The crashed Sonex that Chris Wade is currently repairing
The Sonex fuselage as Chris received it
“In almost every case the problem is not the plane, nor even the inexperience of the pilots, but bad decisions”
Damaged tail before repair
In the previous issue of The Shed, No. 115, I began my exploration of the world of home-built microlights, quickly discovering that my preconception of glorified kites with modified lawn mower engines was way out of date. Modern microlights may be the Dreamliner’s baby brother, but they are all aeroplane.
My next stop is to visit Chris Wade, in Cockle Bay, Auckland. I know he is working on a crashed microlight so I spend some time looking through the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) record of fatal air crashes for the past decade and noticed a conspicuous increase in the number of microlights involved in fatal plane versus earth events.
At first glance, this raises the question of the safety of homemade aircraft, but the content of the reports reveals that in almost every case the problem is not the plane, nor even the inexperience of the pilots, but bad decisions – in one case, by a qualified flight instructor.
“People get a case of get-there-itis,” says Chris, “or they get into difficulty and instinctively try to turn back. But you can’t do that. You’re flying into the wind and a sudden turn can put you in a stall; or you’re facing the other way with the wind behind you and you lose your lift.”
Won’t be long now – Chris in the nearly finished cockpit
The Sonex that Chris is repairing experienced a rare case of engine failure: “He lost his oil. There was a pool of oil on the ground where
