Planes flip over (not RV)

tc1234c · #1 07-04-2007, 07:28 PM

Well, this is not RV related but did make me want to put my RV in a hangar when traveling.

Last Saturday I was in Williamsburg-Jamestown airport (JGG) and saw the following:

A strong wind blew through the airport and flipped over a few airplanes on Friday night. One of them did a somersault over the airplane next to it, took off its neighbors tail. Another got picked up by wind, clipped its neighbor's wing tip, then collapsed its own nose gear. All those planes were tied down.

On the rest of my trip, I always requested to hangar my RV.

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Just back from mid-Atlantic trip (Williamsburg to Charleston)

G-force · #2 07-04-2007, 11:53 PM

I noticed on the upside down 140 the remains of the tie down rope are still on the rings indicating the rope broke. Doesnt suprise me...most of the 3/8" rope I see planes tied down is rated for less then 300 pounds and we know those wings can produce at least 1500 pounds of lift. Not to mention rope strength deteration from sunlight and use. If I had an aircraft tied down outside, I think I would be using chain.

robertahegy · #3 07-05-2007, 05:41 AM

I feel much safer when traveling having the plane hangared. Just the peace of mind is worth the expense.

Roberta

collinsj57@adelphia.net · #4 07-05-2007, 07:14 AM

I was there, after a few days at williamsburg my wife dropped me off to fly home ( they drove and spent the entire week ) Lucky for me I asked about a hanger and they made me a great deal for the 4 day stay, which I could not pass up. Boy am I glad I took it. My RV6A was nice and comfy in a hanger when this happend. Aparently there was some hail damage also, two outside structures where also blown down.

tc1234c · #5 07-05-2007, 12:34 PM

John, Glad you had your plane inside a hangar. Bill, the airport manager, did mention about an RV6A in the hangar.

Look at this one. Debris shot through the tail fairings.

The plane on the left side flipped over. The one on the right side did a somersault and took out the tail of the next.

A few more pictures can be found among my trip pictures:

http://picasaweb.google.com/tc1234c/71To74Trip

missinggear · #6 07-06-2007, 07:52 AM

Just to add - We had a wind storm at DVT [Phoenix / Deer Valley] two years ago. The planes under the t-shades did not fair well. The chains did not break, but the 's' connectors did.

I had my Mooney in this area, luckily zero damage.

I agree...hanger is the best [but hangers in this storm did suffer damage.]

millz · #7 07-06-2007, 08:09 AM

I'm a 1/4 owner of 35388 - or was until this happened. We got a call the night it happened, at about 10pm. We went out to the airport during a short break in the storm. Had just enough time to get the soaked logs/headsets/etc. out before the winds, lightning, and hail came back.

I was the last one to fly her and wish I had put on chains (as another poster suggested) instead of ropes. First time in over 30 years they've had this happen at JGG - pretty sure a small tornado caused the carnage.

I also flew 8KR until it was bought by the flight school a year or so ago. Hmm, maybe I am bad luck?

Anyway, poor 388 was totaled. It was flipped back over a few days ago after the insurance adjuster had his look at it. My wife and I made a few weblog posts about the incident (and I posted a short video):

http://vectorstofinal.com/ (My blog)
http://pilot-in-training.blogspot.com/ (Wife's)