Story: Propeller found miles from crash scene

Prop thought fully feathered meant something else.

Do you leave the prop feathered while doing a runup on a Corsair (or any
other airplane with a feathering prop)? I wouldn't have thought so.

I'm sure he meant the prop thought it has wings and could fly...

BT

("Peter Duniho" wrote)
I think the "fully feathered" remark was in reference to the
Bougainvillea.

Ahh. Okay. I guess it's now no secret that I don't know much about
botany.


Now I wonder how many other funny gardening jokes have gone over my
head...


Fear not Peter. Post was ornithological, not botanical in nature - and yes,
it was painfully lame.

See, the prop overhears *fully feathered props* and thinks to itself,
"Feathers, cool! Fly prop, be free..." That the prop flew off into the bush
at the end of the runway to roost, well, that was just an added bonus g.

OK, now it's beyond lame...

As penance, I will unplug my computer and ship it to Alabama on Monday,
where it will be disassembled, piece by piece, by a manly low wing type.


Montblack

"Montblack" wrote in message
...
[...]
OK, now it's beyond lame...

Heh...yes, I think the explanation only made things worse. Had you kept
quiet, I would have simply assumed you had made a brilliant joke that I
failed to understand. It sure didn't appear anyone else was going to call
you on it, either.

As penance, I will unplug my computer and ship it to Alabama on Monday,
where it will be disassembled, piece by piece, by a manly low wing type.

That smells suspiciously like an event that had already been arranged prior
to your offense. Methinks you'll need a more suitable penance than that.

Pete

On Thu, 14 Oct 2004 21:45:39 -0700, "Bob Gardner"
wrote:

A founding member of the Compuserve Aviation Special Interest Group, who is
regrettably no longer with us, lost the prop on his GlasAir and watched as
it flew off into the distance....there's a heck of a lot of pressure on the
back side of the propeller disk. He survived the landing.

I would guess this is not a typical failure though. I'd think a
partial blade separation such as the Lancair 320, or 360 suffered near
Appleton a few years back. You lose part of a blade and it can
literally tear the engine right out of the airplane. This really
ruins the CG.


Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com

Bob Gardner

"StellaStar" wrote in message
...


http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wi...1014oct14,0,74
34473.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire

MADISON, Conn. -- The propeller from the plane that crashed into a house
on
Lovers Lane Monday night has been found a few miles away in Killingworth.

Police Chief Paul Jakubson said police received a call Wednesday from a
resident of Maple Hill Road in Killingworth, which is 2 to 3 miles from
the
crash site.

So...did it pop off and zing all that way ahead of the crash scene...or
drop
off before they dropped out of the air?

Big John wrote:

Bella

Or any other single engien WWII Fighter.

The P-38 had Curtis Electric Propellers that could be feathered.

Yep, two of 'em.

On Fri, 15 Oct 2004 06:13:05 -0800, Dale wrote:

In article ,
" jls" wrote:



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.

A prop for most light aircraft weights about 80 pounds for a constant
speed unit, much less for a fixed pitch prop. I don't anticipate that

I have the big 3-blade Hartzel on the Deb. It weighs 83#. The 2-blade
it replaced weighed 57#


Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com
on most GA aircraft the CG will go so far aft that you'll have control
problems,unless already loaded with the CG well aft.

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.

Can't speak for all planes but single engine Cessna's can lose the prop
and not get anywhere near the aft CG. I have already done that
calculation for my 182. Lose the prop and I don't even get to the back
half of the CG envelope.

I got it after a few seconds of reflection. I was concerned initially that
there was a typo somewhere, but I finally figured out what Montblack meant.
I smiled but did not consider it worth a followup. I guess this must mean
I'm smarter than the rest of you :-)

BTW, I got the 25 lb number from a brief call to my A&P. He was just
guessing, too, but at least he's horsed a lot of Cherokee/Warrior props on
and off the crankshaft. Still ain't much of shift in CG.

--
Bob (Chief Pilot, White Knuckle Airways)

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

"Montblack" wrote in message
...
("Peter Duniho" wrote)
I think the "fully feathered" remark was in reference to the
Bougainvillea.

Ahh. Okay. I guess it's now no secret that I don't know much about
botany.


Now I wonder how many other funny gardening jokes have gone over my
head...


Fear not Peter. Post was ornithological, not botanical in nature - and
yes,
it was painfully lame.

See, the prop overhears *fully feathered props* and thinks to itself,
"Feathers, cool! Fly prop, be free..." That the prop flew off into the
bush
at the end of the runway to roost, well, that was just an added bonus g.

OK, now it's beyond lame...

As penance, I will unplug my computer and ship it to Alabama on Monday,
where it will be disassembled, piece by piece, by a manly low wing type.


Montblack

"G.R. Patterson III" wrote in message ...
"H.P." wrote:

Griswold Airport (MPE) is in the same town where he went down
(Madison).Wonder how (specifically) the dislodged prop affected the
aerodynamics of the Warrior and his chances for a controllable glide.

The prop and spinner weighs about 40 pounds. Removing it would have about the same
effect on the center of gravity as adding 40 pounds in the back seat would. With two
people on board and little luggage, the W&B would still be ok. The glide ratio would
improve, since a windmilling prop produces drag.

George Patterson
If a man gets into a fight 3,000 miles away from home, he *had* to have
been looking for it.


Have I missed something here, or is there a possibility the prop
departed and fell promptly to the ground while the aircraft glided
several miles in whatever direction before crashing? What's so unusual
about a missing prop being miles from the airplane?

Dan

Sounds to me like it might be a failure to comply with AD 98-02-08,

SUMMARY: This amendment adopts a new airworthiness directive (AD), applicable to
certain Textron Lycoming 320 and 360 series reciprocating engines, that requires
visual inspections of the inside diameter (ID) of the crankshaft for corrosion
pits, and if corrosion pits are found during this inspection, prior to further
flight, performing a magnetic particle inspection (MPI) or fluorescent penetrant
inspection (FPI) of the ID for cracks. In addition, this AD requires reporting
findings of inspections to the FAA. Finally, terminating action to the
inspections of this AD is the application of a preventive treatment coating on
non-corroded crankshafts to prevent corrosion. This amendment is prompted by
reports of cracks in crankshafts originating from corrosion pits in the ID. The
actions specified by this AD are intended to prevent crankshaft failure, which
can result in engine failure, propeller separation, forced landing, and possible
damage to the aircraft. DATES: Effective March 30, 1998.

Demonick