes take off and

land).



As it turned out, that was the luckiest day in my life.  Mike and I became

fast friends.  We both loved to fly, and I was always happy to split the

cost of an hour's flight with Mike.  He logged the time, and I got to look

out the window.



Even after graduation, Mike and I continued to live and work together.  We

just got along so damn well, and worked so well together, and had so much

fun together, that we decided to live and work together until one of us got

married (or got tired of each other).



Somehow this peculiar arrangement lasted for the next 36 years.  I still

can't figure out how.  We never fought, we never quarreled, and we never

had a harsh word for each other.  A lot of married couples envied our

compatibility.  And we weren't even gay.  We were just two guys who really

enjoyed each other's company.  Mike and I wrote and published books

together, patented and licensed a new type of computer keyboard (almost got

rich off that one), explored caves, canoed rivers, traveled all around the

country, and took flying trips as often as we could afford them.  It was a

good life.



Mike Maikowski was the best pilot I have ever known.  He was fanatical

about safety, never cut corners, never hurried, and never panicked.  When I

flew with him, I had total trust and confidence in his flying skills.  (I

know enough to take the controls, if necessary, but I'm not a licensed

pilot.)  When we got caught in zero-zero conditions in Alaska, over the

Inside Passage, and Mike had to get us up through the soup, and on top,

while not running into high mountains on all sides of us, I was so

confident in Mike's flying skills that I sat in the back seat, drinking

coffee.



Mike had been an instrument pilot for many years.  He flew almost every

week, practicing and refining his instrument flying skills.  He was working

on his Commercial rating when he lost his life, and was planning on being

an instructor for a few years after he retired from the FAA next year.



While still at Purdue, Mike spent several semesters interning at Edwards

Air Force Base, in California, working on NASA's Supercritical Wing

project.  After graduating from Purdue University, Mike worked for the

Boeing Aircraft company, in Seattle, for several years, as an aeronautical

engineer.  Then when President Regan fired the striking air traffic

controllers (PATCO), in the early 1980s, Mike went to work as an air

traffic controller for the FAA.  He was a controller for the next 25 years.

And a pretty damned good one.  There are several pilots flying today who

owe their lives to Mike Maikowski's air traffic control skills.  And at

least one airline who still has an unbroken DC-10, thanks to the fact that

Mike was as good a pilot as he was a controller.



Before 911, air traffic controllers used to be allowed to ride in the

cockpits of commercial airliners to help familiarize themselves with air

traffic from the pilot's perspective.  Mike was once sitting in the cockpit

of a DC-10 that had a minor mechanical problem.  A pickup truck, containing

a mechanic, was dispatched out to the plane as it sat on the runway, to see

if the problem could be fixed on the spot.  The pilots of the DC-10 were

busy, but Mike happened to be looking out the window as the pickup truck

drove under the airplane, and parked there.  Then the Captain of the DC-10

said he was going to move the plane down the runway, while he waited for

the pickup truck to arrive.  The Captain was reaching for the throttles

when Mike stopped him, and told him the truck was already parked under his

airplane.  I'll leave it to your imagination as to what happens when a

DC-10 tries to taxi over a pickup truck.



But that's the kind of guy Mike was.  If a pilot made a bad mistake while

in the pattern, Mike didn't automatically report him.  Being a pilot

himself, Mike could relate to the pilots. Usually he just invited the pilot

up to the tower, so Mike could explain what had happened, and how to avoid

it in the future.



And Mike also worked the air traffic control side of the equation, as well.

If a new controller simply couldn't be trained to control airplanes, and

was about to be fired, Mike took over and trained the controller.



So I guess what I'm trying to say here, is that Michael Maikowski was a

pretty damn good pilot who knew what he was doing, and hadn't learned to

fly last week.



So what happened on the morning of November 13?



Mike had been flying GA aircraft for forty years.  About six years ago, we

acquired a powered parachute (PPC) and flew that just for fun.  (And

because it was cheap to fly.)  We liked to tow it on a trailer behind my

RV, and drive to interesting areas, camp in the RV, and then explore the

area.



