Main Gear door touched runway

[Hank]

I thank @Jmr324 for volunteering this discussion, and am saddened that CFI Jim from Jersey has made such a trainwreck of it. Must be something about pilots named Peter from New Jersey . . . . .

[Jmr324]

10 hours ago, Hank said:

I thank @Jmr324 for volunteering this discussion, and am saddened that CFI Pete from Jersey has made such a trainwreck of it. Must be something about pilots named Peter from New Jersey . . . . .

I think you meant Pete - not Jim.

Thank you.  Unreal...

Edited March 4, 2020 by Jmr324

[EricJ]

48 minutes ago, larrynimmo said:

I do believe everything you have said....if you fully collapse the tire even for 1/10 of a second the geometry will allow for the door to impact without the wing touching.

I think the tire doesn't even have to collapse fully if there's a lot of side deflection, too.   That plus the normal gear compression is apparently enough to make that happen, and/or there was something on the runway that got hit. 

I do think it's cause to take a very close look at the wheel, maybe even dismount the tire and take a good look at the rim.   Things apparently got a little more extreme than usual down there.

[carusoam]

great job JMR.  Staying on topic... 

There are always going to be distractions... use your pilot skills... stay focused. 

If that doesn’t work... there is an ignore feature...

 

Back on topic...

There is a lot of compression allowed in the system...

With a X-wind the force is All on one wheel...

All that force on one wheel will squeeze the tire and compress the donuts...

 

+1 on the maintenance homework make sure the tire and rim didn’t get damaged... and check the donut compression limits...

 

On windy gusty days...

It is OK to come in too fast...

if the wind dies when you get there... your speed is just right...

if it doesn’t die... you are too fast... and a Go around is part of the plan...

The second time around... you have learned from the first trip around the pattern... use the speed you learned from the first time.

 

It is really difficult to know in advance where the wind will stop blowing, or start again...

I’m a big fan of the GA...

Got any more pics?  Close up of the rim, and from far away to see both gear legs... post a bunch if able...

PPthoughts only, not a mechanic...

Best regards,

-a-

[Jeph357]

5 hours ago, Hank said:

I thank @Jmr324 for volunteering this discussion, and am saddened that CFI Jim from Jersey has made such a trainwreck of it. Must be something about pilots named Peter from New Jersey . . . . .

Im sure stranger things have happened that makes you think "thats impossible", I know I've had a couple. I totally agree with Hank, Thanks for sharing its how we all get a little more knowledge. Hope you were able to extract all of your seat and leave it in the plane.

[Jmr324]

@carusoam, thanks. I dont have any more pics sorry. 

Agree about the GA. Like I said, hindsight, i probably should have just went around when I felt the first big gust that was a lot more than what they were calling for. I had the plane with flaps in and on normal approach/speed when it hit and outloud even said I should go around because the plane and speed weren't set up for that type of gust if there could be more.

Fortunately the damage was very minor and could probably have been bent back into place but I decided to replace the door. 

Lesson learned.

Edited March 4, 2020 by Jmr324

[Mooney in Oz]

On 3/1/2020 at 11:37 PM, Jmr324 said:

I was surprised by a gust of 25+ that hit me and forced the plane down and to the left.

A sudden and unexpected gust of that magnitude would be quite a handful in a much larger airframe.  In a Mooney, it would be near horrendous and I thought you did well to maintain control.

Thanks for sharing and a lesson for us all.