Painful to Watch!

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cflord
Chief Master Sergeant
Posts: 2744
Joined: 30 Dec 2004, 17:07
Location: Powder Springs, Georgia USA

Painful to Watch!

Post by cflord »

I found the following A2A B-17G video from KDG Gaming on Youtube.com. This video was streamed live on Aug 2, 2016. The name of the video is "S5 Stream - FSX Steam - B17 A2A [Open House]".

I'm posting this post just to point out, how important it is to know your aircraft and it's systems (how the systems work and operate), proper use of checklist, and how to properly shutdown an engine and deal with an engine fire. In no way am I making fun of the individual flying the B-17G in this video; however I will point out some of the most glaring mistakes that led to the situation he got himself in to.

Watch the video carefully and you should catch the errors I caught and some of your own, as they occur and what they lead to.

1. Right from the start it is obvious he is unsure of how the A2A B-17G works.
2. Starting the airplane at the end of the runway was probably not the best idea and I personally would of used the airplane "Put Put" to save the airplane battery. I believe starting the airplane at the end of the runway led to rushing the engine start, getting the checklist half done, and getting the airplane airborne misconfigured, which led to most of his problems.
3. He did attempt to run some of the checklist; but misunderstood line #1. Wing Flaps / Cowl Flaps 1/3. Normally the Wing Flaps are set "UP" for a "Normal" B-17G takeoff. He appears to get confused by this checklist line and sets the Wing Flaps to 1/3, instead of the Cowl Flaps.
4. His next major mistake was not using his crew (Copilot - RPM, Cowl Flaps, & Turbos) and trying to do it all by himself which quickly overloaded him during a stressful night takeoff.
5. Shortly after takeoff the landing gear is retracted; but the Wing Flaps are forgotten and left at 1/3.
6. With the Wing Flaps at 1/3 and creating drag he is using an engine power setting which is too high and the engines start to overheat. A crewmember starts yacking at him about the overheated engines (#4 really high) and he tries to open the cowl flaps for #4. At this point he still does not realize the wing flaps position in combination with the airplane climb is what's causing his lack of airspeed increasing properly and the reason for his high power setting.
7. Finally #4 engine catches fire. Normally you would do an Emergency Shutdown, Feather the Prop, and Shoot the Fire Agent into the engine. He tries to shoot the fire agent first and "Pulls" the "Left Agent Handle" first with no results. Finally he "Pulls" the "Right Agent Handle" and puts the fire out. There is some confusion as to whether the engine should be left running. An engine that is on fire should always be shutdown (unless a greater emergency exists) The Prop is never Feathered.
8. Some where in here he realizes the Flaps are still down and corrects the problem.
9. About this same time a crewmember starts yacking about "Carb Ice" and he is totally at a loss as to how to handle "Carb Ice"; which leads to the loss of #1 engine.
10. He attempts to restart #1 engine; but because he has never addressed what caused #1 to quit, the engine will not restart.
11. Both #1 and #4 engines were never "Feathered" so the unfeathered propellers are creating aerodynamic drag which is preventing proper airspeed increase.
12. Back before takeoff, did you notice he never turned on the "Pitot Heat" which causes his altimeter and airspeed indicator to fail due to ice buildup. The airplane starts to Stall and he has no altimeter and airspeed indicators to rely on. Again the crewmembers start yacking about the Stall, which he does correct.
13. With all this going on he does manage to land the airplane. You got to give him credit for that!

My wife thought I lost my mind as I was yelling out helpful hints to my computer screen as I was watching this video. It was just too painful for me to watch; but I did, as I am a sucker for punishment.

Anyway, enough of my yacking. It's time for you to watch the video. Learn from the video; but please no stone throwing!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCXTtTJrgY4[/youtube]

Keep the shiny side up and the dirty side down!

Ret SMSgt Cliff Lord - C-130 Flight Engineer & Mechanic :shock:

jimcarrel
Senior Airman
Posts: 128
Joined: 29 Jan 2005, 17:59
Location: Tuttle Oklahoma, USA

Re: Painful to Watch!

Post by jimcarrel »

I think this is classic! A comedy of errors. Maybe I'm looking at it wrong.
I was thinking this was scripted, and yet, as one saying goes "You just can't make up something like this".

alan CXA651
Senior Master Sergeant
Posts: 2438
Joined: 15 Mar 2016, 08:23

Re: Painful to Watch!

Post by alan CXA651 »

Hi.
Nearly all aircraft accidents are made up from a catalog of minor errors , or oversights, that culminate in something serious , hence checklists and proceedures that have been honed over years of past errors and mistakes , ignor them at your peril.
regards alan. 8)
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