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RV-6 Emergency Ditching and Egress

J

JP62-RV6owner

Member
Hello all -

is anyone familiar with any RV6 ditching incidents and/or recommended procedures/egress?

I'm planning a bit of an over-water leg and want to have something in mind should the worst occur.

My RV6 has the tilting canopy and biggest worry is, should we end up upside down, getting out of the aircraft with water pressure keeping the canopy tight shut until the cockpit has filled with water and pressure equalizes :(

But jettisoning the canopy prior to ditching doesn't seem an option for fear of damage to the fin.

Anyone got any info?

Thanks!
 
There was a guy that ditched off Hawaii if I remember correctly. 2 or 3 years ago. I remember that he said the landing was surprisingly abrupt but I don't think he flipped. The story should be on the web someplace.
 
Welcome to the good ship VAF!

Try using the search function, this topic has been discussed at length.
 
AndyRV7 said:
There was a guy that ditched off Hawaii if I remember correctly. 2 or 3 years ago. I remember that he said the landing was surprisingly abrupt but I don't think he flipped. The story should be on the web someplace.
Click to expand...

Found it, thanks! http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?do=main.textpost&id=85c0322d-8d8e-4f7b-bada-e82df2e33326

But it doesn't make for pretty reading: ""After impact the canopy closed and the aircraft inverted underwater, trapping me in the cockpit," Justman explained. I released my shoulder harness and seat belt and worked at opening the canopy while underwater for over a minute. Miraculously, the canopy partially opened ... and I was able to eject myself from the cockpit just before the aircraft sank," he said."

I'd really like a more cast iron option to get out!

Anyone any other views? What about the option of jettisoning the canopy in flight? Is it an option?
 
Egress

Hi,
I've done some helicopter upside down egress training. If you don't have an good exit plan, you will fail. Blow the canopy, one less thing to worry about.
You should really read up on how to get out plus how to read the ocean waves for wind direction and where to land in the swells. Your seat belt will be the last thing you undo. Once you find your reference points, grab hold of them, undo seat belt drift out do not kick your feet. Remember you maybe upside down, it really does mess you up. The MOST important thing is to have a PLAN. My ideas and plan may not work for you, these are only hints and suggestions, you get what you pay for! Good luck.
 
RV mid air

There is a thread on this site titled "RV Mid Air" with a link to YouTube footage of a collision and subsequent ditching of one of the victims. The sad event occurred at an air show in Italy if I recall it properly. The pilot of the one still flyable RV flew what looked like an excellent landing on water, but the plane flipped violently as soon as the gear touched water. Men in the crowd rushed to the pilot's rescue. The footage made me think that if I ever have to ditch I want to at least release the canopy latch before touching down and to try to land in deep enough water so that the canopy is not forced closed by the bottom of the waterway. John
 
That was one of the reasons I chose a slider. I wanted a pretty good option to getting out. Lee and I fly in his Rocket, and its always been at the back of my mind on how I would get out if we had a problem. A bunch more room in my 7 versus the back of his F1.

BUT still bothers me! Right now its safer to throw in some cushions and make engine noises.
Tom
 
The Cessna 150/152/172 POH recmendation for water landing is to splash down level in a 300 FPM desent around best glide speed. I assume to plant the gear in the water fast and hope the "belly flop" prevents it flipping over. Perhaps the RV is the same? It seems to be well demonstrated that flaring and trying to touch down on water like pavement at minimum airspeed is sure to flip it over. As a scuba diver, if I was prepping for this situation, I would keep one of these on me to allow plenty of time to flood the cockpit and try for egress.
http://www.spareair.com/
 
RV-6, -7, and -9 tip up canopies, if built to plan, have a jettison mechanism that pulls the hinge pins. I see very few completed airplanes with this feature operable in flight, and I don't recall ever reading of one having been used in flight.
 
longranger said:
RV-6, -7, and -9 tip up canopies, if built to plan, have a jettison mechanism that pulls the hinge pins. I see very few completed airplanes with this feature operable in flight, and I don't recall ever reading of one having been used in flight.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I wonder about that, too. IIRC, the jettison mechanism existed long before Van added the shock struts to the kit. I wonder if canopy jettison has ever been 'tested' in flight, with the shock struts in place. It *looks* like we'd get the leading edge of the canopy into our faces after the hinge pins release, and before the strut mounts actually fail (if they fail). I can imagine the canopy simply shifting up slightly, then back, and hanging on the struts with the leading edge in the pilot/passenger's faces.
 
rv7charlie said:
....It *looks* like we'd get the leading edge of the canopy into our faces after the hinge pins release, and before the strut mounts actually fail (if they fail)....
Click to expand...

An RV-3 tip-over (not tip-forward) canopy departed in flight. The leading edge did hit the pilot in face. Note though, that the RV-3 canopy is considerably closer to the pilot's head than on the other RVs.

That plane might not have had a strut (some tip-over RV-3s have one). That wasn't clear.

The canopy cleared the tail as it left the airplane.

Dave
 
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