But while the powered parachute was fun, it was also pretty limited in what

it could do.  With a top speed of only 30 mph, it was at the mercy of the

wind, and it wasn't safe to fly if the wind was blowing much more than 10

mph.  And it didn't have a range of much more than about 15 or 20 miles.

And since the PPC had to be launched and landed into the wind, there were a

lot of airports where it wasn't practical to fly it. But we liked it.



And then the FAA decided that powered parachutes should be included in the

new Sport Pilot program.  Mike was already qualified to fly the PPC, since

had his private pilot ticket, but I would have to get a Sport Pilot

license.  I would also have to get the PPC inspected and N-numbered.  Worse

yet, I'd have to fly across the country and take a 16 hour repairman's

course if I wanted to be able to do my own annual inspections, and sign off

on my own maintenance (which I'd been doing for five years).  What a pain!

After years of carefree flying under Part 103, it was like having your

paper airplane, or your box kite, suddenly regulated by the FAA.



And that's when I suggested to Mike that perhaps we might think about

flying something else.  Especially if I had to bother with Sport Pilot.

Perhaps a little fixed-wing airplane with folding wings that we could

transport on a trailer behind the RV.  Something with more speed and range.

Something that could handle a crosswind better than a PPC.



We looked at the Zenith 701.  I even went to one of their factory workshops

and built a rudder.  Nice little plane, but not the best folding wing

design in the world.  Then I saw a picture of a Kolb, in flight, and saw

how easily the wings folded.  That looked like it might be our plane.  I

came onto this list and gathered information about the Kolb.  I talked to

the Kolb factory, and was much impressed with their level of customer

support.



After much discussion, Mike and I decided that the Kolb Mark III was the

plane for us.  It looked like the perfect flightseeing airplane; ideal for

towing behind an RV.  Robert Lee, down in Arizona, had a Mark III Classic

for sale.  It had the Rotax 912 engine on it, and was even equipped with a

ballistic parachute.  (I'm a firm believer in ballistic parachutes.  I even

equipped our powered parachute with a ballistic parachute.)



I told Mike we needed to travel to Arizona and see this plane.  The only

drawback was that it was a Classic, and not an Xtra.  Mike was only 5'8",

and weighed 170 pounds, but I'm 6'4" and weigh 250 pounds.  I was concerned

that I might not be able to fit comfortably in a Classic, whereas the Extra

was a little larger for larger pilots.  Still, the Arizona plane had

everything we wanted on a Kolb, so I figured it was worth a look.



But somebody else was ahead of us in the buyer line.  A man from Miami

bought the Arizona plane, and that was that.  Then I learned of another

Kolb for sale.  Better still, it was a Mark III Xtra.  Sounded like it was

made for a larger pilot, like me.  I won't mention the owner's name, out of

privacy considerations.



The Mark III Xtra only had a Rotax 582 engine on it, and had no ballistic

parachute, but I knew I could sell the 582 and replace it with a 912.  And

I could install a ballistic parachute.  And it was one beautiful plane.  I

saw lots of pictures of it. The owner was obviously quite a craftsman.



There was just one problem with buying the plane.  The owner was currently

under a doctor's care, and didn't feel safe in flying the plane.  So he

couldn't take us up for a test flight, or give Mike some familiarization

flights in the plane.  However we were welcome to come and test fly it

ourselves.



But the Kolb is a taildragger, and Mike had only flown tricycle gear.

Also, Mike did not want to fly the Kolb "cold."  He wanted an experienced

Kolb pilot to fly with him, and show him the ropes.  So I called the Kolb

factory and asked them if they could recommend a Kolb owner who could

familiarize Mike with the Kolb.  Then we could test fly the Mark III Xtra,

and if we liked it, buy it.



The Kolb factory gave me the names of three Kolb pilots who might be able

to help us.  The name at the top of the list was Dave Pelletier.  Mike

promptly called Dave, and they became instant friends.  Dave not only

offered to familiarize Mike with the Kolb, but even offered to have him as

a guest in his home while they did it.  I understand this was very typical

behavior for Dave.



