Sinclair51 Posted December 10 Report Posted December 10 We had the cabin door open in descent at approximately 175 mph. Prior to it opening there was a bit of turbulence and a single bumping sound! About 3-5 seconds later the door swung open about 2-3 feet and oscillated back and forth violently ! I’m fairly experienced but still my first reaction was to reach for the door! The drag/partial stall caused the aircraft to roll rapidly right and pitch down .., I closed the throttle and the door stopped swinging and just stayed open about 3-4”. I climbed to slow to 100 mph then as I was close to the airport I continued at that speed and left it open and landed without incident. (The prop blast caused the door to swing open and the airflow over the wing swung it back this cycled violently until I closed the throttle!) I think the emergency recall for a Mooney door opening in flight should be “Maintain control and reduce power immediately” then checklist etc !
Shadrach Posted December 10 Report Posted December 10 Your experience bears absolutely no resemblance to my experience when intentionally opened the door in flight to retrieve a seatbelt tail, but then I was much slower. In the summer, I frequently open the door right after touchdown with none of the violent oscillations you describe. How does a door swing open 2-3 feet into a 175mph slipstream? Seems like that defies physics. And then there’s the “drag and partial stall”…none of this seems plausible. 7
Hank Posted December 11 Report Posted December 11 1 hour ago, Sinclair51 said: We had the cabin door open in descent at approximately 175 mph. . . . the door swung open about 2-3 feet and oscillated back and forth violently ! . . . The drag/partial stall caused the aircraft to roll rapidly right and pitch down .., I closed the throttle and the door stopped swinging and just stayed open about 3-4”. I climbed to slow to 100 mph then as I was close to the airport I continued at that speed and left it open and landed without incident. (The prop blast caused the door to swing open and the airflow over the wing swung it back this cycled violently until I closed the throttle!) My door has opened twice, both times at much lower speeds--once just as I leveled off and began to accelerate, and once in the initial climb (~100 mph) with wide open throttle. In both cases, the door swung open just enough to leave about a 2" gap and could not be pulled closed--and I couldn't push it any further open in the climb. No way would it open 3', that's almost fully open. As for violently oscillating open and closed, what would force the door forward into a 175 mph airstream? My strong right arm couldn't push my door open into a 100 mph airstream. I'm baffled by your description. How did you get near stall? How did you almost lose control? 3
IvanP Posted December 11 Report Posted December 11 The 2-3 ft swing out at 175 mph was probably pilot's perception under rather unusual circumstances. I tried to open cabing door in flight once at much slower speed to retrieve a seatbelt and was not able to get more than few inches (of course, I was not able to close the door either). Our minds tend to play tricks on us under stress . 1
LANCECASPER Posted December 11 Report Posted December 11 The best $4 you will ever spend on a Mooney is this: https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cspages/warningonlythepilotplacard.php?clickkey=6452 If (1) the Pilot in Command takes complete responsibility for closing the door and then (2) hits it a couple times to make sure it is secure you won't have a door open in flight. It's when people in the passenger's seat., whether they have a pilot's license or not, "close" the door that most of these incidents happen. The other times are when the pilot in command thinks they have secured the door but haven't tested it with a firm hit or two. 2
201er Posted December 11 Report Posted December 11 1 hour ago, LANCECASPER said: The best $4 you will ever spend on a Mooney is this: https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cspages/warningonlythepilotplacard.php?clickkey=6452 If (1) the Pilot in Command takes complete responsibility for closing the door and then (2) hits it a couple times to make sure it is secure you won't have a door open in flight. It's when people in the passenger's seat., whether they have a pilot's license or not, "close" the door that most of these incidents happen. The other times are when the pilot in command thinks they have secured the door but haven't tested it with a firm hit or two. I agree completely about everything stated here except the sticker. Those are only meant for Beechcraft. They know there’s no way a Mooney CB would blow $4 on a sticker!!! 2 1
LANCECASPER Posted December 11 Report Posted December 11 14 minutes ago, 201er said: I agree completely about everything stated here except the sticker. Those are only meant for Beechcraft. They know there’s no way a Mooney CB would blow $4 on a sticker!!! Why do you think I have a Dealer account with Spruce . . Lol? 1
Fritz1 Posted December 11 Report Posted December 11 had the door pop open in my G-model some 30 years ago in the pattern, going less than 100 kt, opened 1-2", could not close, uneventful landing, lesson learned was don't even try to close it, perform normal landing
N201MKTurbo Posted December 11 Report Posted December 11 I opened the door to get it to close better on my 3rd day of ownership. That is the only time I’ve had a door opened. My passenger couldn’t close it. I told him I would stall the plane and for him to close it when the plane falls out of the sky. It worked. This was at night BTW. 2
IvanP Posted December 12 Report Posted December 12 6 hours ago, 201er said: I agree completely about everything stated here except the sticker. Those are only meant for Beechcraft. They know there’s no way a Mooney CB would blow $4 on a sticker!!! There are some Mooney CB's who spent several hundred dollars on a sticker saying that it is OK to put paint stripper (aka G100UL) in their tanks 3
dkkim73 Posted December 12 Report Posted December 12 26 minutes ago, IvanP said: There are some Mooney CB's who spent several hundred dollars on a sticker saying that it is OK to put paint stripper (aka G100UL) in their tanks Now you've done it.
Recommended Posts