Story: Yet another emergency with the C172.

[Medtner]

My beloved Cessna 172 is keeping on keeping on. I've long since learned that this particular airplane needs to be flown with greater margins than I'm used to. This is a great learning experience, being forced to be prepared for dealing with emergencies.

I've completed my CAT-ratings in PilotEdge and before I do the I-ratings I will fly the Alphabet Challenge in a combination of VFR and IFR. The challenge is flying from A to B to C to D... and so forth, literally in terms of the FAA-code for the airports.
This particular flight was to be IFR from (K)GCN to (K)HII - Grand Canyon to Lake Havasu. (KGCN PARKS4 PGS V208 EED KHII)
I had planned it all, with my first VOR-DME approach and all (a very simple one, good for learning). Weather was "clear and a million", but with strong winds out of the north north-east.


Here I've just fired up the engine. Clearance is recieved and I'm ready for taxi. The wind favors runway 3, but my departure procedure calls for runway 21, and I'm prepared to face 10 knot tailwinds if I have to - looong runway here at GCN.

- "Grand Canyon Ground, Cessna 245LG with information Sierra, ready for taxi IFR"
- "Cessna 245LG, Grand Canyon Ground, taxi runway 3 via Papa"
- "I can't fly the SID from runway 3, Cessna 5LG."
- "Can you accept the tailwinds on runway 21?"
- "It'll be fine, Cessna 5LG."
- "Cessna 5LG, taxi runway 21 via Papa."



Battling headwinds during the taxi. It seems to be more than 10 knots...



I'm cleared for takeoff and have prepared a visual V1-point - abeam the control tower and firestation to the left, about 5000 feet down the runway. That leaves me 4000 feet for aborting. Should be plenty.... (it isn't)



It wasn't plenty, but it was sufficient. I lift off just as the firestation passes by my left wing. I later calculated based on the timer on the ADF that I used at least 60 seconds, perhaps as much as 70 to get from standing still to liftoff.
Density altitude was around 7000 feet, and the tailwind was reported to be 10 - gusting to 17. Not the best choice after all, but I made it.



Climbing to 10k. Will be good to be at altitude, in case the engine wants to behave badly again. Then I'll at least have the option to not crash into the canyon itself.



Having just settled into cruise, trimmed and all is good, suddenly the aircraft starts pitching slightly up and banking to the right. My first instinct, while handling it, is that the crosswind changed direction and was gusty. I felt a strong imbalance in the plane, and it dawned on me: Control surface problems of some sort. Damn...
Out the left window a subltle, but definate, clue - the flap is drooping. I just had the flaps tightened around 12 hours ago on the Hobbs. The left flap had a bit of rattle to it during walk around, but not anything more than I'm used to. Apparently someting was going on.



- "LA Center, Cessna 245LG has to cancel IFR, I have control problems."
- "Cessna 5LG, roger. Will you be heading back, or will you continue to the destination?"
- "I'll have to turn back. My left flap has broken, and the plane isn't flying too well. Cessna 5LG"
- "Cessna 5LG, roger. Are you declaring an emergency at this time?"
- "Affirmative, Cessna 5LG.
- "Cessna 5LG, turn left heading 060, decend 9000 pilot's discretion. When able say souls on board, and fuel remaining in minutes."

I flew back towards the airport, and did some slow flying to see how the airplane was behaving. Flying slow the flap drooped more, and the ailerons were less effective, so that's out. Too fast and the flap would be more unpredictable in the gusty wind, but the ailerons would have more authority. The lengthy runway and the headwind (I'll be landing upwind, for sure!) would give me lots of time, so I chose a middle ground - about 80-90 knots during approach, and aiming for 70 during touch down. No extra flaps, thank you.

- "Grand Canyon Tower, Cessna 245LG emergency aircraft, inbound to land."
- "Cessna 245LG, Grand Canyon Tower, cleared to land runway 3"
- "Cleared to land runway 3, Cessna 5LG."
- "And will you be needing rescue equipment, Cessna 5LG?"
- "No, my left flap is broken, and I'll just need to land fast. I'll make use of the great headwind. Cessna 5LG."
- "Roger, just roll out to the end if you need to."



The gusty winds the and flappingly flapping flap made for a challenge. The whole deal wound up a "float-fest", and I landed halfway down the runway.



As I parked the plane the flap drooped even more.



When I shut down the engine the flap came all the way down. Here I'm parked, ready for another of those now familiar repair bills for this Cessna.



Asymmetrical airplane.



Here's the culprit, as if I didn't know already...