I was planning to go to Arizona, with Mike, and take some familiarization

rides in Dave's plane.  I knew Dave's Classic wouldn't be quite as roomy as

the Xtra we were thinking of buying, but I figured it would give me a

pretty good idea of the view from the Kolb, in flight, and the overall

suitability of the plane for us.



But there was just one problem.  Dave's flying field was at an elevation of

4400 feet.  And Dave's Kolb only had a Rotax 582 engine on it.  Dave said

there would be no problem flying with Mike, but that I was too heavy for

safe flying.  With both Dave and myself on board, the plane would be too

heavily loaded for Dave's liking.



But that was no problem.  I told Mike I would stay home and tend to our

business, and start making preparations to bring the Xtra home.  Mike could

travel to Arizona and get checked out in the Kolb.  Then the following

weekend we would test fly the Xtra.  If we liked it, and bought it, I would

pick up the plane with my RV, and bring it home.



And so it was that on the morning of November 12, 2006, I shook Mike's hand

at the curb of local airport as he was about to board his flight to

Arizona.  I have never seen him so happy and excited.  Even though Mike was

half owner of our PPC, and even though he was part owner of a Cessna

Cardinal, this would be his first, honest-to-God airplane that was all his.

He would able to base it just about five minutes drive from his home, and

fly it whenever he wanted to, wherever he wanted to, and as often as he

wanted to.  I would take the Repairman's Course, and do the maintenance on

it (just as I've done with the PPC for the last five years), so the Kolb

would be dirt cheap for Mike to fly.  And when Mike retired from the FAA in

2008, with a fine pension, we would spend a lot of time towing the Kolb in

its trailer, behind my RV.  We would take it all over the country, and fly

it in all sorts of interesting and beautiful places.  What a way to spend

the next thirty years!



That was the plan.



Mike called me from Dave Pelletier's house, Sunday night, to tell me he had

safely arrived in Arizona, had rented a car, and had driven up to Dave's

house near Prescott, Arizona.  Before he left Seattle, I reminded Mike that

Dave's Kolb only had a 65 horsepower engine, there would be two people in

the plane, and the field elevation where they would be flying was almost a

mile above sea level.  I told him not to push the performance of the plane,

to be extra-cautious, and not to fly over unfriendly terrain unless the

plane was equipped with a ballistic parachute.  So I was delighted when

Mike called me on Sunday night to tell me that Dave's plane was equipped

with a ballistic parachute.  I knew that Mike was safe as he could possibly

be.  Mike said they were going out early next morning, probably at dawn, to

get Mike checked out in the Kolb.  Good time to get familiar with a new

plane.  Calm, cold, dense air.  Best possible learning time.



The next morning, on Monday, November 13, I hadn't heard anything as of

noon.  This was unusual, because Mike had promised to call me on Monday

morning, and tell me how the Kolb was working out.  When I didn't hear from

him, I started to wonder if he and Dave had run into some trouble.  But I

wasn't worried.  I knew the Kolb could easily make an emergency landing, in

case the engine quit, and if anything really serious happened, all they had

to do was pull the firing handle on the ballistic parachute, and float down

to a safe landing.



Just about the time I was thinking that, a chaplain from the local police

department came to my door.  When I opened the door, and saw who it was, my

heart sank.  I instantly knew what had happened.  I won't try to describe

what the rest of that day was like.  I won't try to describe what the next

two weeks were like.  I did not know that such suffering was possible.

I've never lost anyone close to me.  The top value in my life was suddenly

wrenched away and destroyed.  My life was shattered.  I died that day.

Mike and I weren't even gay, but now I think I know what it's like to lose

a husband or a wife.  I guess I thought this kind of a loss could never

happen to me or my people.  But it did.  And my life will never be the same

again.



If I could make a bargain with God or the Devil to split the remaining

years of my life, and give half of them to Mike, so he could live again, I

would do it in an instant.  I tried.



