- Joined
- Mar 3, 2016
- Messages
- 52
- Reaction score
- 10
Sometimes, while making the turn off of the runway after landing my Cherokee 140, right as I would straighten out I would hear a metal banging sound coming from what sounded like the tail section. I didn't feel anything, nothing changed, nothing moved, just a little thunk - and it would only thunk once. The pavement is smooth there. It wasn't a loud noise, but even as a student pilot I am aware that none of the metal pieces of the plane are designed to impact each other.
I looked all over the plane, picked up the rear seat and looked under there, but could not see anything loose. However, the mechanic figured it out in about 10 seconds by pushing the tail up and down a little - the door that covers the jump-start connector was missing a spring that holds it closed. Under the very specific conditions of turning right on the ground while decelerating slightly, somehow the door would flap exactly once, creating a thunk.
Who'd a thunk it?
I looked all over the plane, picked up the rear seat and looked under there, but could not see anything loose. However, the mechanic figured it out in about 10 seconds by pushing the tail up and down a little - the door that covers the jump-start connector was missing a spring that holds it closed. Under the very specific conditions of turning right on the ground while decelerating slightly, somehow the door would flap exactly once, creating a thunk.
Who'd a thunk it?
