Pilot_DAR, I agree with all you say about preparations and life jackets, and I’m very glad to hear that you’re on the mend.
There is, however, a world of difference between hydroplaning a C185 with regular “runway” tyres on the spur of the moment, and water-skiing deliberately and methodically in an airplane expressly equipped for the purpose. I’m only guessing, but you probably didn’t even have time to check the tyre pressure and calculate your minimum hydroplaning speed.
As for floatplanes, my limited experience, unhappily supported by your accident and those of others, is that they are much less tolerant of crosswind gusts and/or sideways drift than a short-wing Maule on bushwheels. The latter is quite happy to touch down and hydroplane with up to 15 degrees of sideways drift. You just sit it on the water with wings level and steer with the rudder – the wheels are as happy skidding sideways as they are on ice or packed snow.
an airplane expressly equipped for the purpose.
Would either of the airplane or tire manufacturer state that they intend the tire equipped aircraft be operated on the water?
Yes, I used to fly bushwheels on the 150 taildragger, and the Maule M3. Like the smooth tires on the Tiger Moth, they seem quite content sliding laterally on a lower friction surface. Great for good looking crosswind landings on wet grass! You are correct, when I hydroplaned the 185’s I was: a) young and less experienced, and b) very eager to get the planes to safety before a forecast gale. I did not stop to get tire pressures right, I flew what I had.
There is no question that aircraft are capable of maneuvers which are outside the “norms” intended for the aircraft. Some pilots can fly those maneuvers, and with proper equipment and preparation, approach “safe”. Other pilots, who may not know who they are, may try to copy these uncommon maneuvers, unaware of the skills and preparation needed to reduce danger, and a bad thing happens. An occurrence on the River Derwent comes to mind. There are a lot of things I have done in planes, which I will never post, lest I lure a foolhardy pilot into emulating them.
Happily, for water flying of light water aircraft, the notion of too strong a crosswind kind of solves itself. If the wind is too strong to be tolerated as a crosswind, it’ll be getting too strong (rough water) to operate at all. My unhappy event was the result of an unintended outcome in the pitch axis, there was no wind, nor drift at the time of touchdown.
Would either of the airplane or tire manufacturer state that they intend the tire equipped aircraft be operated on the water?
Yes, absolutely. One third of the performance videos on the Maule Air Inc. website feature the technique.
Incidentally, B D Maule’s first production airplane was the M4.
We both know that neither the AAIB report on the Derwent river accident (which involved a tricycle aircraft) nor the NTSB report on N63DJ indicates that the pilot was hydroplaning. Quite the contrary, in fact:
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The pilot’s misjudged distance and altitude during an approach to land at an off-airport landing site, which resulted in an undershoot, and subsequent in-flight collision with terrain.
So it seems a bit misleading to post that photo in the context of hydroplaning and water-assisted landings – unless you can show that the pilots were liars and the accident investigators were fools.
Utah is really great, as mentioned before I spent a lot of time there some years ago. In addition to the summer activities and red rocks in southern Utah, there’s world class skiing 30 minutes outside of Salt Lake City.
If you happen to be doing some flying in southern Utah, Sedona, Arizona is a bit south and is an ideal fly-in destination. The airport is immediately adjacent, on a plateau (mesa) above the town. $10/night for single engine parking. There’s a pleasant hotel just outside the the airport gate and also a terrific airport restaurant and rental cars. Sedona is an upscale sort of place too, so the ladies typically like it. As with anywhere in the west, be careful with density altitude and in Sedona with potentially strong winds.
I stand corrected. If the Maule company endorses hydroplaning their aircraft, they are the authority on how that aircraft is to be flown. Pilots should follow their published procedures. Yeah, I wrote M3 in my log, but a bit more research suggests it would have been an M4. My error won’t affect my experience nor opinions.
I don’t know of any accident investigators who are fools, though I have met a few who choose to not peel back all of the layers – they accept what the reporting pilot tells them, and get on to more important things.
These guys are literally cowboys:
I’m with @Pilot_DAR on this, I’ll think this is more fun to operate on Water… And much more manoeuverable, too:
The flying Cowboys have gone one step further :
In action :
If you watch this one, make sure to watch it until the end. You won’t be disappointed !!
