Lucky Escapes!

[up4it]

Eternal: Me and my mates also used to play war-games with air-rifles in the local woods when we were teenagers.

We'd all don several coats, several pairs of trousers with cardboard in strategic places and wear crash helmets with visors. Then split into 2 groups and hunt each other down. If you received a full on hit you were out of the game!

Each battle used to last for hours!

It was crazy but good fun!

[EternalOptimist]

Eternal: Me and my mates also used to play war-games with air-rifles in the local woods when we were teenagers.

We'd all don several coats, several pairs of trousers with cardboard in strategic places and wear crash helmets with visors. Then split into 2 groups and hunt each other down. If you received a full on hit you were out of the game!

Each battle used to last for hours!

It was crazy but good fun!

Yeah, I could have done with a visor. It my party piece now, blokes are interested but most birds heave when they feel the slug in my skull

[MrsGoof]

I did in Corfu once. At least I assume so. During a gap year we Inter-railed around Europe and got into the usual scrapes. When in Corfu swimming in the sea someone came to me and asked me if I was a strong swimmer, because someone was in trouble. I am a strong swimmer so, not quite believing someone could just get stuck in the water decided to swim out and take a look. There was a girl being 'helped' by her boyfriend. They were just floating around so I pulled them both to shore but it took a while and it was totally knackering. Still I couldn't quite see how they got stuck, but during the night there were stories of others being marooned too, which I didn't quite believe. Anyway 6 people drowned that (stormy) night, so perhaps there had been a tide or something. The first time I saw a dead body washed up on the beach the next morning and it looked like an action man.

In my student days did some private lifeguarding and pulled someone out of the water who has stopped breathing, a quick kiss and some spluttering he was OK.

In Australia ( on a contiki tour), one evening some guys went for a swim at the local beach, I could see that the tide was really strong (going out and moving sidways alot)) so decided to stay out and keep guard. Ended up going in a dragining one individual back before they drowned.

[hyperD]

When I was young and first started flying, I took off from Biggin one day when the weather had broken. So had everyone else by the look of the taxiways. I had a morning forecast and it reported clear weather. I was in a Cessna 152 and eventually was cleared for departure. I was planning a trip south to the coast for a general recce and just to buzz the white cliffs of Dover.

After about 20 mins a wall of cloud came from the south and I made the decision to turn back (not being instrument rated). I headed north only to be confronted with another wall of cloud which quickly smothered the aircraft.

Now, to describe the effect of this, imagine driving down the M1 at 80mph and someone quickly whitewashes your windows.

Now you get the picture.

The sheer panic that built up in me was overwhelming and my only thought was "tulip, this is how I'm going to die".

Then, suddenly, quietly the 4 hours instrument training kicked in. I levelled the plane on instruments, made the positional and intentions call to Biggin Approach to say I wanted landing instructions, all in this wierd, calm voice.

I dialled up Biggin VOR, set the inbound vector and flew to the airfield. I was eerily calm even though I couldn't see out of the window.

When I got to Biggin there was a break in the clouds and I was being positioned for 21. I reported visual with the runway (even though I hadn't realised the pandamonium going on that people had lost visual) and calmly reported I was #2 for landing.

As I turned base for finals, the clouds came in again and I was flying the approach blind. All I can remember was the IMC rule of 600ft decision height when you had to climb out for the missed approach procedure. I got to 650 and my hand was on the throttle for a go around when I saw the landing lights to my right. I just cut the power and pointed the a/c to the lights. Good job it was a long runway!

Debrief: the tower had no idea I was in trouble because I sounded so calm. I should have called a pan-pan assist call. Most importantly, I should have waited 10 minutes to get the latest weather forecast!

Alot of people were in trouble (some being vectored to other airports) as Biggin is notoriously bad for low cloud cover (600ft field elevation) and one Biggin instructor was stuck circling the airport above the cloud cover in a non-IMC plane low on fuel. He was eventually diverted.

I made mistakes, I learned from that, but I honestly thought I was going to die. Good job they give you 4 hours of intrument training in the UK PPL just for that.

In the USA (at that time) they didn't. Which is why they used to say the average life expectancy of a non-IMC pilot caught in bad weather was 45 seconds.

[Xenophon]

I don't know what the abbreviations mean, but I get the general idea.

Well done!

I nearly went over the handlebars on my racer once, but I eased off the front brake and applied the rear brake in time.

[cailin maith]

I don't know what the abbreviations mean, but I get the general idea.

Well done!

I nearly went over the handlebars on my racer once, but I eased off the front brake and applied the rear brake in time.

Still sounds like a pretty close shave to me - I hope you recovered ok....

[Xenophon]

Still sounds like a pretty close shave to me - I hope you recovered ok....

I had a Pot Noodle and a wank and I was fine.

[sasguru]

I once had a really close shave. My skin felt smooth as a baby.
HTH

[El_Diablo]

I once had a really close shave. My skin felt smooth as a baby.
HTH

Gillette Mach 3?

[sasguru]

Gillette Mach 3?

Could it be anything else?