But this post is about the crash of Mike and Dave; not me.  So what

happened?  I've spoken with the Chino Fire Department, who were the first

responders on the scene.  When Mike and Dave crashed, the folks who lived

in a nearby house rushed out to the crash site.  They said they found no

sign of life in either pilot.  Apparently Mike and Dave died instantly, on

impact.  When the Chino Fire Department arrived soon after, they found no

sign of life either.  And the ballistic parachute, that could have saved

the plane and the pilots, had not been fired.



According to the Fire Department, the plane crashed only about 600 feet

from the end of the runway.  We know from eyewitnesses at the airport (who

heard the crash) that Mike and Dave had been doing touch-and-go maneuvers,

and had just taken off again.  We don't know who was flying the plane at

the time of the crash.  According to a neighborhood eyewitness, the plane

appeared to be making a turn when it suddenly nosed over and dived into the

ground.



Now this sounds like a classic departure stall turn.  The pilot loses his

engine shortly after takeoff, and frantically tries to turn around and

regain the runway.  In his panic, he turns too steeply, stalls the plane,

has insufficient altitude to recover, and crashes.  Or perhaps the pilot is

doing touch and goes, and is turning around for another landing.  He turns

too steeply, fails to keep the nose down and the power up, and stalls and

crashes.  Happens all too regularly.



But the problem with this scenario is that both Mike and Dave were very

experienced pilots.  Mike wasn't experienced with the Kolb, but he had been

flying fixed-wing aircraft for forty years.  Everyone who has ever flown

with Mike agrees that he was a first-rate pilot.  And I never saw Mike

Maikowski panic in his life.  Not even when we suddenly flew into zero-zero

conditions in Alaska, earlier this year, while surrounded by high mountains

on all sides, only three miles away.  Mike had his contingency plan all

ready, and handled the situation in his calm, cool, professional manner.



By all accounts, Dave was an experienced Kolb pilot who had given rides to

his grandchildren and to many other people.  So Dave certainly knew the

Kolb very well, and how it handled, and what it could do, and what it

couldn't do.  And before they even made their first flight together, I know

that Mike would have conducted an intense safety briefing with Dave, so

there would be no doubt as to who would be in command in the air, and who

would be at the controls, and how they would trade off, and what they would

do in case of any conceivable emergency.  That's just the way Mike flew.



So what happened?  Pilot error doesn't seem likely, and neither does

mechanical malfunction.  I'm told the Kolb is not an easy plane to stall;

that you really have to try.  The plane had just been checked out by an A&P

mechanic (according to Eve Pelletier).  Could the engine have failed in

flight?  Certainly.  Everyone knows the Rotax 582 is not the most reliable

engine in the world.  But even if the engine failed, Mike and Dave would

have simply glided down to a safe landing.  The area where they crashed is

wide open grassland.  Endless places for power-off landings.  No serious

obstacles to avoid or hit.  The only obstacle on the ground was a wire

fence, about twenty feet in front of the plane, but from the position of

the plane on the ground, it's pretty obvious that the plane never flew over

the fence, but rather crashed short of it.  And according to the fire

department, the fence shows no sign of damage.  So even if Mike and Dave

were gliding to a power-off landing, they apparently did not hit the fence.

And even if they had clipped the top of the fence while landing, and nosed

over, it seems unlikely that the Kolb would have been so utterly destroyed,

as it was, given its slow landing speed.  And according to the eyewitness,

the plane dived toward the ground, rather than gliding down in a power-off

landing.



Another clue as to what happened can be seen in a photograph that I

recently obtained from the Chino Fire Department (and have attached to this

post).  It's taken from the front of the crash site, and shows the engine

and propeller, sitting on top of the crumpled wing.  All three blades of

the propeller are shattered.  Only three short stubs remain.  This strongly

suggests to me that the engine was running, and was under full power when

the plane struck the ground, and the spinning prop was shattered when it

struck the earth.  If the engine had quit in flight, the prop would have

instantly stopped.  Even if the prop had a clutch on it, it would only be

windmilling.  In any case, without the power of the engine to drive it, the

prop might have broken one blade on impact, possibly two blades, but most

likely the third blade would have been relatively undamaged.  Since all

three blades were totally destroyed, I'm pretty confident that the engine

was still running, probably at a high power setting, when the plane

crashed.



