Chuck Hagerty
Lynchburg, VA
One year after the accident...
Oh what a difference a year makes! Last year on June 15, 2013 I bounced a landing and flipped my RV-7A at KAOO in Altoona, PA. Five months later on November 14, 2013 I posted my “You know it’s a bad Landing when you’re upside down” thread. What a response…everyone couldn’t have been more understanding and I sincerely appreciated your kind words and well wishes. And more than that, there was so much good advice from many of you who responded that I’m sure your information was beneficial to a whole lot of readers on this site (including myself).
After five months of not driving and nine months of not working, I’m happy to say that things are finally starting to get back to normal. Today is June 15, 2014 and yesterday I was over at the airport washing my plane when I got one of the guys to take some pictures.
Royal Aircraft Services in Hagerstown, MD did the repairs on the plane and she was brought back to me on February 1, 2014. Several weeks later, on March 22, 2014, I got my CFI friend, Ricky Franklin, to go up with me for the first flight since the accident. It was pretty windy so although I took off and flew the plane for almost an hour, I let Ricky do that first landing. The next two times we flew together, my confidence was returning and each time the touch and go’s were smoother.
The plane flies great and except for me thinking I did a little better job on the canopy when I originally built it, I’m pleased with the repair work. I’m also pleased with the Anti Splat Aero device that I installed on the front gear leg. I’ve not noticed any difference in handling and I feel more confident with the added strength that this brace provides. Thanks Allen for an impressive after marker product.
I loved Paul Dye’s most recent editorial entitled “Accepting the risk.” In it he said, “Frankly, we all need to admit that flying itself is not, and never will be, safe.” He then goes on to expound the several ways that we should all actively work to mitigate those risks under our control. Thanks Paul for putting into intelligent words some of the reasons that I still fly. And thanks, as always, to Doug for this great site.