A quick back-of-the-envelope (unintentional pun) calculation, assuming a
Cherokee/Warrior prop weighs around 25 lb and is 6" back from the datum
shows a shift in CG of about 1.5" aft. Hardly life threatening. OTOH,
without a prop, the glide ability would really be improved, and it might be
very difficult to judge an approach under those circumstances. He might
have just landed really long compared with where he was hoping to set it
down.

My dad used to tell the story of a Corsair prop that departed the a/c during
a runup somewhere in the Pacific. It flew all the way across the airfield
at low level and was found several hundred feet into the jungle at the end
of an impressive swath cut through the bougainvillea. Depending on the
altitude and RPM at the time of loss, I can easily imagine a lost prop
traveling a mile or two before it hit the ground.

--
Bob (Chief Pilot, White Knuckle Airways)

I don't have to like Bush and Cheney (Or Kerry, for that matter) to love
America

" jls" wrote in message
...


To me, losing a prop on a single-engine tractor aircraft means instant
loss
of power, an aft CG outside of the envelope, and a life-threatening
encounter with the earth's gravitational pull.