And if the plane suffered some sort of massive mechanical failure while in

the air, why didn't Mike or Dave just pull the firing handle of the

ballistic parachute, and float down to safety?  Below three hundred feet of

altitude, a save with a ballistic parachute starts to get iffy, but it's

been done.



Could it have been a medical emergency?  Could Mike or Dave have suffered a

heart attack, fallen forward on the controls, and caused the plane to crash

before the other pilot could correct it?  Possibly.  But Mike was only 54

years old, and in excellent heath.  Dave was older (68, I believe), but was

also reported to be in excellent heath.



So what happened?  I just don't know.  The NTSB has the wreckage, and will

be investigating it, but their report is many months away.  My guess is

that Mike and Dave were doing touch and go maneuvers, and had just taken

off, and were at a very low altitude when something went terribly, terribly

wrong.  My guess is that the plane suffered a massive mechanical

malfunction that caused the aircraft to instantly go out of control and

crash in only a few seconds.  It probably happened so fast that neither

pilot had a chance to fire the ballistic parachute.  In any case, my guess

is that no pilot in the world could have saved that plane from disaster.

But I have no doubt that both Mike and Dave were trying to get the aircraft

back under control when both men lost their lives.



That's about all I know.  I relate these details in the hopes that the rest

of us may learn something from this terribly tragedy, and possibly save the

lives of other pilots in the future.  If anyone has any ideas, or comments,

please feel free to share them with me; in public or in private.



Mike Maikowski was my best friend.  He was the finest man I have ever

known.  He did not deserve to die in the prime of his life.  And I will

miss him very, very much.



Chris Wolf

cwolf41(at)comcast.net

cwolf41(at)comcast.net
Guest

Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 11:18 am Post subject: Dave Pelletier, Michael Maikowski, and Chris Wolf

Forgot to attach the photos of the crash in my previous post.  Here they

are.



Chris Wolf

cwolf41(at)comcast.net

cwolf41(at)comcast.net
Guest

Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 11:21 am Post subject: Dave Pelletier, Michael Maikowski, and Chris Wolf

Okay, let's try the pictures again.



Chris Wolf

cwolf41(at)comcast.net

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bootless(at)earthlink.net
Guest

Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 11:37 am Post subject: Dave Pelletier, Michael Maikowski, and Chris Wolf

Dear Chris,



Thank you for taking the time to write such a beautiful, heartfelt 

tribute to your best friend, and to add to that a clear-headed potential 

analysis of what happened. My heart is breaking you for, and you will be 

in my prayers. Chris was extremely fortunately to have such a friend as 

you. I know there's not much that will ease the pain you're in right 

now, but do know that the family of pilots stand behind you.



And maybe it will help to know that every good thing we do in our lives 

(and it sounds like Mike and Dave and you have all done much good) ... 

*every* good deed and word leaves a permanent mark on this world.



Please take care...



best, Cory

 	  Quote:

cwolf41(at)comcast.net
Guest

Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 11:40 am Post subject: Dave Pelletier, Michael Maikowski, and Chris Wolf

Oops!  I just realized that in my first post about the Kolb crash of Dave

and Mike, I neglected to update the section on the condition of the prop

after the crash.  What I originally wrote was based on a firsthand

examination of the photographs, made late at night, while very tired.  The

next day I realized my description was incorrect, but I forgot to update it

before sending the post to the list.  My apologies.  The following is what

I intended to post.



Another clue as to what happened can be seen in a photograph that I

recently obtained from the Chino Fire Department (and have attached to this

post).  It's taken from the front of the crash site, and shows the engine

and propeller, sitting on top of the crumpled wing.  All three blades of

the propeller are shattered.  Two short stubs remain, while the third blade

appears to have a little more than half its length still intact.  This

description was also confirmed to me by one of the fireman who was at the

scene of the crash.  This strongly suggests to me that the engine was

running, and was under high power when the plane struck the ground, and the

spinning prop was shattered when it struck the earth.  If the engine had

quit in flight, the prop would have instantly stopped.  Even if the prop

had a clutch on it, it would only be windmilling.  In any case, without the

power of the engine to drive it, the prop might have broken one blade on

impact, possibly two blades, but most likely the third blade would have

been relatively undamaged, since it would have been pointing away from the

other two blades, and away from the ground.  Since all three blades were

heavily damaged (and two totally shattered), I'm pretty confident that the

engine was still running, probably at a high power setting, when the plane

crashed.



