Sully was good but Gimli Glider was GREAT!

So I plan to watch this, but skipped around enough to know they ran out of fuel. How did this happen? Yikes!

 

They refueled the airplane using the incorrect metric system to calculate fuel load.

 

Oh my god! I noted the landing gear was down on the front, will have to see if that was on purpose. I would think if not it was a stroke of luck and helped slow the plane.

 

I was going to mention this in the Sully thread. My great grand father was one of the first hires when Air Canada was formed by the Canadian government in the 1930's. He basically got a government like pension. Including life free travel on Air Canada for him and his spouse. My great grand mother lived with my family and would go to Manitoba every summer to visit friends. My great aunt, her daughter was involved in the Icelandic festival in Gimli. Since my Grand mother visited Gimli and always flew Air Canada. This event kind of was more interesting to me.

The biggest factor was the digital fuel quantity gauges went out. Back in 1976 to get the provinces to convert to metric, the feds passed a law that they had too convert by 1976. Since Air Canada was a government corporation, they had to specify the planes they ordered be in metric. The fuel was still delivered in pounds. The ground crew used a wrong conversion method. The pilots relied on their calculation for the quantity of fuel onboard. The pilots still had a fuel used gauge. But the amount was entered by the pilots. Fact is the real error was the pilots ignoring the fuel quantity gauges being out and taking off anyway.

 

Interesting to note that the plane was flown out of Gimli only 2 days later.

Bob always talks about the skill of the Boeing 'field repair' crew.


Also, after serving suspensions, the next time the pilot and FO flew together some time later, they realized as they boarded the plane, that it was the same Gimli aircraft... by chance, probably.

 

Very cool!

 

MotoArt used to have a weekly show on Discovery maybe 10-12 years ago.
One of their guys died and they stopped the show.

Was good while it lasted...

Glad they're still around.

 

As we are on the topic of heroic saves involving Canadians, this has to be right up there. Air Transat 236, Airbus A330, 2001. Ran out of fuel over the Atlantic. Crew glided for 75 miles and somehow managed to land the thing in the Azores. Amazing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Transat_Flight_236

 

Great shot
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A nice piece of history.

 

From what I know about slipping a swept wing airplane , what he did was to defy the strong chance of going into a snap roll. He had to have spoon and bottled the aileron and rudder inputs to keep the "up wind wing " from rolling the airplane. Incredible and sensitive job.

 

Probably would not have worked if he had not been a very experienced glider pilot.

 

I think that he had a more sensitive feel of what the airplane was doing and, as I said, modulated inputs to keep the airplane upright. Boeing lost a 707-226 when a student lost control of it let it snap roll when he was subjected to a simulated engine out situation at high AOA and low airspeed. I don't know if everyone understands the disparity of lift when you advance or increase direct chord-wise airflow over one wing , increasing lift, and decreasing chord-wise flow over the other wing and decreasing lift. The only thing that I can think of that kept the Canadian 767 upright in a slip is the application of less top rudder and up aileron when the pilot senses a roll. Requires a delicate feel in a large airplane, I think.

 

I've slipped the 747-200 a couple of times, for fun. I always had plenty of airspeed and margin above stall speed. It seemed to slip just like any other airplane. Aileron one way, rudder the other. Nose down a little and add power. The power was because I wasn't trying to get down. I was just following a normal glideslope. It did seem to generate quite a bit of drag and required a healthy dose of power to keep speed on the glideslope.

Cargo flight. No passengers.

 

You know more about it than I in a swept wing , for sure, but the nose down a little is the good thing and what I was told was a forward slip. Nose level or up was called a side slip and could be more dangerous than the forward slip. You fly the little guys and hone your skills by flying, not driving or " operating". All of the accomplished big iron pilots that I have known flew the small stuff because they loved to fly and they were good at both the nose-draggers and tail-draggers.

 

Cool MotoArt desk.

Albatross Elevator Desk | MotoArt

 

Cool MotoArt desk.

Albatross Elevator Desk | MotoArt

 

Rob,

hope all is well since i havent seen you since the victory in toronto ages ago. i think i have the same part at home! next week i plan to visit the memorial. ill be in winnipeg the only problem is that its an hour away with no monuments or nothing.

research shows the drag strip is empty. ill keeo you poated if i do visit gimli next week.

 

Watched this while I ate lunch yesterday. Absolutely fascinating. I'd never heard this story before, but then I was born in 1982.

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

 

Yup. This is the norm on my plane to transfer fuel while enroute. Open the inter tank valve, a little rudder trim.....problem solved.

Thanks for the great stories across the internet gents. Never knew about the Canadian dead stick landings.