250 Update (Also a Dad update).

[justalonewolf007]

Some of you heard, some of you didn't. My dad crashed an ultralight aircraft the day before Mother's day. He's the skill and mind that keeps my bikes running.

The week that we had set aside for putting the 250 back together, after pulling it apart to clean up the carnage from my clutches, was spent in the hospital.

One crushed heel, the other ankle broken, two compression fractures in his vertebrae. No weight on the heel for 6 weeks (He's within a couple days of that), and no weight on the broken ankle for 3 months.

He's healing really really well. :)

This picture was taken last Sunday. The "thing" his foot is in, moves it around to keep the ligaments and muscles loosened up. He sat for over three hours while we fiddled around with things. His patience and attitude are unbelievably good.

We put all the bearings back in the case after some very thorough cleaning. Then noticed one of the crank bearings just wasn't turning smoothly. Yesterday, while I was at work (generally 15 hour days), my dad spent a lot of time getting hauled around the area (huge thanks to my little sister too!), picked up bearings, and had the crank checked and trued.

He had a great time at the shop talking to the crank guy. Today, we're setting up a lower work bench so we can install the crank back into the cases, and start buttoning things up.

 

[SS109]

Wow, glad to hear he is healing up OK. How did the accident happen and what model does he fly?

 

[490Dave]

i Ditto SS109! yall have a lot to be thankful for, now you guys can get back to the important stuff like getting the 250 back on the track!! :)

Dave,

 

[_JOE_]

Glad to hear things are going well! Attitude is everything when trying to recover from something like that. Keep us updated!

 

[Dirtjunkie85]

Glad to hear he's doing well!

 

[MXSparx]

:cool:

 

[BSWIFT]

:cool:

X2

 

[justalonewolf007]

Wow, glad to hear he is healing up OK. How did the accident happen and what model does he fly?

Too low, too slow, too steep (turn) when coming in for a landing. We (my bro, and friends and family) were all there to watch it happen. Essentially, he turned too steep when he was too close to the ground, under too little power. The plane stalled, meaning it stopped mid air (Air stall meaning no air flowing over the wings = no lift, not an engine stall), and he basically dropped out of the sky. Things hit nose first from about 30 to 35 feet up.

Quicksilver MXL. Possibly an MXL 2? It was a "mod" meaning that it had 3 axis controls vs. the standard 2 axis control system.

Since it's been over six weeks, he's now able to stand on his right foot - Albeit VERY GINGERLY. Before, working on things was quite difficult because he couldn't have his feet down for any real length of time. My dad is healing up better than any champ. I'm glad for his fantastic attitude and determination! We've taken turns taking care of him, but in reality, he is the one that is keeping us all going.

The 250 has the bottom end completely buttoned up. It's a matter of throwing on a few more gaskets, the jug, piston, and figuring out when to put things back in the frame

 

[MikeT]

Your dad sounds like a really cool guy!

 

[_JOE_]

^^ for sure! :cool:

The world needs more good Dads like him!!!

 

[SS109]

Too low, too slow, too steep (turn) when coming in for a landing. We (my bro, and friends and family) were all there to watch it happen. Essentially, he turned too steep when he was too close to the ground, under too little power. The plane stalled, meaning it stopped mid air (Air stall meaning no air flowing over the wings = no lift, not an engine stall), and he basically dropped out of the sky. Things hit nose first from about 30 to 35 feet up.

Quicksilver MXL. Possibly an MXL 2? It was a "mod" meaning that it had 3 axis controls vs. the standard 2 axis control system

I understand what your saying. I fly, well, used to fly, as well. Yeah, stalling that low to the ground is always a bad thing as there just isn't enough time to recover. I hope the Quicksilver is repairable. They are great little birds! Tell him to not give up flying just because of this one incident. He should learn from it and keep on flying!

Here is to a continued and swift recovery! :cool:

 

[justalonewolf007]

He was already back up in the air on saturday. The topic of how soon he could go back up was brought up the first few hours after surgery when he was in the hospital. I think he's been a pilot for close to 35 years (or more?). He's not about to quit anytime soon!

The quicksilver will never fly again. It hit the ground at almost a 90 degree angle. Only two or three pipes weren't bent. Engine has some damage and the prop had hit one of the pipes, and was destroyed as well.

250 progress. Bottom end is all buttoned up and resting in the frame! Rear shock is fitted, we checked out the carb, and all looks good to go there too. Today I ran to get a gasket that goes between the jug and the reed valve. Tomorrow, I get to go run and hopefully find a wrist pin needle bearing thing.

I have the freedom to do this thanks to steady rain for the past two days!

 

[2strokerfun]

Good luck. Hope your dad gets A-OK quickly.
On my dad's 82nd birthday, I let him take up a Kolb Flyer ultralight I built. Underpowered tail dragger, which would normally not have been a problem for him as he'd been flying since 1934, but he hit a puddle of water on the runway on takeoff and lost one of the low-slung engines. So he gets off, waddles over the fence at the end of the strip like a wounded duck and puts it down in a field with big round hay bales. It bent a couple of chromemoly tubes on the cage, one of the props ripped the stits covering underneath and wing and bent the main tube. He comes limping back towards me with a gash on his leg, apologizing for wrecking my plane!! I didn't give a rat's ass about the plane, that was my DAD !! Thankfully, he was alright except for a little gash on his shin. We carried the plane (weighed all of 240 pounds with two Solo engines) and he later helped me repair the fabric and he welded the chromemoly repair sections in for me. He had nearly 40,000 hours flying, but it was the last time he ever flew as Alzheimers started to creep in shortly after that. God I miss that man.
Never be embarrassed to tell you parents you love them or are proud of them. Bikes come and go, but you only get one set of parents!!

 

[SS109]

He was already back up in the air on saturday. The topic of how soon he could go back up was brought up the first few hours after surgery when he was in the hospital. I think he's been a pilot for close to 35 years (or more?). He's not about to quit anytime soon!

That is awesome! :cool:

The quicksilver will never fly again. It hit the ground at almost a 90 degree angle. Only two or three pipes weren't bent. Engine has some damage and the prop had hit one of the pipes, and was destroyed as well.

Damn, that really sucks.

250 progress. Bottom end is all buttoned up and resting in the frame! Rear shock is fitted, we checked out the carb, and all looks good to go there too. Today I ran to get a gasket that goes between the jug and the reed valve. Tomorrow, I get to go run and hopefully find a wrist pin needle bearing thing.

I have the freedom to do this thanks to steady rain for the past two days!

I'm glad your making progress on the 250. You have better patience than me. I've been waiting on parts for my KDX build and it is killing me! :bang:

As for that rain...I wish we had some. Three days of solid rain would be really nice right about now. It would help get these wildfires extinguished and clean the air. Oh well. Hopefully soon.

Nice story 2strokerfun and I agree completely! :cool:

 

[justalonewolf007]

Saturday, July 3rd, dad took his first solo flight since May 7th (erm...not exactly with doctor's permission yet...)! I wasn't there to see, but it's a good thing.

The 250 is alive, I have that first bit written on it somewhere, and have three races in the books on it.

Here's a pretty funny shot of this weekend when things got away from me just a little bit. (Turn THEN drop clutch. NOT the other way around). Oops.