Mount Rule
MOUNT RULE AIRFIELD: Private airstrip (Aka BRADDAN)
Note: All six of these pictures were obtained from Google Earth ©
Operated by: Mr Hugh Hezlett
Location: Roughly 2.5nm NNW of Douglas town centre, N of the A23 and about 0.75nm N of the village of Strang
Period of operation: 1990s (?) to -
Runways: 09/27 538 grass 01/19 595 grass
NOTES: The AAIB report EW/C2010/08/09 stated that the Piper PA-28-181 Cherokee Archer II, G-BTAM, was based at a private airstrip (Mount Rule Airfield) which itself was close to Douglas and about 3 miles inland from the coast. It is a report of an unusual incident in that shortly after taking off the pilot realised he had no aileron control, but landed safely at RONALDSWAY.
This is not as serious as it might sound as roll can be controlled by the rudder, the secondary effect of yaw being roll. Many years ago on a flight to Le Touquet I had a radio failure and whilst investigating possible causes and checking the fuses I inadvertently switched on the wing leveller which I hadn’t realised the aircraft was fitted with – indeed the switch was completely hidden from view beneath the control column. This gave the initial impression that the ailerons had seized but I was baffled when the aircraft failed to roll when the rudder was used. It yawed of course, but it didn't roll as would normally be expected.
As I was close to Le Touquet I decided to land ASAP which was interesting as a gusty crosswind was affecting the runway in use. I’m pleased to say that a perfectly good landing was made just with rudder and elevator. The elevator is the one control I would not like to lose but even then pitch can be controlled by the application of varying amounts of power and given a long runway, (preferably with no wind), it is perfectly possible to effect a safe landing in a light aircraft. Incidentally I had three passengers none of whom had flown in a light aircraft before; in fact one had never flown before. Therefore I didn’t bother alarming them by explaining the problem. They were none the wiser and the other two thought it was a jolly good landing, much better than they’d usually had flying in airliners!
For my part, having no radio and an apparent aileron jam, the event could be described as 'character building'.
pJSmith
This comment was written on: 2015-12-03 15:08:03Moral of the story: get checked out in an aeroplane and make sure you fully understand the actual individual plane before going solo. Not surprised it was a perfect landing. Your ailerons weren't jammed and the autopilot was keeping the wings level through the whole approach and landing roll. Easy landing!
Reply from Dick Flute:
Dear Mr Smith, You are absolutely correct, and many thanks for making the point. However, and it is hardly an excuse, it is difficult to see something that is both almost hidden from view and the existence of which is unknown. By that point in time I suppose I must have flown around forty different 172s - (as well as great many other types)- and it had never been pointed out that some 172s can be fitted with wing levellers. In fact I doubt if any were except for that particular example. There is another point which I think is worth mentioning, and this is that a great many aircraft I have flown have been fitted with equipment that I had no intention of ever using, and therefore no point in knowing about - such as RNAV etc. As my flying in many countries was always VFR, and often at short notice - I simply satisfied myself that the few items I wanted for the sortie were functioning. Perhaps I should point out that most of these flights were accompanied by an instructor, or at least a safety pilot very familiar with the aircraft, as the majority of flights were for taking aerial photographs. Given this scenario perhaps I had become a bit complacent? It cannot be ruled out although I was often complimented on being far more thorough on pre-flight checks than the majority of pilots - in the opinion of instructors. And, typically in circumstances when time was of the essence - for example when the aircraft was only available for a limited period. These were the way things were and I had decided to accept the situation. With all this said, and it cannot be argued - and as you so rightly point out - it is the duty of every pilot to be thoroughly conversant with the aeroplane. My best regards, Dick
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