Chris Wolf

cwolf41(at)comcast.net

blackbird

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 51

Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 12:22 pm Post subject: Dave Pelletier, Michael Maikowski, and Chris Wolf

Chris,

Everyone that I have ever met in the aircraft world......is like a band of 

brothers and sisters..........ESPECIALLY people who fly the light 

stuff.......

I have lost my wingman 2 years ago to heart problems.........but he still 

flew a quicksilver every chance he got..........

Still miss him though...........

I too am Deeply touched by your responce and take on the accident..........

Wayne McCullough

Kolbra 004

---

_________________
Wish I lived in the American REPUBLIC!!!

Eugene Zimmerman

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 392

Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 12:56 pm Post subject: Dave Pelletier, Michael Maikowski, and Chris Wolf

Chris,

Thanks for sharing with us.

I'm pained for you and for all the bereaved of this grievous tragedy.



As a long time Kolb flyer the first thing that  comes to my mind as a  

possible cause,  is a sudden failure of the up elevator cable.



With two people on board,  and flaps extended, and full thrust power,  

which it is reasonable to assume they would have had at that time,  

is  the most force a Kolb plane can possibly exert to nose over.

Were the elevator cable to suddenly fail at that point (at) 600 ft AGL  

an incident such as occurred would be almost  impossible to prevent  

even at sea level.



May God give you grace for this difficult time.



Gene Z



On Nov 29, 2006, at 2:11 PM, Chris Wolf wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		   If anyone has any ideas, or comments,

 please feel free to share them with me; in public or in private.

grievous

jghunter(at)nol.net
Guest

Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 2:19 pm Post subject: Dave Pelletier, Michael Maikowski, and Chris Wolf

">Were the elevator cable to suddenly fail at that point (at) 600 ft AGL

 	  Quote: 	
		  an incident such as occurred would be almost  impossible to prevent "

not an incident... IT is an accident.

sad yes... very sad.

jg

DO NOT ARCHIVE

On 11/29/2006, "Eugene Zimmerman" <etzim62(at)earthlink.net> wrote:

 	  Quote: 	

Chris,

Thanks for sharing with us.

I'm pained for you and for all the bereaved of this grievous tragedy.

As a long time Kolb flyer the first thing that  comes to my mind as a

possible cause,  is a sudden failure of the up elevator cable.

With two people on board,  and flaps extended, and full thrust power,

which it is reasonable to assume they would have had at that time,

is  the most force a Kolb plane can possibly exert to nose over.

Were the elevator cable to suddenly fail at that point (at) 600 ft AGL

an incident such as occurred would be almost  impossible to prevent

even at sea level.

May God give you grace for this difficult time.

Gene Z

On Nov 29, 2006, at 2:11 PM, Chris Wolf wrote:

> If anyone has any ideas, or comments,

> please feel free to share them with me; in public or in private.

grievous

Kirk Smith

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 78
Location: SE Michigan

Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 3:25 pm Post subject: Dave Pelletier, Michael Maikowski, and Chris Wolf

 	  Quote: 	
		   >> If anyone has any ideas, or comments,

 >> please feel free to share them with me; in public or in private.

 >grievous


	


You were both fortunate men to have had such a friendship. My father always

told me that if you have one true friend in your life you're a fortunate

man. I guess the closest I had to that was in Vietnam.  The last time I saw

him was when they put him in a body bag.  He was drafted and had just turned

21.  A whole life was ahead of him.  Not to be.

biglar

Joined: 14 Jan 2006
Posts: 457

Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 4:08 pm Post subject: Dave Pelletier, Michael Maikowski, and Chris Wolf

Gene, that exact thought is why Vamoose has dual elevator cables, and that 

thought occured to me, too, regarding the crash.  Also seems to me that a 

couple of people poo-poo-ed the idea when I brought it up 6 or 8 years ago. 

