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From: artb@hplsla.HP.COM (Art Bori)
Newsgroups: rec.skydiving
Subject: Fish Story
Message-ID: <6730093@hplsla.HP.COM>
Date: 9 May 91 17:51:13 GMT
Organization: HP Lake Stevens, WA
Lines: 36

From alt.folklore.urban:

> In article <17459@burdvax.PRC.Unisys.COM> pastor@PRC.Unisys.COM (Jon Pastor) writes:
>I flew from Trenton to Paoli in a DC-10 a few years ago, and a seat-back-
>related incident actually occurred on this plane.  It seems that most of the
>passengers on the right side of the plane had their seat-backs reclined, while
>most of the passengers on the left did not.  When the plane left the runway,
>it almost immediately started banking sharply to the right.  It didn't occur
>to any of us that there was anything remarkably odd about this until we'd 
>done a full circle and were still banked.  At this point, the PA crackled on
>and the co-pilot -- in a firm but obviously frightened voice -- instructed
>all passengers to put their seats upright, because the aircraft's center of
>gravity was being disturbed.  We were surprised that he was able to infer
>that this was the cause, and doubtful that he was right, but when we let
>our seat-backs pop upright the plane came out of the turn and the flight
>proceeded uneventfully.
>
>The fact that the co-pilot identified reclined seatbacks as the cause without
>actually seeing the cabin suggests to me that this is a fairly common occurrence.


This reminds me of a trick that a jump pilot once pulled on some relatively
new skydivers.  On the climb to altitude he talked about how aerodynamically
balanced the plane was.  He especially emphasized how any change on the 
outer surface can cause major control variances.  To illustrate this he
popped open his window and stuck his hand out.  By supposedly varying 
the angle of his hand, the plane would alter its course.  What the jumpers 
didn't realize was that while they were watching his hand, the pilot was
playing with the rudder pedals.  Needless to say, the other pilots and
more experienced jumpers had a good laugh at their naivete. 


Blue skies !

Art Bori
D-11402