Posted on 03/08/2023 9:50:16 AM PST by V_TWIN
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — Four people are dead after two small planes collided near a Central Florida lake on Tuesday, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
Winter Haven police and Winter Haven fire responded to Lake Hartridge at 2 p.m. when crews began a search by water and air.
(Excerpt) Read more at wesh.com ...
Cause buttigege is still on maternity leave
I always worry more about take-offs than landings.
I'm never quite sure the plane will get into the air, I'm always sure the plane will end up on the deck!
As will a plane that doesn't succeed in getting into the air, but I'd rather not be in a plane with full fuel tanks hitting the ground!
Winter Haven airport does not have a Control Tower.
Pilots are responsible to use a “Unicom “ frequency to announce their intentions, position/altitude etc.
The J-3 Cub that I flew in 1961 did not have an electrical system. Therefore, no radio, no nav lights or landing lights. It was a DAY VFR airplane. Most likely, both pilots were not aware of each other and did not see to avoid a collision.
The pilot must always be vigilant at all times, especially when operating at airports without a Control Tower. I flew during my senior year at college in the USAF ROTC program. Gravel runway and skis used when snow was on the ground.
36 hours experience and then on Alabama to flying Jet Trainers,
The airport is now a shopping Mall south of Rochester, NY,
Ok kind of misstimed the flair out but the engine shouldn’t fly off it’s mount like that.
No flaps, ok then.
2 men in critical condition after small plane crash in Polk County orange grove
There are reasons why float planes are so expensive to insure.
Best CFII I ever had was a 60 year old former airline pilot in 1978, who happened to be a female. She was fantastic.
“Not being a pilot, how do these type collisions happen?”
Simple physics, no two objects can occupy the same space at the same time. Pilots try to violate that law at their own peril.
I lived on Lake ship for 12 years. That yellow plane
landed there at least 2 or 3 times a week. Sad
“Piper cub is highwing the Cherokee Piper 161 is low wing. If the cub is ascending and the Cherokee is descending they can’t see each other.”
How about a Pitts or other biplane. Blind in all directions ... Has to fly IFR at all times lol
Sorry the collision happened
Well, a couple of times a month my wife and I occupy the same space at the same time. Physics doesn't seem to cause a problem. :-)
“...Florida is the #1 spot in the world for flight training so there are a lot of idiots...” [blackdog, post 16]
Not necessarily idiots.
Say, rather, that there are a lot more neophytes aloft. They have yet to develop much judgment; that comes only with experience.
Performing safely and effectively aloft requires a shift in thinking that few humans ever achieve. The dimensions of the airspace, and the velocities of aircraft, are quite beyond the daily experiences of average groundlubbing citizens.
Even a rather slow machine like the J-3 cruises at 75 mph - much faster than automobile speed limits except for rural Interstates. This means that two J-3s approaching each other head-on are closing at a rate of 150 mph. A student pilot may not see conflicting traffic in time to react.
Higher-performing military aircraft are capable of airspeeds far beyond the capability of any human being to see another machine and react in time. The B-1B can cruise at 600 knots: ten nautical miles per minute.
A neighbor flew an Aeronca on floats, regularly taking scouts for rides on weekends. One year, he installed a 130-HP engine. The plane practically popped out of the water!
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