What a fun little plane! I fly it by the book, and I even wait with deploying 10 degrees of flaps until I'm in the white arc (it's allowed from 110 knots, but I try to be careful) and I'm rewarded with this?
Well, I'll keep on keeping on, and I'm sure the Cessna will do the same - trying to kill me, that is.

Thanks for reading!

[Killratio]

Great stuff Mate!

Accusim always holds the promise of some white knuckle flying!

[LZ-WIL]

Hi,

Great story and experience Erik, thanks for sharing it with us! I had a similar experience in my C172 - left flap again, but mine had a hangar warning for several days before it actually happened.
I have underestimated the weather conditions and as it turned out later, I inadvertently had flown in an area with active SIGMET warning.
Here is my "Emergency in C172"

Cheerz,
Will

[Medtner]

Hi,

Great story and experience Erik, thanks for sharing it with us! I had a similar experience in my C172 - left flap again, but mine had a hangar warning for several days before it actually happened.
I have underestimated the weather conditions and as it turned out later, I inadvertently had flown in an area with active SIGMET warning.
Here is my "Emergency in C172"

Cheerz,
Will

I somehow missed your post when you posted it. Great story! I was a bit curious as to how violent it would be if I tried lowering the flaps, and after reading your story I'm glad I didn't try it. Better to have a controlled fast landing than an uncontrolled slow one.

[LZ-WIL]

I somehow missed your post when you posted it. Great story! I was a bit curious as to how violent it would be if I tried lowering the flaps, and after reading your story I'm glad I didn't try it. Better to have a controlled fast landing than an uncontrolled slow one.

The aircraft control degraded abruptly, upon applying first notch of flaps and became even more right wing heavy. I had to apply huge corrections to keep wings in levelish position. As soon as, I detected the negative influence to the flight characteristics, I raised the flaps and preferred like you said - faster and longer landing, but controllable.

Cheerz,
Will

[crippy]

Great story, interesting to see this failure did you detect anything / loose bolts on the pre-flight inspection?

Since your last emergency post, I went out and purchased the 172. You were right I do love it. It is very interesting the sound differences between the 172 and 182. Example the flap motor on the 172 sounds very tinny / weak. On the 182 it sounds a bit more throaty. Hard to tell if recording equipment differences or actual real world differences. I tend to think more real world.

It is a great aircraft and has characteristics all its own. I see myself taking the 172 and Cherokee 180 on more longer cross-country flights where I would normally take the 182 or Comanche 250. Flying slower really allows me to get ahead - stay ahead - and then enjoy looking outside for a bit.

[Piper_EEWL]

Great read! Seems like that particular 172 was produced on a Monday

Happy flying

[Lewis - A2A]

Hehehe, good save and thanks for sharing the mis-hap with us here.

cheers,
Lewis

[Medtner]

Great story, interesting to see this failure did you detect anything / loose bolts on the pre-flight inspection?

Since your last emergency post, I went out and purchased the 172. You were right I do love it. It is very interesting the sound differences between the 172 and 182. Example the flap motor on the 172 sounds very tinny / weak. On the 182 it sounds a bit more throaty. Hard to tell if recording equipment differences or actual real world differences. I tend to think more real world.

It is a great aircraft and has characteristics all its own. I see myself taking the 172 and Cherokee 180 on more longer cross-country flights where I would normally take the 182 or Comanche 250. Flying slower really allows me to get ahead - stay ahead - and then enjoy looking outside for a bit.

I didn't see anything, but I may have been sloppy. It's always possible. I know that I detected some slack in the offending flap as opposed to the opposing one. But I didn't think more of it than "here we go again", more future maintenance already. This seems to be a common thread with this plane, which does indeed, Piper_EEWL, seem to have been made on a Monday.

Good to hear that I tempted you into buying the 172. It has its own charm, doesn't it? It's a truck, but its useful for practice.
The engine sound between the 172 and 182 is obvious - two extra cylinders will do that. And I think the flap motors are different, as A2A doesn't toy around with differences in sound without it being so.

I think comparing the sound between the Cherokee and the 172 is more interesting, by the way. Same engine, different sound. The Cherokee is warmer in the sound. I'm guessing it is just the design - the 172 seems like the kind of plane that could leak a little water, but the Cherokee seems "tighter". One door helps, but there is something about the general design that gives me that feeling...

[Killratio]

Actually Erik the R (as opposed to the old 172's) are quite a comfortable, tight, aircraft that give the illusion of being very solid. Not at all the "big 152" feeling of the older marques.