That's the only thing I can think of that 2 experienced pilots would have no 

option for.                      Lar.



Larry Bourne

Santa Fe, NM

www.gogittum.com

---

_________________
Larry Bourne
Palm Springs, CA
Building Kolb Mk IIIC
"Vamoose"

John Hauck

Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 4639
Location: Titus, Alabama (hauck's holler)

Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 5:17 pm Post subject: Dave Pelletier, Michael Maikowski, and Chris Wolf

---

_________________
John Hauck
MKIII/912ULS
hauck's holler
Titus, Alabama

Eugene Zimmerman

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 392

Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 7:18 pm Post subject: Dave Pelletier, Michael Maikowski, and Chris Wolf

Larry, duel up elevator cables is a very good idea.

I know of two kolb planes that experienced in-flight  torn rudder  

cables,

and as your web site so aptly points out ,,,,"with no up-elevator,  

you're gonna make your final dive - period "

Redundant up elevator cables will be one thing on my to do list.





On Nov 29, 2006, at 8:07 PM, Larry Bourne wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		   



 Gene, that exact thought is why Vamoose has dual elevator cables,  

 and that thought occured to me, too, regarding the crash.  Also  

 seems to me that a couple of people poo-poo-ed the idea when I  

 brought it up 6 or 8 years ago. That's the only thing I can think  

 of that 2 experienced pilots would have no option  

 for.                      Lar.

biglar

Joined: 14 Jan 2006
Posts: 457

Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 7:36 pm Post subject: Dave Pelletier, Michael Maikowski, and Chris Wolf

Thanks, Eugene.  It's almost certain that they'll never be necessary, but it 

seems to be such a simple thing for that much insurance.               Lar.



Larry Bourne

Santa Fe, NM

www.gogittum.com



---

_________________
Larry Bourne
Palm Springs, CA
Building Kolb Mk IIIC
"Vamoose"

John Hauck

Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 4639
Location: Titus, Alabama (hauck's holler)

Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 7:45 pm Post subject: Dave Pelletier, Michael Maikowski, and Chris Wolf

| I know of two kolb planes that experienced in-flight  torn rudder

| cables,

Hi Eugene:



Will you expand on "in-flight torn rudder cables" please.  Don't think 

I understand what you are saying.



Thanks,



john h

mkIII

_________________
John Hauck
MKIII/912ULS
hauck's holler
Titus, Alabama

Eugene Zimmerman

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 392

Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 7:49 pm Post subject: Dave Pelletier, Michael Maikowski, and Chris Wolf

Yep, I predict you will become a trend setter if our suspicion is  

confirmed by the investigators.



On Nov 29, 2006, at 11:36 PM, Larry Bourne wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		   Thanks, Eugene.  It's almost certain that they'll never be  

 necessary, but it seems to be such a simple thing for that much  

 insurance.               Lar.



 Larry Bourne

 Santa Fe, NM

Eugene Zimmerman

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 392

Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 9:06 pm Post subject: Dave Pelletier, Michael Maikowski, and Chris Wolf

John,



Sorry  for my feeble communication and confusing phraseology.



I know of two of at least two kolb planes and two pilots that  

experienced sudden complete tearing or breaking of rudder cables  

while in-flight.



One was our own Mk II with my son Earl as the pilot taking off at the  

Father's day fly-in in a pretty good cross wind.

The other pilot was Wilmer Z, with his Ultrastar.

In both cases the cables suddenly severed at the pulleys and showed  

no significant wear before they broke.

Wilmer said he noticed one tiny strand of wire in the cable was  

broken and he was planning to replace the cables but it suddenly  

snapped before he got the chance to replace it.



On Nov 29, 2006, at 10:45 PM, John Hauck wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		   Hi Eugene:



 Will you expand on "in-flight torn rudder cables" please.  Don't think

 I understand what you are saying.

John Hauck

Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 4639
Location: Titus, Alabama (hauck's holler)

Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 9:22 pm Post subject: Dave Pelletier, Michael Maikowski, and Chris Wolf

Hi Gene:



| Sorry  for my feeble communication and confusing phraseology.



