Hey, Jim! Rich here.
Yup, that was a memorable day, my only emergency so far in 750 hours of flying. We were in 2240G and the left main came off as we lifted off from Winsted. They figured the bolt that holds the strut up in its housing sheared off when the weight came off the wheels, allowing the strut and wheel assembly to shoot out the bottom of the wing. We were lucky someone happened to be watching and got on the CTAF to tell us, because we didn't notice anything unusual and were coming around the pattern for one more soft-field landing ... would have been a big surprise!
I was with a primary student at the time, and I'm glad the incident (that's what the FAA called it) didn't deter him from getting his ticket. I was told the damage to the plane was less than $2,000, and T'bird ended up replacing all those bolts on their Warriors as they went in for their 100-hour maintenance checks.
Jetcareers ... I've been lurking for several years now. Can't remember where I heard of it, but it's been fun reading and hearing everyone's perspectives. Many thanks to Doug!
:rawk:
