Well I have been waiting for the insurance company to make their final decision on my plane which they have decided to total. By the way Avemco is the best insurance company I have ever dealt with and I will continue to use them, I just wish they had home and auto as well.

I had a great day of flying on a sunny 15 degree day and I had already hit 20 or so gravel bars in the local river when I decided to hit one last place (which I had been before) on the way home. It is a private RC field which is one way in and out lined with 100' trees and about 700-800 feet in length, it is pretty challenging with the snow. I flew over to scout it out and I noticed a snow drift in the middle of my normal "runway" so I decided to land just to the right of it which looked to be just lite snow. I touched down and I just let the plane roll to the other end so I could turn around and depart,without touching the brakes in case it was soft. Well it turns out there is a natural spring just to the right of the "runway" and my tires just stopped, I gave it a quick blast of power to try and get the tail down but I think that just helped me go over even harder.
So now I am upside down and looking around shutting everything off and laughing at my predicament, I just crashed on private property in the middle of nowhere(for Indiana). So I undo my belts and smash the sky lite with my bone head and climb out, sinking in the mud which pulled of one of my shoes. I called a buddy pilot and tried to explain where I was so he could come and get me using the last of my phones battery . This was at about 4:00pm. I waited a while and decided to walk a bit as I remembered a house inline with the approach. Walking in an icy wilderness wearing driving shoes, I fell and slid down a big ass hill. So I decided this was not a good idea, so I crawled back up the hill and decided to wait with the plane.
It is now 7:00pm and dar, so I figured that I was going to be spending the night. Thankfully I had done one thing correct and had a small survival kit with me, so I gathered some wood and built a fire and wrapped up in a blanket. At around 10:00pm my friends showed up (the Iphone saved me) and began to tease me about my unusual camping spot.

So we walked back down to the truck and realized that there was not enough room for all of us, so they decided that I should ride it the bed since it was my fault anyways.... I froze my butt of over the next 40 miles in the bed of that truck.

Well after 3 weeks of trying I finally got the plane apart and out of there piece by piece...

So now I am looking for the next plane, most likely a Supercub.

Oh damn man, I'm glad you're okay!

That's too bad. Jeremy it doesn't look that bad?? Were the spars broken? Hey remember a super cub has a tail that is 1/2 has heavy as a scout!

Hey Mongo,

I am glad you are OK. I am also glad that you had some real sympathetic friends to come pick you up. Thanks for sharing your story. It takes a brave man to admit a story like this. Have fun shopping for a SC.

Man I'm so sorry. That is a great story though and thanks for sharing. Good lesson to us all. All of my motorcycle crashes have come at the end of the day with me saying..." well, I may do one more lap"



BTW, that plane doesn't look totaled-

Glad you're ok and lad Avemco is covering it. Humbling lesson for all of us to hear/see.

The spares are the Milman metal spares and they are toast, that is what put it over the top for the insurance company.
I would salvage it but I just want to fly not fix it, it would be good for someone who has the time.

Here is the site it will go on if anyone is interested:
http://www.gabrobins.com/AboutUs.aspx?id=3304

1968 7GCBC
160hp (300hrs)
scout gear
full gyro panel
kln89gps
king radio and transponder
new interior

will need:
new spares, struts and a few ribs
new rudder (repairable)
new door (repairable)
one fuel tank (repairable)
prop
Crank inspected ( I am sure it is fine looked good with dial indicator)

The worst part is I only insured the loaned amount to save some money on insurance, so I lost the 25% I put down.

Won't do that again.

Thanks for sharing...a big piece of humble pie.....good to see you walk away!

Mongo, I feel your pain. Nice set of stones to post, your truthfulness is admirable. Glad Avemco is coming thru. Good lesson on what amount you insure your plane for. I had a T-210 stolen in Baja and, lucky for me, had it insured for replacement value. Otherwise I would be flying a Ford truck! With the cost of insurance for float operations, I keep threatening to go with liability only, but the still vivid memory of a total loss forces me into writing the painful check. Hope you get back into the air soon.

Sorry to hear about the plane. Those are painful, but hopefully replaceable. Thanks also for offering some lessons.

Survival can be an issue, even in the wilds of Illinois. Insure. Insure for replacement value. Off airport is off airport-there can be surprises.

Hope you find a good airplane soon, and you're back to exploring the wilds soon.

MTV

Mongo, I'm glad you're okay, and sorry about the plane. Thanks for posting the story and the warning about "one last one." There should be lots of Supercubs for sale now at a decent price, so have fun looking. I haven't flown a Scout, so I can't compare, but Supercubs are a blast to fly and there are lots of mods available.

ASW.

Glad you're OK.. Can always get another airplane.

I'll echo your comments on Avemco. When I had a claim, Jerry from GAB was awesome to work with.

Chris

You are so right Mongo, it is always that "last little spot" that gets a guy. Been there, done that. Glad you're OK.

Land in the weeds long enough, and something will get bent, guaranteed. You've now joined the club of "those that have".

gb

Glad you are ok. And you're right. Avemco is super to work with. They came through quickly when I ground looped and wrinkled the buzzard. It ended up being a total also, even though it didn't look that bad. Enabled me to go from a quirky bird to a rock solid 182.

Mongo wrote:Well I have been waiting for the insurance company to make their final decision on my plane which they have decided to total. By the way Avemco is the best insurance company I have ever dealt with and I will continue to use them, I just wish they had home and auto as well.

I had a great day of flying on a sunny 15 degree day and I had already hit 20 or so gravel bars in the local river when I decided to hit one last place (which I had been before) on the way home. It is a private RC field which is one way in and out lined with 100' trees and about 700-800 feet in length, it is pretty challenging with the snow. I flew over to scout it out and I noticed a snow drift in the middle of my normal "runway" so I decided to land just to the right of it which looked to be just lite snow. I touched down and I just let the plane roll to the other end so I could turn around and depart,without touching the brakes in case it was soft. Well it turns out there is a natural spring just to the right of the "runway" and my tires just stopped, I gave it a quick blast of power to try and get the tail down but I think that just helped me go over even harder.
So now I am upside down and looking around shutting everything off and laughing at my predicament, I just crashed on private property in the middle of nowhere(for Indiana). So I undo my belts and smash the sky lite with my bone head and climb out, sinking in the mud which pulled of one of my shoes. I called a buddy pilot and tried to explain where I was so he could come and get me using the last of my phones battery . This was at about 4:00pm. I waited a while and decided to walk a bit as I remembered a house inline with the approach. Walking in an icy wilderness wearing driving shoes, I fell and slid down a big ass hill. So I decided this was not a good idea, so I crawled back up the hill and decided to wait with the plane.
It is now 7:00pm and dar, so I figured that I was going to be spending the night. Thankfully I had done one thing correct and had a small survival kit with me, so I gathered some wood and built a fire and wrapped up in a blanket. At around 10:00pm my friends showed up (the Iphone saved me) and began to tease me about my unusual camping spot.

So we walked back down to the truck and realized that there was not enough room for all of us, so they decided that I should ride it the bed since it was my fault anyways.... I froze my butt of over the next 40 miles in the bed of that truck.

Well after 3 weeks of trying I finally got the plane apart and out of there piece by piece...

So now I am looking for the next plane, most likely a Supercub.

Sorry to here about your misfortune if anyone is interested we have parts to fix this bo bo.

Well at least you got that shit out of the way.

Get all that playin' done before you come to fly ag, that way you'll live.

lowflyin'G3 wrote:Well at least you got that shit out of the way.

Get all that playin' done before you come to fly ag, that way you'll live.

The worst part is it slows down my pursuit of an Ag career, as I sit is nasty ass Brazil I have never wanted to be out of racing more than now...
My plan is to get my complex endorsement and then get my commercial rating, and maybe then I will be close to aquiring a new plane.

OK so mozila spellcheck dosen't work here for some reason....

sorry to hear know how it feels . unless your rich buy the insurance its cheap if you think about it!!