Not me but found this video and thought it might be good info. for the Pacer pilots here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d28ObLQqrY8

I thought a few things while watching it. Why was there no attempt to use elevator trim, may not have helped, but wasn't tried. Why shut the engine down, he said to save his engine from a prop strike, but no power limits options. No use of flaps either. Maybe the result would have been the same, and there wasn't much time, but I wonder.

Rob is on this forum, somewhere.

StillLearning wrote:I thought a few things while watching it. Why was there no attempt to use elevator trim, may not have helped, but wasn't tried. Why shut the engine down, he said to save his engine from a prop strike, but no power limits options. No use of flaps either. Maybe the result would have been the same, and there wasn't much time, but I wonder.

He does discuss these things in the video and says he'd have done things differently looking back. Pretty much everything you listed he said he should have done.

He did great, hope I could do as well. Walked away. Well done mate:)

We'd all like to believe we'd do better but you never know until you're actually tested. Good job staying alive, dude. At the beginning of this video I would not have considered the fabric separation as the culprit, though the fact that his elevator was visually responsive meant something.

I'm an active trimmer in the cockpit so I have thought a lot about its use in a real flight control malfunction situation. That combined with power can get you into a cornfield at least.

Well done video.

There was talk about this when the AD in the door frame was issued to inspect this area as well, which is a really thin (22G?) former to tack the fabric to. I ended up looking at mine when I put a new windshield in. There was a Pacer that flew in the area with that windshield former bowed up all the time, and he kept trying to adjust the stop on his elevator, which led to really snappy thrill rides during stalls (or what passed for a stall in the Pacer). He shimmed his stop back to nominal pretty fast.

This explains what his problem likely actually was. Interesting after all these years.

I lost most of the belly fabric on mine in flight over Delta, CO when I was 17, and elevator control was also difficult due to a small portion flying over the elevator to make the marginal flaring ability it was famous for much worse. I replaced the area and more with cotton and butyrate over the next few weekends, and punch tested the crud out of the rest before I would fly it again.

Zzz wrote:We'd all like to believe we'd do better but you never know until you're actually tested. ....
Well done video.

100%.... and that's only valid till your next test

Anytime you make a choice when handed a raw deal, and the outcome is walking away in one piece it was a good choice. Was there a better one? not only is that trying to read a crystal ball, but it's a lot of wishful thinking.

Awesome stuff from bcp people that were challenged lately.

Take care, Rob

My primary instructor introduced landing with only elevator trim. It’s been years since I’ve played with it. I used to run my students through it so that they would at least have a feel for it and maybe think of it as an option. When my elevator partially jammed a few years ago, I heavily used trim…which is pretty common in a more heavy plane with no gear in the back.

Some years ago there was a great article in the Rudder Flutter that a guy wrote recounting when he lost…if I remember right…both elevator and ailerons…over Indian Creek in a 180/185. He got it on the ground using power, elevator trim, and rudders. Impressive. It’s fun to play and challenging. I should probably practice some more.


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The MEK and Acetone based glues have plenty of shear strength, but almost no peel strength. That's a huge factor in this situation!! I don't care WHAT fabric you have on there, if it's using one of those glues (Polytak or Superseam are a couple very popular ones) you better pay attention to this AD! I've also seen I don't know how many people that try to force that glue down through the fabric, and all that does is create a weak bond, especially with synthetic fabric!!
I really enjoyed his video and have total respect for how he handled the situation, and even more for the fact that he made the video and told the story!! I'd have loved to have a picture of the guy as he slid up the driveway!!
John