Not you, my friend.  I am slow to read, interpret, and understand 

stuff.



| I know of two of at least two kolb planes and two pilots that

| experienced sudden complete tearing or breaking of rudder cables

| while in-flight.



How many flight hours were on these cables before they failed?



What kind of cable was it?



Strands, twists, wires, SS, Galvanized???



The tighter the bend, the more prone a cable will be to failure.  The 

US rudder cable has to make some 90 degree turns before it gets to the 

tail boom.



Nylon fairleads, as used on the mkIII are very prone to wearing 

through strands of wire in the cables.  There is constant rubbing 

during flight from vibration more than from operation of the pedals. 

Good idea to include cables in ones preflight, especially up elevator 

cables.



Never had any wear in elevator cables on the mkIII, but do get a bit 

of wear on the rudder cables.



Thanks,



john h

mkIII

_________________
John Hauck
MKIII/912ULS
hauck's holler
Titus, Alabama

slyck(at)frontiernet.net
Guest

Posted: Thu Nov 30, 2006 5:01 am Post subject: Dave Pelletier, Michael Maikowski, and Chris Wolf

John, would a dab of white grease in the fairlead area help?  Never 

would have

thought they would have a problem.  I won't, however, stay awake nights 

worrying

about rudder loss on my plane.  Hardly even need the thing.

BB

do not archive



On 30, Nov 2006, at 12:22 AM, John Hauck wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		   



 Hi Gene:



 | Sorry  for my feeble communication and confusing phraseology.



 Not you, my friend.  I am slow to read, interpret, and understand

 stuff.



 | I know of two of at least two kolb planes and two pilots that

 | experienced sudden complete tearing or breaking of rudder cables

 | while in-flight.



 How many flight hours were on these cables before they failed?



 What kind of cable was it?



 Strands, twists, wires, SS, Galvanized???



 The tighter the bend, the more prone a cable will be to failure.  The

 US rudder cable has to make some 90 degree turns before it gets to the

 tail boom.



 Nylon fairleads, as used on the mkIII are very prone to wearing

 through strands of wire in the cables.  There is constant rubbing

 during flight from vibration more than from operation of the pedals.

 Good idea to include cables in ones preflight, especially up elevator

 cables.



 Never had any wear in elevator cables on the mkIII, but do get a bit

 of wear on the rudder cables.



 Thanks,



 john h

 mkIII

Eugene Zimmerman

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 392

Posted: Thu Nov 30, 2006 5:51 am Post subject: Dave Pelletier, Michael Maikowski, and Chris Wolf

John,

The cable failure in our MkII was probably eight or ten years ago. I  

do not remember how many flight hrs it had at that time.

  I'm certain Wilmer's Ultrastar was a high time plane when his  

rudder cable failed.



To the best of my knowledge both planes had the cables that were  

supplied with the kits from kolb. I don't recall if they were  

stainless or galvanized but stainless definitely is inferior and  

should be avoided for this application IMHO.



Another serious elevator issue that I have seem on some kolbs is with  

cable turnbuckles. Where turnbuckles are bolted directly to the  

control horn on the stick sometimes there is not enough  clearance  

for full stick movement in the yoke of the turnbuckle causing the  

yoke of the turnbuckle to bottom out on the horn  causing bending  

side pressure on the stem of the turnbuckle. This condition will  

eventually cause the turnbuckle  to fail. The solution is to file or  

grind the control horn to allow for full stick movement without the  

yoke of the turnbuckle bottoming out on the horn.



Gene



On Nov 30, 2006, at 12:22 AM, John Hauck wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		   How many flight hours were on these cables before they failed?



 What kind of cable was it?



 Strands, twists, wires, SS, Galvanized???

ElleryWeld(at)aol.com
Guest

Posted: Thu Nov 30, 2006 7:44 pm Post subject: Dave Pelletier, Michael Maikowski, and Chris Wolf

another good reason to install in flight trim tab on your elevator 

 

 Ellery

 

 do not archive

 

  [quote][b]

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